Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School, #3)

by Gail Carriger

It's one thing to waltz properly.
It's quite another to waltz properly with a bladed fan stitched into one's corset.

Sophronia continues finishing school in style - with a range of deadly defences secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Her fashionable choice of weapons comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap and the charming Lord Felix Mersey hijack a suspiciously empty train to return their chum Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland.

But when Sophronia discovers they are being trailed by a dirigible of Picklemen and flywaymen, she unearths a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos. With her friends in mortal danger, Sophronia must sacrifice what she holds most dear - her freedom.

Gather your poison, your steel-tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing instalment of the New York Times bestselling Finishing School series.

• ISBN10: 1478984716
• ISBN13: 9781478984719
• Publish Date: 4 November 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Blackstone Audiobooks
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 10 hours
• Language: English

Reviews

3,5 stars

Waistcoats and Weaponry is another fun addition to the Finishing School series.

Sophronia, the main character, is a Mary-Sue. She's good at everything and always has a plan. She's a likable character but there's something about her that makes it difficult to care about the events in her life.

I didn't care much about Sophronia's friends in previous books in the Finishing School series, but in Waistcoats and Weaponry, their personalities are more clear and they seem more fleshed out.

I also enjoyed reading about Sidheag and the werewolf politics. Sidheag is my favourite character in the Finishing School series and I like the way her story turns out. However, I didn't enjoy the plot when it involved the Picklemen and technology. It's uninteresting and lacks substance.

I'm also not a fan of the love triangle in Waistcoats and Weaponry. Sophronia does things that annoy me. Lord Mersey does things that annoy me. Soap does things that annoy me. There's also a shift in Soap's personality from supportive friend to aggressive love interest that comes out of nowhere. Thankfully, Sophronia doesn't dwell too much on the romance in her life because she's more interested in bladed fans (which are quite cool), intelligence and espionage.

Waistcoats and Weaponry is a fun, but ultimately forgettable read.

[Beth C.]

So much happening! Excited at the direction the story took (no spoilers!) and looking forward to reading book 4. I bought these for my daughter...and here I am ;)

[readingwithwrin]

This is a such a fun series to read.

With each book I fall more in love with the characters and the shenanigans they get themselves into. I am so happy to see that the love triangle is ending or at least it appears to be.

But that ending why would you do that to me? How are we suppose to wait until November to find oh what happens next?!

See more reviews like this on my blog