Manners and Mutiny (Finishing School, #4)

by Gail Carriger

3,5 stars

It's nice to see Sophronia's character growth in Manners and Mutiny. While Sophronia's character growth seemed stagnant in previous books in the Finishing School series, in Manners and Mutiny, Sophronia's ready to take on the world, but she's still reckless and all action. However, I still feel that Sophronia lacks some type of spark that makes her memorable.

I also like that Sophronia relies heavily on her friends in Manners and Mutiny. Dimity, Agatha, Vieve and Pillover have become more fleshed out characters with each book in the series. The teachers are also colourful and intriguing and exactly the type of teachers that a school teaching espionage and intelligence should have. I especially enjoyed reading about the fact that Mademoiselle Geraldine actually knew what was going on in her school.

I've never been a huge fan of the main plot in the Finishing School series and Manners and Mutiny didn't change my views. The plot is well-executed, but I'm just not interested in reading about Picklemen, machinery and technology.

There's more romance in Manners and Mutiny and while I didn't mind the direction of the romance, the relationship between Soap and Sophronia lacks chemistry and feels forced.

Manners and Mutiny is hilarious, entertaining and full of utterly ridiculous shenanigans. I'm glad that I gave the Finishing School series a chance and I like how the series ended.