A Vintage Reads Review: Waistcoats and Weaponry

Waistcoats and Weaponry (Finishing School, 3) by Gail Carriger, November 4, 2014. 298 pages. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Source: Borrowed from the Library.

Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style—with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland.

No one suspected what—or who—they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

First Sentence

"Funambulist," said Sophronia Temminnick, quite suddenly. 

Well at long last, I am continuing my series review of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series. If you'd like to catch up on the first two, you can see my thoughts on Etiquette and Espionage and Curtsies and Conspiracies...

• I so meant to write this review months ago...as you can tell, I never quite got around to it. That aside, there were many things I enjoyed about the third installment of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series. Like the fact that some of the best scenes, you know the ones with betrayal and near-death experiences, took place on a train that, as the synopsis points out, was suspiciously lacking in occupants. While I always had an inkling that a certain character would show weakness when pushed, I was still dismayed that I was not proven wrong.

•  While Sophronia is still rather dimwitted when it comes to matters of the heart, I do find myself enjoying seeing her mature in the art of espionage. She is rather brilliant when it comes to getting herself caught up in intrigue and helping to exasperate/mend the problem; yet ultimately, that is one of the reasons I enjoy reading about her adventures. 

• I don't want to spoil the book for y'all, but, can I tell you had much fun I had reading it? Okay!! One of the chief things that kept me amused while reading this, other than it just being a good book, was the bantering. Seriously though, Sophronia and Felix continued to crack me up with their flirting. There are not enough words, to sum up why Sidheag was one of my favorite characters. She may have come across as gruff most of the time, but she really has a great heart. 

Final Verdict: Waistcoats and Weaponry- The progression of the character arcs is really coming along. 

Waistcoats and Weaponry earns

A copy of this book was borrowed from the library. All thoughts are my own.