I found myself laughing out loud at the beautiful absurdity of the premise and many of the equally hilarious situations the characters found themselves powering through. The book itself is entertaining, highly engaging and often extremely hilarious.

Have you seen many books with that premise? I have not, but I'm glad this one exists. It's always a joy to find a book full of lively and interesting characters with improbably ridiculous names and go off to find adventure while learning to be proper ladies. I may have to preface this review by saying that I have so many fond feelings for this book that they threaten to spill over into noises only dogs can hear. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage - in the politest possible ways, of course. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish.everything. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.īut Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners - and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. This young adult steampunk series debut set in the same world as the New York Times best-selling Parasol Protectorate is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail Carriger's legions of fans have come to adore.įourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother.

Etiquette and espionage book