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Review - Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School, Book 1) by Gail Carriger (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0316190084
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Finishing School series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This was a super fun read. Previously I had read Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series and really enjoyed it. So, I was very excited to see that Carriger was starting a young adult series set in the same world. The second book in this series, Curtsies and Conspiracies, is scheduled to publish in November 2013.

This story is about a girl named Sophronia Temminnick who is sent to boarding school for being an unmanageable young woman. When she gets there she finds that the boarding school isn't teaching exactly what she expected.

This book is fast-paced and well written. It is a bit of a mystery in a Victorian setting and has steampunk elements throughout.

Sophronia is an interesting heroine. There's nothing extraordinary about her except for the fact that she sees opportunities where others don't and she's practically fearless. I really enjoyed her pluckiness and her willingness to have fun and try new things.

The girls go to finishing school basically in a floating dirigible, this is super creative and interesting and provides a wonderful setting for the story.

There really isn't any romance in this book, but Sophronia does make friends with many of the other girls. All of the girls are interesting characters and add a lot to the story. There is a lot about friendship and loyalty addressed throughout the book.

Along the way Sophronia meets a young girl named Genevieve who likes to dress as a boy and invent things...this is a character that we meet as an adult in the Parasol Protectorate series. It was kind of fun, having read the Parasol Protectorate series, to try and guess who was related to who from that series.

The book moves at a fast paced and is a super fun read. The story is well written and the plot keeps you guessing. I found the characters to be engaging and easy to relate to.

Overall this book was a great, light-hearted read and a wonderful beginning to new steampunk series. Sophronia goes on a number of wild capers and is just pure fun to read about. There is a lot of humor in this book but it never goes over the top. Highly recommended to steampunk fans.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Werewolves: Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

February 2013 - In Review

This month I read 19 books. A bit of a slow month of reading for me...for some reason February always is.  A lot of wonderful books came out in series I am reading...I will still be catching up on all of those in March. So it was a wonderful month of reading.

Hope you all had a great month of reading!

I started the following series:
- A Conspiracy of Alchemists (Chronicles of Light and Shadow, Book 1) by Liesel Schwarz (4.5/5 stars)
- The Faerie Ring (The Faerie Ring, Book 1) by Kiki Hamilton (4/5 stars)
- The God Machine by Chandra Free (4/5 stars)

I finished the following series:
- Boundless (Unearthly, Book 3) by Cynthia Hand (4.5/5 stars)

My Favorite Books of the Month Were:
- A Conspiracy of Alchemists (Chronicles of Light and Shadow, Book 1) by Liesel Schwarz (4.5/5 stars)
- Boundless (Unearthly, Book 3) by Cynthia Hand (4.5/5 stars)
- Ever After (The Hallows, Book 11) by Kim Harrison (5/5 stars)
- In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz (5/5 stars)
- Cubs in Toyland (Fables, Book 18) by Bill Willingham (5/5 stars)
- Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) by Marissa Meyer (5/5 stars)
-  The Queen is Dead (Immortal Empire, Book 2) by Kate Locke (5/5 stars)

Here are the stats on the reading challenges I am participating in:
- Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge (6/15 books)
- Graphic Novel Reading Challenge (5/24 books)
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge (6/10 books)
- Audio Book Challenge  (5/12 books)
- 150+ Reading Challenge (40/150 books)
- Debut Author Reading Challenge (3/12 books)
- Paranormal Reading Challenge  (8/12 books)
- Color Coded Reading Challenge (1/9 books)
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge  (10/50 books)
- Young Adult Reading Challenge  (13/50 books)

The full list of books that I read this month are shown below.
1.  The Silver Phoenix (Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, Book 1) by Cindy Pon (3/5 stars)
2.  A Conspiracy of Alchemists (Chronicles of Light and Shadow, Book 1) by Liesel Schwarz (4.5/5 stars)
3.  Rises the Night (Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Book 2) by Colleen Gleason (4/5 stars)
4.  Boundless (Unearthly, Book 3) by Cynthia Hand (4.5/5 stars)
5.  The Desert Spear (The Demon Cycle, Book 2) by Peter V. Brett (4/5 stars)
6.  Ever After (The Hallows, Book 11) by Kim Harrison (5/5 stars)
7.  City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster (4/5 stars)
8.  Redshirts by John Scalzi (4/5 stars)
9.  Between Two Thorns (The Split Worlds, Book 1) by Emma Newman (3/5 stars)
10. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (3/5 stars)
11. Firebrand (Rebel Angel, Book 1) by Gillian Philip (3.5/5 stars)
12. In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz (5/5 stars)
13. Cubs in Toyland (Fables, Book 18) by Bill Willingham (5/5 stars)
14. Have Stakes Will Travel (Jane Yellowrock Short Stories) by Faith Hunter (4/5 stars)
15. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton and Swinburne, Book 1) by Mark Hodder (3/5 stars)
16. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) by Marissa Meyer (5/5 stars)
17. The Faerie Ring (The Faerie Ring, Book 1) by Kiki Hamilton (4/5 stars)
18. The God Machine by Chandra Free (4/5 stars)
19. The Queen is Dead (Immortal Empire, Book 2) by Kate Locke (5/5 stars)

Audiobook Review - The Queen is Dead (Immortal Empire, Book 2) by Kate Locke (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: February 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0316196130
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Immortal Empire series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in The Immortal Empire series. I know the third book in the series will be titled, Long Live the Queen, and release in October 2013. I am unsure of whether there will additional books in this series after that one. I really enjoyed this book, it was just pure fun.

I listened to this on audiobook. The narrator does a stellar job of capturing Xandra’s personality perfectly. I read the first book in this series in paperback and listened to this second book. This was one of those series where I actually enjoyed listening to it more than reading it!

Xandra is struggling to find her place in the world. She is unsure whether or not she should accept the crown of the Goblin Queen. Then her sister shows up, upset that their brother has gone missing. Xandra is forced to use her Goblin connections to try and figure out where he has gone. Vex, of course, is at her side to bring some werewolf sensibility to the mission.

Xandra is trying to get her life back together after finding out she is the Goblin Queen. When her brother goes missing she is dead set on investigating his disappearance. Xandra grows a lot in this story. She learns to set aside some vendettas and take up her responsibilities. It was fun to watch her grow and change into a better person.

Xandra is plucky, tough, fun, and loyal. I really enjoy her as a heroine. Vex is the perfect counterbalance; he loves her and respects her...but he also doesn't let Xandra get away with being irresponsible or shying from decisions that need making.

I love the world this story is set in. Modern day London but with goblins, vamps, weres, and halfies. You have vampires and weres as the Royals. Goblins as the race that everyone is terrified of and halfies dealing with the fallout. The world is an absolute blast and you never know what you will find around the next corner.

The story is action packed and full of mystery. The book clips along at a good pace and is very engaging. The book is well written and fun. Mostly this is a mystery, but there is some relationship stuff going on between Xandra and Vex. The plot definitely isn’t romance driven though. This is more of a high octane urban fantasy read.

Overall this was a delightful and absolutely enjoyable book. This book was incredibly fun to read and very well put together. Xandra and Vex have a lot of tough problems thrown their way, but they react like mature adults and still have fun on the ride. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy with a Victorian flare.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Goblins: Paranormal Reading Challenge

Follower Love Giveaway Hop Winner

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Follower Love Giveaway Hope! I apologize that it has taken so long for me to post the winner of this giveaway...

The winner of this hop was:

Tami

Thanks again to all my followers and all who participated.  There were 268 entries into this hop and winners were chosen using Random.org.

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