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    Waistcoats & Weaponry
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    Waistcoats & Weaponry
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    Waistcoats & Weaponry
    Audiobook8 hours

    Waistcoats & Weaponry

    Written by Gail Carriger

    Narrated by Moira Quirk

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Class is back in session...

    Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style – with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspected what – or who – they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

    Gather your poison, steel tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing installment in the New York Times bestselling Finishing School Series by steampunk author, Gail Carriger.

    A Hachette Audio production.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateNov 4, 2014
    ISBN9781478955849
    Unavailable
    Waistcoats & Weaponry

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    Reviews for Waistcoats & Weaponry

    4/5

    346 ratings31 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I thought I could maybe hold off buying this book until it went on sale. Nope. Bought it on my kindle 3 days after it came out and read it that weekend. It was everything I wanted. I love the characters. I love the names. I love that the teenage girl is concerned about boys, but is also a competent person. I like that she doesn't want to commit herself too hard to any one suitor since she has so much time in her young life. And the bladed fan weapon sounds super cool. My only problem was that it was over too soon. This may have been a result of the YA-ness, where everything is fast-paced and exciting, but it may just be that the story was do engrossing that I just read too fast. I have learned my lesson about waiting to read these books as well. Next time I will just preorder.
    • 3/5
      Sophronia and her friends are getting ready to head back to her hometown for her brother's engagement masquerade ball (ah, yes. the traditional engagement masquerade - the husband and I really missed out). Their good friend, who is part of a werewolf pack (although not a werewolf herself), is distraught and leaves their dirigible school when she gets bad news. From there, things get even odder.

      Steampunk is a fairly new genre for me, but I get its appeal, and I enjoy these somewhat quick reads. Things can't be solved with a quick text message or crowdsourced post on social media - people have to really work to puzzle things out. It's refreshing. Plus, it's fun to picture these worlds where everyone is dressed really nicely and worries about manners. I wouldn't want to actually live in that time (apparently some members of the conservative party in Ms. Carriger's universe are just as racist as some of the politicians in our universe), or in a world with vampires and werewolves, but it can be fun to visit.

      Slight side note - can people who are creating new world consider creating ones where being gay isn't a thing that people find 'shocking?' Or find to be a bad thing? There's so much creativity in this book that it's disappointing that sexuality - and conservative views of it - seem to have been transplanted directly from our universe to theirs.

      Regardless, if you like steampunk and YA, I think you'll probably enjoy this book.
    • 5/5
      The finishing school books have become one of my favorite series. Strong female characters, steampunk, gadgets, and espionage. It is a winning ingredient for books that are a joy to read.
    • 4/5
      It's nice that the sidekicks started getting a bit of showcasing in this. I really like Sophronia's girlfriends and the other characters. There wasn't as much world-building in this book since it focused on character-building. I wish Carriger would learn to balance character-building with world-building.
    • 4/5
      More outrageous steampunk adventures, this time with a train heist! This book was on par with other volumes in the series (which starts with Etiquette & Espionage). These books are a lot of fun, and I particularly enjoy the audio versions.
    • 4/5
      Continuing her adventures at Madame Geraldine's Finishing School for Young Ladies, Sophronia and her friends are looking forward to her brother's engagement ball and find themselves embroiled in events far beyond one country dance.As the third book in a series that basically reads like one long, episodic story, it's really hard to actually explain what this book is about without giving something away. There are several discoveries and plot twists but no real resolution, as there is one more book to go. I think I would've liked a little more at the school and a little less bumbling around, but all in all it was a fun ride.
    • 4/5
      YA Paranormal Steampunk novel featuring Sophronia Temminnick, a student at a finishing school that's really a training ground for future spies. In this installment, one of Sophronia's classmates, Lady Kingair has werewolf pack issues which necessitates Sophronia and her friends hijacking a train to Scotland. Of course there's intrigue involving crystalline valves (a running plot line in the series,) vampires vs The Picklemen, and a love triangle between Sophronia, Lord Mersey, and "Soap"... This is a tightly constructed plot that allows for character development and serves as a lead-in to the last book in the series, 'Manners & Mutiny' without being a cliffhanger.
    • 4/5
      Sophronia's story continues, and unlike in many other series, I am ecstatic to hear that there is a fourth book. High adventure, this time with a train!
    • 4/5
      I enjoy these books more as the series goes on, and I really like Soap.
    • 4/5
      The audio is excellent! Moira Quirk nails all the characters and does a fantastic job overall. 1 star gets added for narration. As to the book itself, I enjoyed it, but I kept waiting for the plot to begin; I kept thinking the crises that Sophronia and friends had to solve was just around the corner. Then, a couple of days ago I looked down and realised there was only another hour or so left to the book and obviously, the plot crises had pretty much come and gone. For this reason, this book felt a bit flat for me. Still, I was never bored, and significant changes to the cast of characters Sophronia calls friends take place in this third book. Everyone is choosing their paths and growing up. Looking forward to the fourth book later this year.
    • 5/5
      Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger3rd book in the steampunk YA Finishing School series. Best read as part of the series.Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school. She and her friends learn the best etiquette and weapons for proper society. A little trouble along the way is what makes life interesting. Plenty of humor. In the very beginning, Sophronia is hanging percariously for the bubble but everyone is maintaining their finishing school attributes. One of the other young women offered to toss Sophronia some crumpets if she misses tea. How lovely. I laughed out loud at that. “Lady Linette was an intelligencer. She did more illegal things before tea each day than most people did in a lifetime.“Tea is considered a vital weapon of espionage “Love this series. Adventure, daring and espionage of the best kind. A little worried at the end but ...no spoilers.
    • 3/5
      The third book starts immediately with Sidheag leaving school after a message from her pack. If you have read the Parasol Protectorate then you will know what the message contained and why she left without telling anyone. Sophronia and everyone else is in the dark and they worry even as they are planning for the engagement ball for Sophrnia’s brother. At the ball, chaos happens with the mechanicals and Sidheag shows up with two werewolves. Sophronia and friends leave immediately to try and get Sidheag to Scotland to help her pack and of course on the way discover yet another Pickleman plot. By the end of the book, things have changed quite a bit for her and her friends and should make for some interesting developments in the next book.

      Digital copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley
    • 3/5
      The one disappointing part of this book for me--the one--was that they left the school for this adventure. Wacky boarding schools are like catnip for me and I missed it.

      Good Sidheag stuff here, settled her nicely into her future life.
    • 4/5
      Okay. I need to pester a friend of mine and see if he can tell me the events/explanation of events that coincide with this novel from the Parasol Protectorate side of things. I read those books awhile ago, and the details are eluding me.

      I loved the way all the characters have grown in this book. The intrigue is more complicated, and the relationships are more honest (to some extent -- we are dealing with intelligencers, after all). I am definitely excited to continue on in this series and see where all the various machinations lead. People are just so clever and wily in steampunk novels!
    • 4/5
      A delightful confection.

      I really do enjoy these. I did think that the last in the series concentrated a bit heavily on the humor to the detriment of the slightly-rambling plot, but this one, I felt, struck the perfect balance.

      Chaos has struck at the top levels of werewolf society, and Sophronia Temminnick's friend Sideagh wants to be by the side of her Pack. This requires running away from Miss Geraldine's Finishing School - and of course, her friends are bound to help her.

      This ends up involving a hijacked train, a stolen airship, an Engagement Ball, out-of-control mechanical servants, and a plot involving both the nefarious Picklemen and vampires - with a special reappearance by Sophronia's old nemesis. [not necessarily in that order, and far from being an inclusive list.]

      Of course, both the dapper and alluring Lord Felix Mersey, and the charming and dependable (but oh so low-class!) Soap are on hand, and there are developments on the romance front as well...

      The book ends on a satisfying note - but with room for plenty more adventures.

      It's often hard for humor to win me over, but Carriger is one of the few humorous authors that I wholeheartedly enjoy. A highly recommended series.

      Many, many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
    • 4/5
      Unbelievable but whimsical.
    • 4/5
      Read from December 04 to 07, 2015I think this might be my favorite of the series so far -- outside of school adventures, Sophronia had some personal revelations, the connections to Parasol Protectorate. Wonderful!
    • 4/5
      Loved this just as much as I loved the previous books in the series. Loved getting more info on how Sidheag ended up back with the Kingair pack and once again seeing how kick butt Saphronia is. For a while I thought the book would end up on a cliff hanger b/c I couldn't see a way to wrap it up in time but it all came to a quick conclusion without feeling rushed to me. It continues to be a fun series and I can't wait until the next book.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: Sophrina has found that her weapon of choice is a fan - with vey sharp blades. She has also found that Sidheag's family (pack) is in deep trouble and that Sophrina must risk her life, as well as Dimity's, Soap's and Felix's to help her. She also learns more than she expected about vampires, werewolves and Picklemen.Review: This is another entertaining book with several interesting twists and turns. It's also a nice look at young people growing up and learning about love, friendship, family solidarity and betrayal.
    • 4/5
      These books are a complete blast, and I cannot wait for the last one to come out! Again adventures of Sophronia and her crew, this time including fighting with bladed-fans, a stolen train and some highly interesting happenings at the end. Although I like these books better than Soulless, I've decided to give them another try, since I was having so much fun with Waistcoats & weaponry.
    • 4/5
      Sophronia is back in the thick of it in the latest entry in the series. When her dear friend, Sidheag, is drawn into werewolf politics there is nothing for Sophronia to do but lend her aid. Of course, providing help is complicated by the entourage that comes along on this adventure. While Sophronia can always rely on her friends from Finishing School, the drama that ensues with Lord Felix Mersey and Soap being in the group is far less predictable.Another delightful steampunk adventure in the Finishing School series. As always, Sophronia is highly entertaining as she continues in her training as an intelligencer and gets pulled into adventures far beyond the ordinary. Much of the drama in this novel takes place outside the school and I appreciated the politics that are weaving their way into the narrative. There's also some major happenings in Sophronia's relationships with Felix and Soap, some of which I didn't see coming. The end of this one definitely left me eager to see what's coming in the next installment, which makes it a hit for me.
    • 4/5
      In the third installment of Gail Carriger's Finishing School steampunk series, Sophronia Temminick, her Finishing School friends Dimity and Sidheag, along with lower-class sootie Soap and dandy Lord Felix Mersey (who are both after Sophronia's affections) embark on a train-stealing adventure to foil an evil plot to destroy all mechanicals in the realm. Of course, things aren't always as they appear to be, whether it be evil plots or supposed friends. This is another fun book in the series; I was wary at first because all of the action takes place away from Mademoiselle Geraldine's School (and thus we don't get to see much of the interesting teachers), but Carriger writes the 5 main characters really well and with lots of wit, so I was happy with the change in the end. I rolled my eyes a bit at the love-triangle aspect (which most YA seems unable to avoid), but despite this, Sophronia keeps her head and her wits and never loses sight of her real mission/tasks. It turns out that she ends up making a smart decision regarding affection and potential suitors, so, again, I was happy in the end. And as always, it is a treat the way Carriger mixes proper Victorian English society with the necessarily messy and not-always polite life of a secret spy/assassin in training. I say, it's all very topping!The book ends on a slightly sad note, with many separations, so I eagerly await the next book, which is supposed to come out this year (although I expect not until October/November).
    • 4/5
