Anyways, I'll try to get back on more of a normal blogging schedule this week. Starting with:
Curtsies & Conspiracies, the second novel in the Finishing School series. Sophronia's back for another rousing adventure at Mademoiselle Geraldine's, this time with a couple new intrigues. The curious prototype from the last novel is still causing a stir for Sophronia and her friends, but there's another source of uproar, too.
Boys.
A few young men from Bunsen's, their brother school, are spending the term on board the girls' dirigible, along with one of their professors, Algonquin Shrimpdittle. Sophronia knows that some of the boys are being trained to take over for their fathers in their anti-supernatural clubs, but that doesn't stop her from flirting with Felix, a young lord who's definitely interested in her.
Of course, multiple problems arise over the course of the book. Vieve's gotten permission to disguise herself as a boy and attend Bunsen's, but Shrimpdittle knows she's a girl. Sophronia agrees to sabotage him in exchange for Vieve's gadgetry, but that deal ends up affecting one of the people around her in an unfortunate way. On top of that, Sophronia thinks her friend Soap the sootie is crushing on her, but she doesn't know how she feels about him, especially when she factors in Felix's attention. Worst of all, Dimity and her brother get kidnapped by the Westminster vampire hive, but no one seems willing to help her break them free.
This is really not what Sophronia was expecting when she learned she was going to finishing school.
First of all, I apologize for the short summary! It's been a couple weeks since I read this, so my memory's lost all the details.
I can recall that I loved this book, though. Common YA tropes - especially the Sophronia/Felix/Soap love set-up - are twisted enough to make them interesting and applicable to such a different setting, and I think it's great. I'm super glad that what could be a boring "does she love person A or B?" love triangle isn't reduced to that at all. Sophronia knows she has bigger problems that figuring out which boy to date, for one, and for two, she's genuinely in a pickle. She knows she's not really into Felix, but she's not above flirting with him and trying to be his friend, and she's concerned about ruining her best-buddies relationship with Soap if their feelings get more intense. While it's definitely a plot point, the romance doesn't overshadow the action - if anything, it fuels it, driving the story onwards. It's very well-crafted, in my opinion.
Also, Lord Akeldama's back in this book! He's one of my favorite side characters from Alexia's books, so even though he's not in Curtsies & Conspiracies a lot, it's still nice to see him. I get the feeling he'll come into more prominence in the next two books, too, which is exciting.
Overall, Curtsies & Conspiracies is a fun showcase for Sophronia's budding talents as a spy, and it never gets bogged down in unnecessary romance or action. It zips right along, and I didn't want it to ever finish. Five stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment