Review: Manners & Mutiny

Author:Gail Carriger
Series: Finishing School, #4
Released: November 3rd 2015
Publisher: Atom
Length: 328 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine’s floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia’s sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she’s not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster—in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.

What will become of our proper young heroine when she puts her years of training to the test? Find out in this highly anticipated and thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Finishing School series!

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series, albeit knowing without a doubt that this wonderful author will give us so much more to enjoy.

It was very easy to fall in love with these characters and their quirks yet again. Each of them is a small work of art, an unforgettable combination of oddities and personality traits. Sophoronia in particular is very easy to love, and so very competent to boot! I loved her in this book more than I ever loved her before. As silly as this series was most times (and really, silliness is what Carriger does best), we’ve still seen Sophoronia grow up to become a skilled, self-assured young woman. No more than a mischievous girl when we first met her, we’re leaving her as someone else entirely, a highly trained, sophisticated girl, but still with that familiar devil-may-care attitude.

Everything is bigger and better in this final installment. It’s funnier, faster, more romantic and more dangerous. There are guns and explosions, secrets and revelations. Carriger did an excellent job of concluding the overall storyline with a bang. I have to reiterate how much I loved Sophorinia in this book, braver and more resourceful than ever before. She makes her own rules and lives by them bravely, which is a quality I admire and hope some younger readers will adopt. But she wasn’t not the only one to show admirable growth in this book – her friends, including Agatha, have all become so much more courageous and quick-witted than ever before.

I was a bit afraid for the romance in this one, to be honest. While I knew how I wanted it to go, I saw no possible way for it to end like that. I suppose I should have trusted Carriger more because she found a very elegant way of giving us all what we craved. I finished this book with a smile on my face, content with leaving my characters right where I wanted them, happy and true to themselves. It’s hard to say goodbye, but what makes it bearable is knowing that there’s more of Carriger’s humor to come.

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.