Book Review ~ Etiquette & Espionage

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1)

by Gail Carriger
published by Little Brown Books
genre: YA, Steampunk, Fantasy

Summary (Goodreads): It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

My Thoughts: We start with Sophronia trying to spy on company to find out what her mother is up to. This leads to all sorts of problems and ends up being a perfect example as to why she is being recruited for finishing school.
Sophronia is a great lead without being overdone. She's not perfect and doesn't always thinks first causing problems not only for herself but others as well. This makes her more likable and believable, she is not your typical "I'm perfect" lead (that's Monique). The other characters (some you'll recognize if you've read Carriger's adult series) add diversity and interest. Dimity and her brother Pill were my favorites after Sophronia.
Overall, this was a good start to a new series. I had some problems with the "mystery" surrounding the prototype. I didn't really feel like there were a lot of answers. We knew who had it but were never really told why they were doing it (was it just the money or was there more to it). It just felt slightly unfinished in that respect. Some of this may be cleared up when the next book comes out in November (2013).

Rating: 4

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)

by Gail Carriger
published by Little Brown Books
expected release date: November 5, 2013
genre: YA, Steampunk, Fantasy

Summary (Goodreads): 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 school 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 sequel to bestselling author Gail Carriger's YA debut 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.

**I just finished book 1 (Etiquette & Espionage) and really enjoyed it, cannot wait to find out what happens next.

New Releases ~ week of 3/25/2013

With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent (#7 in Soul Screamers)
Dirty Little Secret by Jon Stock (#3 in Daniel Marchant)
The Handbook to Handling His Lordship by Suzanne Enoch (#4 in Scandalous Brides )
Brown River Queen by Frank Tuttle (#7 in Markhat)
Of Shadow Born by Dianne Sylvan (#4 in Shadow World)
Lover at Last by J. R. Ward (#11 in Black Dagger Brotherhood)
Hellhole Awakening by Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert (#2 in Hell Hole Trilogy)
Power by Debra Webb (#3 in Faces of Evil)
Double Cross by Stuart Gibbs (#3 in Last Musketeer)
And the Miss Ran Away With the Rake by Elizabeth Boyle (#2 in Rhymes with Love )

Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost (#2 in Night Prince)
Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep (#8 in Elemental Assassin)
Rebel by Kristina Douglas (#4 in Fallen)
Killer Honeymoon by G A McKevett (#18 in Savannah Reid)
Kiss of Temptation by Sandra Hill (#3 in Deadly Angels)
Stallion by Starlight by Mary Pope Osborne (#49 in Magic Tree House)
Wolf with Benefits by Shelly Laurenston (#8 in Pride)
Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry (#5 in Joe Ledger)
Slow Burn by Anne Marsh (#2 in Burn)
Secrets of a Runaway Bride by Valerie Bowman (#2 in Secret Brides )

The Weight of Worlds by Greg Cox (#154 in Star Trek: The Original Series)
Impostor by Jill Hathaway (#2 in Slide)
Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer (#3 in Clifton Chronicles)
Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni (#2 in Angelology)
The Paris Affair by Tracy Grant (#6 in Charles and Melanie Fraser)
Shades of Passion by Virna DePaul (#3 in Special Investigations Groups)
The Trouble with Love by Beth Ciotta (#2 in Cupcake Lovers)
'Til Death by Sharon Sala (#3 in Rebel Ridge)
Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn (#11 in Kitty Norville)
Last Chance Book Club by Hope Ramsay (#5 in Last Chance)
What She Wants by Sheila Roberts (#3 in Life in Icicle Falls)
Glitter & Doom by Bethany Griffin (#2.5 in Masque of the Red Death)
Buried by Kendra Elliot (#3 in Bone Secrets )

