Review: Waistcoats & Weaponry

Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Finishing School, #3
Released: November 4th 2014
Publisher: Atom
Length: 304 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Sophronia continues second year finishing school in style -- with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown. She, best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and charming Lord Felix Mersey stow away on train to return classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspects what or who would be aboard the suspiciously empty train.

Fortunately for us, Gail Carriger’s sense of humor seems to be as strong and sharp as ever as she keeps providing us with endless entertainment in this well-developed world. Waltzing with a bladed fan and using longing looks to seduce unsuspecting young evil geniuses are just some of the things our Sophronia has become quite skilled at in her years at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.


The cast of characters is still as colorful as ever, although it sometimes borders on ridiculous. I’ve come to adore Sophronia and her friends, as well as her professors at the Finishing Academy, but her family was just a bit too much. At one point, Sophronia’s mother tried to marry her off to 14-year-old Pillover, and her slightly older sister Petunia was just ridiculously stupid and vain.

We learn more about Sidheag in this installment since the main plotline focuses mostly on the troubles of her pack in Scotland. Sidheag is quite possibly the only serious, dignified character in this series which makes her all the more interesting. We know some of this story from the Parasol Protectorate series, but it was interesting to see it all from a different perspective.

For a smart girl, Sophronia is still quite clueless when it comes to matters of the heart. The odd love triangle she has found herself in takes up a large portion of the book, but nothing about it is satisfactory or even handled correctly. Torn between a Duke’s (and Pickleman’s!) son and a sootie (even one as wonderful and loyal as Soap), Sophronia is oftentimes annoyingly oblivious. She has a tendency to stick her head in the sand when it suits her and instead of being endearing like it was at first, I found it all to be very exasperating.

Waistcoats & Weaponry isn’t quite as good as the previous book, but it’s a worthy addition to the series. I’ll be happy to join Sophronia on her next adventure and I have faith that Carriger will find a way to make everything work in the romance department, no matter how impossible it may seem.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.