Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Title: Curtsies & Conspiracies 
(Finishing School #2)
Author: Gail Carriger
Length: 310 pages
Publisher: Little Brown
Classification: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Steampunk
Release Date: November 2013
Source: e-galley via NetGalley (Thank you Little Brown!)
Read: October/November 2014

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests? Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners. Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card. In this bestselling sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season. (From NetGalley)

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***I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*** 

***This book is part is part of a series, and so this review may include spoilers from previous books***


A fun and entertaining continuation to Etiquette & Espionage! I really enjoyed reading this book. In fact I liked it more than the first book in the series.

I think that Curtsies & Conspiracies picks up not long after the end of the first book. Sophronia is now in her second year of Finishing School. She is back on the airship school with her group of friends, Dimity, Sidheag, Agatha, Vieve and Soap. The girls are tested for the skills that they have been learning. And friendships are tested as well. Sophronia continues to do quite well at the school and quickly learns new skills and techniques.

This book (at least for me) had a bit more action and espionage. Which made the book really fun and entertaining to read. I was quickly drawn into the plot of the story. And found the addition of some of the boys from Bunson's to be very interesting. It was fun for the girls to practice their skills on the boys. As well as, learning more about the characters like Pillover and Felix.

I loved that there is a bit of mystery to the story and there were some surprising plot twists that kept me longing to know what would happen next. I like that the story doesn't really have much of a cliffhanger at the end, but I am still left wanting to read more so I can find out what else is in store for these characters.

I already liked the characters going into the second book, but I feel like I became a bit more attached to them while reading this sequel.

Sophronia is still a very likable character. She is quite smart and very entertaining. And I like that I am not sure where her loyalties lie. And I think she doesn't know for sure either. I love that she gathers information and likes to make her own decisions. Sophronia has some tough decisions to make during the events of this book and it is interesting to find out what happens. I really love the friendships that she has with the other characters. Their interactions are some of my favorite parts of the story.

I really liked that I learned a bit more about Dimity and Pillover and their family in this book. I really like both of these characters to it was awesome to feel like I knew them a little better. I still find Dimity to be Sophronia's opposite. But I think that is why I love their friendship so much. They really fit together well and help each other out.

I also enjoyed the parts with Sidheag and Agatha. They are fun characters that made excellent additions to the group of friends. I really like how well Sidheag and Sophronia get along. They have similar interests.

Felix is a new character. I love how he is a bit of a mystery to me. I am really curious to see what happens next for this character. I love the interactions with Sophronia.

My Recommendation:

If you have read the first book of this series and enjoyed reading it, I highly recommend reading this sequel. I found it to be just as unique as the first story, with a little more action and spying. I was very entertained and can't wait to find out what happens in the next installment!

My Rating: