Teaser Tuesday (98) Timeless by Gail Carriger + Everlost by Candace Knoebel

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or less or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

“Not even a smile? You must truly be afflicted by sentimental upset. Do you feel faint? I've never known you to faint, but I suppose one is never too young to start trying."

page 252, Timeless by Gail Carriger

“Watching her cruel smile unfold is like seeing flames spread from house to house in your neighborhood. Seeing your friends lose everything they've ever had, and just waiting for your turn to be next."

location 1671, Everlost by Candace Knoebel

Waiting on Wednesday (80) Prudence (The Custard Protocol #1) by Gail Carriger

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, created by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on: 

Prudence (The Custard Protocol #1) by Gail Carriger

From New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger comes a new novel in the world of the Parasol Protectorate starring Prudence, the daughter of Alexia Tarabotti.

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Custard and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone's secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones? (Blurb via Goodreads)

Expected publication: March 17, 2015

What are you waiting on?

{YA Review} Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School #2) by Gail Carriger

{YA Review} Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School #2) by Gail Carriger

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. (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, 310 pages. Published November 5th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Source: library

{Rating} 4/5 - I really liked it!

{Review} 

"Miss Temminnick." (line 1, page 1)

An excellent follow up to book one, Etiquette & Espionage. I still love the world, Sophronia and Carriger's writing style. Sophronia is more confident in her abilities and is putting her education to work.

Relationships were given a lot of time, both her friendships with Dimity, Vieve and the other girls - and avoiding defining an increasingly confusing relationship with Soap who shows a few more layers. There's also the addition of boys from Bunson's - including the sullen faced boy. Sullen face gets a name! I liked him. He is smart and haughty and entitled. I liked seeing how Sophronia is with him, especially when he flusters her.

I enjoyed the storyline, the big mystery kept me guessing along with Sophronia. Of course Carriger teases the next mysteries and has me desperate for the next book, Waistcoats & Weaponry.

First Line Friday (11) Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

First Line Friday is a meme hosted on Rampant Readers, where we share the first line of the novel we a currently reading in order to pique the interest of other readers like you. So basically, we just share the first sentence or two of the novel you are currently reading, and tell us whether or not it hooked you in!

The book:

Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
 

 The first line(s):

"Miss Temminnick. Miss Plumleigh-Teignmott. With me, please, ladies."

Hooked?

Well, no, but I love this series and Gail Carriger's books.

Join the fun, link up at Rampant Readers

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, created by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on: 

Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

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.(Blurb via Goodreads)

Expected publication: November 5, 2013

What are you waiting on?

{YA Review} Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book the First) by Gail Carriger

{YA Review} Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book the First) by Gail Carriger

 

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. (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, 307 pages, Published February 5th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Source: library

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} So much fun. There is etiquette, espionage, friends, enemies, vampires, werewolves, mysteries and intrigue.

Sophronia Temminick is a great heroine. She's unique, clever, forthright, adventerous, brave, tenacious, loyal. I loved her attitude. She takes things in stride, she's attacked and thrust in a world she doesn't understand but she just keeps going, keeping her calm.

"Finishing school? Then I'm not being sent to the vampires? Relief flooded through Sophronia, instantly followed by a new horror. Finishing school! There would be lessons. On how to curtsy. On how to dress. On how to eat with one's finger in the air. Sophronia shuddered. Perhaps a vampire hive was a better option." (Carriger 9)

Carriger is so imaginative. I loved the setting of the finishing school -- floating! I had the feeling of Howl's Moving Castle (the version at the end) and Harry Potter with a big dash of 19th century Nancy Drew. The coursework was interesting, learn about poison, seduction, fan maneuvers, dancing, household management, how to identify vampires and so much more that every proper young lady should know.

I found myself looking forward to the addition of new characters just to read what name she would give them. Carriger's names were whimsical, amusing and downright odd. Who else would come up with Pillover Plumleigh-Teignmott? Picklemen? The Great Chutney?

I loved Carriger's writing style. I was immersed in the storyline, connected to the characters and unwilling to put the book down until I was finished. I can't wait to read book 2, Curtsies & Conspiracies, which will release in November.