      Summary: Sophronia is continuing her studies at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy, the floating airship school for training young ladies into the highest caliber of intelligencers. But although she excels at lessons like fighting with steel-bladed fans, there's so much else going on in Sophronia's life that it's sometimes hard to focus on her school work. Particularly now that she has multiple young men in her life that seem to have amorous intentions. There's the charming and flirtatious Lord Felix Mersey, who's certainly an eligible catch - or would be, if his father weren't high in the order of the potentially treasonous Picklemen. He stands at a stark contrast to Soap, Sophronia's loyal sootie friend, who understands her adventurous ways but is far beneath her social station. When Sophronia's friend Sidheag receives bad news from home, she's desperate to return to Scotland, so the two of them, along with their friend Dimity, Felix, and Soap, abscond from a party and stow away aboard a seemingly empty train headed in the right direction. But what they find on the train shocks them all, and they may be the only chance England has to prevent disaster.Review: While I continue to have fun with these books, this one didn't seem quite as strong as previous installments. Part of this is likely because I really like boarding school stories, and Sophronia's classes and sneaking around the school are always some of the more interesting parts of these books, but they're only a minor element in this installment, as most of the book is spent on the ground. And while I liked the fact that Sophronia's relationships with the two boys in her life is becoming more complicated, and thought that both relationships were handled really well, this book spent a *lot* of time on that element of the story, with an unfortunate shift away from the more witty banter that characterized previous books towards a more serious tone. I also thought that the book lost a bit of its momentum - while I certainly stayed engaged while reading, in retrospect, not that much actually happens plot-wise, leaving me to wonder where the intervening pages went. So, in general, while this book was still fun, and still a fast read, and still had interesting characters and a cool setting and appropriate amounts of silliness, it seems to have lost some of the spark that has made Carriger's other books so lively. 3.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: I'm enjoying the series, but if you like steampunk novels with a medium-high absurdity quotient and haven't read these yet, I'd actually recommend waiting until next year when the final book is published; there's a fair bit of McGuffin-y technobabble to the plot that I think the series would best be read without long gaps in between.
    • 4/5
      I can't seem to get enough of Ms. Carriger's brand of witty writing - impossibly absurd situations are met with straight faced practicality. Sophronia discovers more about herself in this installment and finds her loyalties committed decisively. Can't wait to see what happens next!
    • 3/5
      Third in the series, Sophronia and friends are involved with malfunctioning mechanicals, a stolen train, Picklemen and supernatural beings.
    • 5/5
      Mechanicals, mayhem and moonlight!Sophronia's training at Miss Geraldine's continues. Now she's into lessons on seduction, fans and flirting. As the plots develops we are left in no doubt that there's something very special and unique about Sophronia.(I couldn't help it. I started to play with her name. Fascinating and fun, especially when reflecting on the strengths that Sophronia displays, those qualities that make her such a fabulous character.Sophistry is "a specious argument for displaying ingenuity in reasoning or for deceiving someone." ( Dictionary.com) And if Miss Geraldine's School is not taking Sophronia's natural talent and training her to develop her ingenuity to deceive, then I'll eat my hat!But Aha! you say, what about the 'ronia' part of her name? A Ronin is a Japanese samurai warrior. According to the Urban dictionary, a 'roni' is mentioned in a song by by Bobby Brown, " After all this time, I finally found myself a 'roni'. " (a special kind of girl) So drawing a long bow, if you put all that together you could say that Sophronia's name implies all of the above. Indeed, as we know Sophronia does combine all these facets. Wow!, no wonder she's so dynamic!)The friendship between Sophronia, Diminity, Agatha and Sidheag is as strong as ever. Problems loom on the horizon for Sidheag (Lady Kingair) and the werewolf pack. Monique is still up to no good and Soap is ever there and ever dependable. Lord Felix and his kohl eyes are as ever entrancing. Another energy packed race against unseen foes, betrayals andthe melding of vampire and werewolves interests for and against machinery into a steampunk novel of Victorian Great Britain that is as diverting as it is captivating.Sophronia continues to be that wonderful combination of loyal, shrewd, creativity, intuitive and daring do! When she focuses on a problem and begins to draw all the threads together I swear I can hear her brain whirring and clicking into place as she adds up the whys, wherefores and whatnots. Certainly her training has just shifted that ability into a higher gear.The plot rattles along at a galloping pace, never losing control. The supporting characters are interesting and strong and we are treated to even stronger "What Ho-ing!"I read the three books over two days and am now so totally hooked that I can barely wait for the fourth in the series to be published.A NetGalley ARC
    • 4/5
      Partito un po' lento e fiacco ma poi si è ripreso alla perfezione e la solita combriccola è tornata alla grande.