Death of Yesterday by M. C. Beaton (#29 in Hamish MacBeth)
The Golden Egg by Donna Leon (#22 in Guido Brunetti)
The Wanderer by Robyn Carr (#1 in Thunder Point)
The Love Shack by Christie Ridgway (#4 in Beach House No. 9)
A Problem of Proportion by John Scalzi (#11 in The Human Division)
Ice Cold Kill by Dana Haynes (#3 in Crashers / NTSB )
Currant Creek Valley by RaeAnne Thayne (#4 in Hope's Crossing)
Sins of a Ruthless Rogue by Anna Randol (#2 in Sinners Trio)
Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear (#10 in Maisie Dobbs)
Sand Castle Bay by Sherryl Woods (#1 in Ocean Breeze)
Avenger by Heather Burch (#3 in Halflings)
Reflection Point by Emily March (#6 in Eternity Springs)
The Shattered Mountain by Rae Carson (#0.6 in Fire and Thorns)
Better Off Dead by H P Mallory (#1 in Lily Harper)
Too Hot to Handle by Victoria Dahl (#2 in Jackson)
And Then She Fell by Stephanie Laurens (#20 in The Cynster Series)
The Hyperlink by Joel Naftali (#2 in CyberSkunk Files)
The Utopia Experiment by Robert Ludlum, Kyle Mills (#10 in Covert-One)
Shadow on the Sun by David Macinnis Gill (#3 in Black Hole Sun )
Wasteland by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan (#1 in Wasteland)

Art, Eats, and What Other

Art
Artist: Alexander Jansson (website)

Nine pound hammer

Author John Claude Bemis 

Random House

EATS
Kool-Aid Tie-Dye Easter Eggs
from Kraft

What You Need

2env.  (0.13 to 0.16 oz. each) KOOL-AID Unsweetened Drink Mix, any red color (try Cherry, Black Cherry, Strawberry or Tropical Punch flavor)
2env.  (0.14 oz. to 0.15 oz. each) KOOL-AID Unsweetened Drink Mix, any orange color (try Orange, Mango or Peach Mango flavor)
2env.  (0.13 oz. to 0.23 oz. each) KOOL-AID Unsweetened Drink Mix, any yellow or green color (try Lemonade, Piña or Lemon-Lime flavor)
2env.  (0.22 oz. each) KOOL-AID Unsweetened Drink Mix, any blue color (try Mixed Berry or Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade flavor)
1/2cup  water, divided
1-1/2doz.  hard-cooked eggs, cooled
Directions
1. MIX contents of 2 (same-flavored) KOOL-AID envelopes with 2 Tbsp. water in 6- to 8-oz. container; stir to dissolve drink mixes. Repeat in 3 separate containers with remaining KOOL-AID envelopes.
2. PLACE eggs on cooling rack in sink; rinse eggs with tap water.
3. SPOON KOOL-AID mixtures, 1 at a time, over wet eggs to create tie-dye patterns. Repeat with remaining eggs.
4. POUR a little tap water over each egg to set colors. Use tongs to transfer eggs to paper towel-covered baking sheet to dry. Rinse sink immediately as needed.

What Other

I first saw these T-shirts on Tumblr and instantly wanted one. The entire book is printed on the T-shirt (or poster). To find out more: Litographs

(arc) Book Review ~ Moonset

Moonset (Legacy of Moonset #1)
by Scott Tracey
published by Flux
expected release date: April 8, 2013
genre: YA, Paranormal, Supernatural
*received from publisher through  netGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (Goodreads): Justin Daggett, his trouble-making sister, and their three orphan-witch friends have gotten themselves kicked out of high school. Again. Now they've ended up in Carrow Mills, New York, the town where their parents—members of the terrorist witch organization known as Moonset—began their evil experiments with the dark arts one generation ago.

When the siblings are accused of unleashing black magic on the town, Justin fights to prove their innocence. But tracking down the true culprit leads him to a terrifying discovery about Moonset’s past . . . and its deadly future.

My Thoughts:  Where to begin. I liked the sound of this story. I even liked most of the story. The problem I had was more with the influx of characters. It reached the point that there were too many and most were not needed. I think if the focus had stayed on the siblings and their handlers plus the "bad guy" warlock it would have been a smoother read and not quite so messy.
I liked where the story could have gone (or where it had been) rather than where it was. The little blurbs from the journals, history, and trials of Moonset were the most interesting parts of the book. I liked how by the end you were questioning who the real bad guys were, Moonset or the witches who defeated them. It made me want to have a book from the parents POV rather than children's. Since this is only told from Justin's POV the rest of the characters end up being kind of flat. There was a lot that could have been done with Jenna and her need to lash out and cause destruction where ever she goes. There was also a glimpse of promise to Bailey being an interesting character. I'm hoping this is explored in future books.
Overall, while this sounds like a book to pass on there is enough uniqueness and possibility to the story that I can see myself continuing with the series.

Rating: 3.5