Chelle reviewed Etiquette & espionage by Gail Carriger (Finishing school -- bk. the 1st)
Review of 'Etiquette & espionage' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this book. I can't help but feel that it reminds me STRONGLY of the Gallagher Girls series but with steampunk. That alone isn't enough to turn me away though, after all there's what, like twelve original plots and everything else is variation on the theme?
What was tough is some of the writing. The dialogue especially at times seems very awkward and forced, as though they author is hitting us over the head with a bat reminding us that the story takes place in a Victorian-esque England.
Two of my favorite characters, Soap and Vieve, did not even appear in the climax and resolution to my dismay. They felt more like token characters, inserted willy-nilly so the author could say, "look the cast isn't all white and hey I'm breaking gender rules!". I don't know, it just felt like there should have …
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this book. I can't help but feel that it reminds me STRONGLY of the Gallagher Girls series but with steampunk. That alone isn't enough to turn me away though, after all there's what, like twelve original plots and everything else is variation on the theme?
What was tough is some of the writing. The dialogue especially at times seems very awkward and forced, as though they author is hitting us over the head with a bat reminding us that the story takes place in a Victorian-esque England.
Two of my favorite characters, Soap and Vieve, did not even appear in the climax and resolution to my dismay. They felt more like token characters, inserted willy-nilly so the author could say, "look the cast isn't all white and hey I'm breaking gender rules!". I don't know, it just felt like there should have been more.
All in all the book feels sort of unfinished. Even the ending only really wraps up one plot-line. There were so many more interesting tidbits of the world that sort of fell flat and never got explored.
As dour as my review may seem, I enjoyed the book enough to really hope there will be more in this series and soon. With any luck future books will flesh out more of the world that Carriger has created and give Soap and Vieve a bit more to do!