      Started a bit slow and weak but then the story gained strength and the usual gang of misfits came back big time.

      review to come
    • 3/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: For fans of this steampunk series, comes the action packed third book and it packs quite a punch.Opening Sentence: “Funambulist,” Sophronia Temminnick, “quite suddenly.”The Review:Sophronia and the girls are back in book three. Sidheag disappears after receiving a letter from home, and at an engagement ball Sophronia gets involved with trying to help her figure out the whole situation. The werewolf pack that Sidheag is from is in disarray after a failed attempted at treason and losing their beta and alpha. So Sophronia, Dimity, Soap and Felix hijack a train in order to return her to Scotland.Along the way Sophronia discovers that they are being followed by Picklemen and flywaymen. Will Sophronia be able to discover what is going on and save her friends? Will she figure out how she really feels about Soap? Will she have to give up everything in the end?I feel like I really struggled to review this book. I had read the first book awhile back and didn’t care for it. When I found that I was going to review this one, I went back to read it again and read book 2. So don’t take this as negative, I can recognize the humor, the wonderful writing, but for some reason steampunk is just hit or miss with me. I keep finding books I want to read in this genre, but I just don’t know what it is that doesn’t jive with me. I love alternative histories, and I love sci-fi, so steampunk should be totally up my alley and instead I find that I just don’t always like it. So for me these books are okay, but saying that I see what people love about them.So if you love this series you are going to love Waistcoats and Weaponry. It is a great third book, it is action packed and fast paced. A couple of things that I do appreciate about this series is the humor, and I will say I totally adore the finishing school. Young girls learning to be intelligence operatives, and assassin skills just rocks. I cannot rave about that enough. So while I freely admit that this series doesn’t seem to be for me, I refuse to say bad things about these books, because the writing is witty, the world building is great and the characters are amazing.Notable Scenes:“It was their vampire teacher’s custom of late to administer decidedly oddball lessons.”“Espionage, Sophronia had learned, was tough on petticoats.”“The shame of it to show weakness and then affection, with a teacher.”“This intent to turn werewolf felt near to a betrayal.”“Evil geniuses in training were encouraged to develop eccentricities.”“They stood watch in a silence so awkward it burned the back of Sophronia’s eyes.”“It was the final embrace of lovers about to be parted forever, worthy of Romeo and Juliet.”FTC Advisory: Little Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette provided me with a copy of Waistcoats & Weaponry. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 4/5
      In this exciting third episode of the Finishing School series, Sophronia and her friends Sidheag, Soap, and Lord Felix have to make some life-altering decisions. They are all about sixteen and thoughts of their futures are intruding on their educations.Sophronia is trying to decide where she should seek patronage after she leaves school. She is being wooed by Lord Akeldama and is also being encouraged by the one who set her on the course to this school to adopt the Queen as her patron. Sophronia is torn. She is trying to ease her young suitor Lord Felix away from his father's party - the Picklemen, who are opposed to the supernaturals in society.She is also fighting her feelings for her old friend Soap but he doesn't fit into society at all. He is African and is a sootie who works in the bowels of her floating school. He knows that their social classes prohibit any relationship but it doesn't stop his longing for her. His solution is to become a werewolf which would be remove some of the barriers. But Sophronia is aware that trying to become a werewolf is a huge gamble and she's afraid for her friend.Meanwhile, the story takes place on a train that the kids have hijacked in their quest to help Sidheagb get home to her pack in Scotland. It just so happens that the train is being run by some vampire drones who are tracking suspicious Pickleman activity. Various actions in this story help Sophronia decide where her true loyalties lie and what her future should be. Look out, bad guys! Sophronia is an opponent to be reckoned with.
    • 4/5
      Pros: fun, quirky charactersCons: more action than plotSophronia and her friends are enjoying school a year after their last adventure when Sidheag receives a distressing letter. She disappears and when Dimity and Sophronia attend Sophronia’s brother’s engagement ball, they rejoin her and stumble upon several plots.This is the third book in the Finishing School series, and it is best read in order as plot points from the previous books, specifically several direct consequences from book two, are important to what’s happening here. As with the other books, the girls are all quirky and fun to read about. We see them apply their talents in different ways as they rise to the challenges they face. The book is a quick and enjoyable read.Unlike in the earlier books where the girls come across something strange and decide to investigate it, actively looking for new clues, in this volume they’re helping their friend and stumble across the mystery purely by chance. They find out more of what’s going on in the wider political world and several of them have to make decisions that will greatly affect their futures.Sophronia has several major decisions to make in this book regarding her future: whether she likes Felix Mersey, whose father is a pickleman (a political position Sophronia abhors) enough to form an attachment with him; what kind of future relationship she wants with Soap, whose social standing is far beneath hers but whose advice and friendship she greatly appreciates; and what patron she wants when she graduates, as Lord Akeldama’s been sending her gifts in an attempt to sway her in his direction. I personally found the action on the train less interesting than what happened before it. I love the school and the dynamic there, and was a bit sad that so much of the book took place off of it. Having said that, the train did show off the girls’ prowess and contained some fun action sequences. I’m really looking forward to book 4, Manners & Mutiny, which I believe will conclude the series.