emilygaynier's review
5.0
My opinion of Lady Linette really dropped in the third book and this book put her back in my good graces
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
And so this amazing series ends. :( I will be missing it, it was a really fun series with spies, cakes, dirigibles, werewolves and vampires, fancy dresses and so, so much more. I will be re-reading it in the years that come, and I am still hoping for more books like this from Gail Carriger.
Sophronia is back in this book, and of course also back to her old tricks and things, but she also got something newish going on, how she feels about Soap, I will discuss that in a bit. Sophronia is a great characters and I loved her from book 1, and as the books continued I just loved her more and more. She is a really kick-ass, awesome character who even though she is all that, stays realistic. Her fears, her worries for her future, they make her even better and even more interesting. I think if we would only focus on how awesome Sophronia was I would be bored out of my mind. Don't get me wrong. I like a good kick-ass character, but what I like above that is good character development and that is what Sophronia gets. She is a well-rounded character.
I also love that in this book we can clearly see how her training at Geraldine's worked out, especially near the end, you can just see she was born to be an intelligencer, that this is just the dream job for someone as smart as Sophronia. She would be bored out of her mind if she would do what all the women were expected to do at that time.
Of course this book isn't also showing us how awesome Sophronia is (and has become), it also shows us answers to burning questions about other characters. Secrets are finally being revealed in this one. Secrets about enemies and friends alike. Everyone is finally getting closure in this one. I loved finding out about them, some I saw coming, but a few were quite a nice surprise which made me smile.
I also loved the map that was included in the first part of the book, I am not sure if we already had one before (I will be checking the other books in the series), but I loved it. The ship is so much more bigger than I imagined. :)
And then came the best part about the book, the Soap x Sophronia part. Everyone who read the previous book knows what happened between these 2, but I can say that things really heat up in this one, and I was just so delighted to see it happened. Considering the time this takes place, considering how strict people are, I was just squealing in delight with all that took place.
Of course it wasn't always fun and flowers and romance, since we still have the problem of Soap being black and something else, and Sophronia being of standing and white. The author really described it really well how problematic it could be, and how it was something that worried Sophronia. I am happy that the author added this and didn't just go for the romance part. This whole different rankings, different colours, different other things, gave a whole lot of depth to Soap and Sophronia and really made you want to root for these 2. For them to be together, ah, swoon!
I won't say much more, you will have to read the book to find out what will happen between the two characters.
The ending and what happened there? Wow, what a rollercoaster that was, I just couldn't stop reading, couldn't put the book down, it was just that amazing.
I loved that we also got a chapter with how everyone ended up, where they all went and what went on in their lives after this book.
All in all, this is one series I would really highly recommend to everyone! Who doesn't like exploding pastries, or spies, or werewolves and vampires, or even floating schools?
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Sophronia is back in this book, and of course also back to her old tricks and things, but she also got something newish going on, how she feels about Soap, I will discuss that in a bit. Sophronia is a great characters and I loved her from book 1, and as the books continued I just loved her more and more. She is a really kick-ass, awesome character who even though she is all that, stays realistic. Her fears, her worries for her future, they make her even better and even more interesting. I think if we would only focus on how awesome Sophronia was I would be bored out of my mind. Don't get me wrong. I like a good kick-ass character, but what I like above that is good character development and that is what Sophronia gets. She is a well-rounded character.
I also love that in this book we can clearly see how her training at Geraldine's worked out, especially near the end, you can just see she was born to be an intelligencer, that this is just the dream job for someone as smart as Sophronia. She would be bored out of her mind if she would do what all the women were expected to do at that time.
Of course this book isn't also showing us how awesome Sophronia is (and has become), it also shows us answers to burning questions about other characters. Secrets are finally being revealed in this one. Secrets about enemies and friends alike. Everyone is finally getting closure in this one. I loved finding out about them, some I saw coming, but a few were quite a nice surprise which made me smile.
I also loved the map that was included in the first part of the book, I am not sure if we already had one before (I will be checking the other books in the series), but I loved it. The ship is so much more bigger than I imagined. :)
And then came the best part about the book, the Soap x Sophronia part. Everyone who read the previous book knows what happened between these 2, but I can say that things really heat up in this one, and I was just so delighted to see it happened. Considering the time this takes place, considering how strict people are, I was just squealing in delight with all that took place.
Of course it wasn't always fun and flowers and romance, since we still have the problem of Soap being black and something else, and Sophronia being of standing and white. The author really described it really well how problematic it could be, and how it was something that worried Sophronia. I am happy that the author added this and didn't just go for the romance part. This whole different rankings, different colours, different other things, gave a whole lot of depth to Soap and Sophronia and really made you want to root for these 2. For them to be together, ah, swoon!
I won't say much more, you will have to read the book to find out what will happen between the two characters.
The ending and what happened there? Wow, what a rollercoaster that was, I just couldn't stop reading, couldn't put the book down, it was just that amazing.
I loved that we also got a chapter with how everyone ended up, where they all went and what went on in their lives after this book.
All in all, this is one series I would really highly recommend to everyone! Who doesn't like exploding pastries, or spies, or werewolves and vampires, or even floating schools?
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
bexellency's review
2.5
Not as engaging as the earlier ones. Still a romp but also more serious, which is quite at odds with the absurdity.
ziggydarkstar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hilarious, creative and brilliantly written.
catpingu's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly a pretty great and action-packed conclusion to the story! It's certainly the end of an era, a proper finishing in etiquette, espionage, and schooling. I loved seeing the resolutions for our characters and professors into The Parasol Protectorate, of which I am extremely tempted to be re-reading; and continuing with this universe.
Sophronia and her year-mates are now the eldest girls in the academy, with their own rooms and close to finishing properly. At a ball wherein Geraldine's girls are completing an assignment to impersonate each other, her old friend Vieve who is still disguised as a boy at Bunson's slips her intelligence that Pickleman have infiltrated Bunson's. Pickleman are notoriously devious, so when she finds the Pickleman breaking into her school in the middle of the night, Sophronia is afraid big plans are in motion and it involves the crystal valves that she and her friend stole in her last adventure. Things take a turn for the worse at their New Year's celebration, and Sophronia is forced to utilize everything she's learned about the academy to stop the Pickleman from toppling the government.
One thing I can appreciate the Etiquette & Espionage series for doing, is consistent villainy. The bad guys for all these books have been the Pickleman, and the object has been a conspiracy involving a crystal valve prototype and mechanicals. It makes it easy to dive back into the adventure and recognize signs of evil at work, also quite fun to watch Sophronia foil their plans time and time again. The occasional involvement of London supernatural is cute when recalling their roles in The Parasol Protectorate. Overall, I'd want to read more Sophronia and espionage with her friends, even though I know they've officially graduated and moved on to bigger and better. I guess that's what the rest of the universe is for.
I know that Soap and Sophronia just work so well together, but I can still feel bad that the "reform the bad boy" trope didn't work with Felix. Well, I think he's a better person now. Even if they would have had extremely privileged and handsome babies who would piss off the Grand Gherkin (Felix's daddy-o).
I knew that butler was Floote! Knew it knew it knew it, however, I didn't fully understand the "mechanical patent" thing. We've sort of got a history for the Clandestine Information Act that was revealed at the end of The Parasol Protectorate, and the Egypt events, but I need more context! Will that be revealed in other books? Or will I just have to reread everything again?
I want to see more Sophronia in the other series as well, besides the secondary references. Wishes, wishes, wishes!
Sophronia and her year-mates are now the eldest girls in the academy, with their own rooms and close to finishing properly. At a ball wherein Geraldine's girls are completing an assignment to impersonate each other, her old friend Vieve who is still disguised as a boy at Bunson's slips her intelligence that Pickleman have infiltrated Bunson's. Pickleman are notoriously devious, so when she finds the Pickleman breaking into her school in the middle of the night, Sophronia is afraid big plans are in motion and it involves the crystal valves that she and her friend stole in her last adventure. Things take a turn for the worse at their New Year's celebration, and Sophronia is forced to utilize everything she's learned about the academy to stop the Pickleman from toppling the government.
One thing I can appreciate the Etiquette & Espionage series for doing, is consistent villainy. The bad guys for all these books have been the Pickleman, and the object has been a conspiracy involving a crystal valve prototype and mechanicals. It makes it easy to dive back into the adventure and recognize signs of evil at work, also quite fun to watch Sophronia foil their plans time and time again. The occasional involvement of London supernatural is cute when recalling their roles in The Parasol Protectorate. Overall, I'd want to read more Sophronia and espionage with her friends, even though I know they've officially graduated and moved on to bigger and better. I guess that's what the rest of the universe is for.
I know that Soap and Sophronia just work so well together, but I can still feel bad that the "reform the bad boy" trope didn't work with Felix. Well, I think he's a better person now. Even if they would have had extremely privileged and handsome babies who would piss off the Grand Gherkin (Felix's daddy-o).
I knew that butler was Floote! Knew it knew it knew it, however, I didn't fully understand the "mechanical patent" thing. We've sort of got a history for the Clandestine Information Act that was revealed at the end of The Parasol Protectorate, and the Egypt events, but I need more context! Will that be revealed in other books? Or will I just have to reread everything again?
I want to see more Sophronia in the other series as well, besides the secondary references. Wishes, wishes, wishes!
aurora69006's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
zoemaja's review
5.0
I am going to miss these books so much! I wish it wasn't the last one but I do love how she tied it in to the Parasol Protectorate series!
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