Me on Manners & Mutiny

Title: Manners & Mutiny
Author: Gail Carriger
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she's not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster—in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.

Manners & Mutiny is the final book in what's become an adventurous, clever, witty, and entertaining series. Unique characters. Conflict upon conflict up on torn loyalties. Vampires and werewolves and young ladies flashing fans in order to send secret messages.

Sophronia is, as always, Sophronia. Looking for the hidden truths in peoples' actions. Looking to uncover the plot of the Picklemen. But with her past transgressions and actions being held against her, it's harder and harder for her to find those in positions of authority at Madmoiselle Geraldine's to believe her claims. Difficult, yes, but Sophronia isn't one to back down. She soldiers on, worrying about her friends, worrying about Soap. Wondering if Agatha is right, that she now assumes the worst of people, even her own family. Does she? After her time at finishing school, does Sophronia now no longer trust anyone? Does she assume that everyone lies, that everyone has something to hide? Pessimistic, yes, but the past few years have taught her to be suspicious, taught her to observe and discover. Training to be an intelligencer does change one.

As with the previous books, there is no shortage of mystery or deception, of truth-seeking or secret-uncovering. Of Picklemen-hunting or sootie friendship-making. But this is certainly the most dastardly plan Sophronia has ever had to untangle and thwart. The one that might reveal the most about this secretive intelligencer world of hers. The one that, if mishandled, might bring down society as they know it. Fortunately, Sophronia isn't one to back down and will go down with the ship, so to speak, if that means saving the day.

This series is dangerous, comical, intriguing, full to the brim with the impossible, and I've enjoyed it immensely. It took some time for me to enjoy the first, to allow myself to be immersed in this world, because it requires full immersion. This series needs you to listen, to watch and observe and follow Sophronia during these years at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. It needs to to believe in airships and mechanimals, in vampires and werewolves, in the impossible. Now that it's all over, I should like to re-read it, see what secrets, if any, are given away early. A great series to read for those looking for steampunk and a story that mainly focuses on adventure and intelligence with a dash of female friendship and romance thrown in for fun.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on This Week's Book Week (180)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

Hi all! Not much rambling today. Big hugs to everyone who needs it/needed to take a step back this weekend. A lot of sad things have happened over the last few days. If you need time to take care of yourself, then take it. *hugs*

There's a giveaway going on! I know, I rarely do these. In honour of 5 years blogging about books and posting 500 reviews in some form or another, go here to enter the giveaway. There will be more than 1 winner, so make sure you enter as much as you can! :)

Reviews going up this coming week will feature Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger (Tuesday) and Winter by Marissa Meyer (Friday). :)

Bought/borrowed/received:

Winter by Marissa Meyer (Bought)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Bought)

Me on A Pocket Full of Murder

Title: A Pocket Full of Murder
Author: R.J. Anderson
Release Date: September 8, 2015
Publisher: Atheneum

In the spell-powered city of Tarreton, the wealthy have all the magic they desire while the working class can barely afford a simple spell to heat their homes. Twelve-year-old Isaveth is poor, but she's also brave, loyal, and zealous in the pursuit of justice—which is lucky, because her father has just been wrongfully arrested for murder. Isaveth is determined to prove his innocence. Quiz, the eccentric eyepatch-wearing street boy who befriends her, swears he can't resist a good mystery. Together they set out to solve the magical murder of one of Tarreton's most influential citizens and save Isaveth's beloved Papa from execution. But each clue is more perplexing than the next. Was the victim truly killed by Common Magic—the kind of crude, cheap spell that only an unschooled magician would use—or was his death merely arranged to appear that way? And is Quiz truly helping her out of friendship, or does he have hidden motives of his own? Isaveth must figure out who she can trust if she's to have any hope of proving her Papa's innocence in time. . .

A Pocket Full of Murder is layered, smart, and wonderfully magical. This is a tale of a bright new heroine in a magical city of secrets, her relationship with her family, and her mystery hunting with a curious new companion. The truth must be discovered, but will it happen in time?

Isaveth is a brave girl, a determined girl. Determined to help her family, to discover the truth, to protect her siblings. The different kinds of relationships she has with her siblings are honest and realistic, as is the unwavering father she has in her father. As is the curiosity she has in Quiz when few things about him make much sense. She's also a bit of a lost girl trying to pick out a place for herself in the world. A daydreamer, she relishes in the moments she's allowed to have for herself, the moments of imagining the adventures of her favourite radio show heroine. She's a well-meaning girl who knows when something feels wrong, who knows when the truth needs ferreting out. But danger lurks because some very powerful people want the truth kept secret.

The different pieces that make up this book are woven together so well. The ways the people in the city are separated, by social standing, religion, and magic. It's a glamorous city with its own biases and rejections, its unwarranted disdain of those less fortunate. This book treats those divisions so well, presents them with such clarity that you cannot escape the harsh truth of the world, the unfairness of it. The wondering why those with money and influence would fear those without.

This book is all kinds of sweetness and sadness and magic. I want to push this book into the hands of kids and teens and adults to see which pieces of Tarreton they see in the real world. Which parts of familial support and complicated friendships they see. How often they find someone to be discriminated against because of their religion, their race, or their economic standing. For as many happy moments as there are, there are sad moments. A magical city, yes, but that doesn't mean it's free of hatred or fear.

(I received a finished copy of this title from Simon & Schuster Canada.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (252)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Wink Poppy Midnight
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Publisher: Dial Books (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

The intrigue of The Virgin Suicides and the "supernatural or not" question of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer coalesce in this young adult mystery, where nothing is quite as it seems, no one is quite who you think, and everything can change on a dime.

Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.

For fans of Holly Black, We Were Liars, and The Raven Boys, this mysterious tale full of intrigue, dread, beauty, and a whiff of something strange will leave you utterly entranced.

This just sounds so bizarre. I'm hoping its going to be full of intrigue, vague or not-so-vague magic, and some extremely different characters.

Me on Lost Stars

Title: Lost Stars
Author: Claudia Gray
Release Date: September 4, 2015
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press

The reign of the Galactic Empire has reached the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan, where aristocratic Thane Kyrell and rural villager Ciena Ree bond over their love of flying. Enrolling at the Imperial Academy is nothing less than a dream come true for both of them. But Thane sours on the dream when he sees firsthand the horrific tactics the Empire uses to maintain its ironclad rule. Bitter and disillusioned, he joins the fledgling rebellion, putting Ciena in an unbearable position between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for the man she's known since childhood. Now on opposite sides of the war, will these friends turned foes ever find a way to be together, or will duty tear them, and the galaxy, apart?

Lost Stars is an exciting adventure across a distant galaxy following two people somehow fated to be together. As much as duty, honour, loyalty, choice, keeps them apart, they seem to find a way back to each other. But with being on either side of a war, are they also doomed?

Thane is full of adventure. Growing up on Jelucan, he couldn't wait to fly, to escape. It's all he's dreamed of, being a pilot for the Empire. Flying every kind of craft he can get his hands on. But the truth is hard to accept. Ciena is filled with honour and respect. Loyalty. She's smart and passionate, strong, and believes in the oath she's taken with every part of her. Well, almost every part. But for her, giving your word is everything. Their different personalities clash repeatedly but they work so well together as children, then in the Imperial Academy. The bold soldier and the moral compass. As much as they work well, their perception of the world, of the Empire, will be different. It makes them human, makes them believable.

For fans of the franchise, this should be a joy to read. Events happen alongside the plots of the films, occasionally meeting and revealing a familiar character or two, and you're sent back to the movies, trying to pick out what point in time it is. Where characters like Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia would be. But it never detracts from Ciena or Thane. This is still their story, their version of the clash between Empire and Rebellion.

While the book is billed as a star-crossed lovers story, and while I've even said that to some extent here, that's not all it is. It's a look at honour and loyalty, at duty and choice. At making those hard decisions and doing what you feel is right, even when someone you've known for years, someone you love, feels differently. It's a brutal look at how war separates and destroys, even when we think we're following a path of good intentions. I would definitely recommend this to Star Wars fans, to those looking forward to the upcoming movie, to those looking for something so in-depth in such a familiar universe. Also, there just has to be another book. It has a proper ending, don't worry, but it can't just end like that.

(I purchased a copy of this book.)