Manners and Mutiny Written by Gail CarrigerNarrated by Moira Quirk

The Picklemen are up to no good, as usual, but this time, it appears that they just might succeed in their evil plan. Exactly what that plan is remains uncertain, though it clearly involves Madame Geraldine’s finishing school. Sephronia and her closest group of friends have become aware that something evil is afoot, but no one seems to believe them, at least not until it is too late to do much about it. Or so it seems. But once again, Sephronia and the others are determined to turn a situation where failure seems assured into a way to succeed and if not save the school, at least to save London.

I listened to the audiobook version of this title. It is the final book in the Finishing School Series and does not disappoint.  The narrator once again does a great job of keeping the characters’ voices distinct from each other so that there is no confusion as to who is speaking at any point. There is a lot happening in this story, and it will take all of Sephronia and the other girls’ skills as they work together to succeed. With the school evacuated of most of the students and Sephronia working to try and save it from the Picklemen who have hijacked it, the question seems to be whether or not Sephronia will be able to save the remaining teachers and sooties still on board the airship while not getting caught, all while finding a way to thwart the plot that is already underway. But if anyone can manage it, it will be Sephronia and her friends. This book was full of action and danger, as well as being entertaining to watch the girls use their skills and allies to do everything they could to stop these evil men and try to come out of it alive.

This was a very fun story and an exciting ending to the series. I also love how it sets things up for another series by Ms. Carriger, (one that I had already read before discovering this series). So I really enjoyed seeing how the characters not only became who they are, but how they fit into the other series (even if they are not prominent in that one. I believe they are at least mentioned if I am remembering correctly.) I enjoyed this series.

If you have read any of Ms. Carriger’s books and enjoyed them, then I believe you will enjoy this book as well, Of course, I would recommend that you read the first three books in this series before this one as I believe that you will lose some of the excitement if you do not know the why of some of the things happening in this book. If you enjoy steampunk stories, this will also be one that I believe you will enjoy as well.

https://amzn.to/3B4D1Pq (Amazon link)

https://books2read.com/u/mVLQE2 (Books2Read link to other vendors)

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup

Caroline is an author who is attempting to write a fantasy romance novel while working a full-time job in a busy company. Between a boss who is continually having computer problems happening at work, a heroine who is often less than cooperative with Caroline’s direction for the story, and an editor who does his best to keep her from adding in events that don’t make sense in the setting, it all makes for a very amusing story where there is always something happening, it just isn’t always what Caroline was planning.

I was gifted with a copy of this book for review. And it was a very fun read. As happens to many writers I know, Caroline’s story and characters take on a life of their own and often refuse to do what she wants them to be doing, thus taking the story in a different direction than the one she had planned. And to me, that added an extra level of entertainment to the story.

I also loved how Caroline would interrupt her characters at various points during the story to try and talk them into doing what she had expected them to be doing. It was also quite amusing to see the arguments she has with them about not only their story, but events and problems in Caroline’s life. And more often than not, these discussions or arguments with her characters, as well as their following their own instincts rather than her plans made the story in and of itself more entertaining and better. And again, the fact that I know multiple authors who have often wound up with one or more characters taking a story in a completely different direction that what was planned truly entertained me and often had me smiling as I read.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Fantasy romance novels with a twist, stories making fun of writing tropes, and stories that contain parallel storylines will enjoy this book. I think that most who choose to give this book a try will enjoy it.

https://amzn.to/3Z374Bb (Amazon Link

https://books2read.com/u/3J2dwv (Vooks2Read link to other vendors)

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Waistcoats and Weaponry Written by Gail Carriger Narrated by Moira Quirk

In the third year at Madame Geraldine’s Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality, many things are happening. Sephronia’s least favorite person, Monique, is no longer at the school, so you might think this year would be much more pleasant. However, the Kingaire wolfpack had staged a mutiny against the crown, and Sidheag feels that she must rejoin them as they are now without an Alpha Wolf. She feels that she is desperately needed there and is determined to find her way there, no matter what. So clearly Sephronia  and Dimity are determined to help her. And not wanting them to face the dangers of the journey alone, their friend Soap, the head Sootie, won’t let them go without him, and Lord Felix Mersey is also determined to help. Naturally, Soap and Felix don’t see eye to eye on much, as both are falling in love with Sephronia, though she doubts the suitability of either as a potential future husband, though she is extremely fond of them both, and possibly even a little in love with each of them as well. With the girls disguised as young men, they hide aboard on a suspiciously empty train headed in the right direction, and soon find themselves involved in another adventure that requires all of the girls' espionage skills to survive.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and enjoyed it just as much as I did the previous books in the series. The narration was well done with each voice quite distinct from each other, leaving no difficulty in determining who was speaking at any point in the story. This book forces each of the characters to face significant changes in their lives, and ones that they may not have been quite ready for. It is a difficult journey for each of them, and not all of them reach the ending unscathed. I cannot tell you exactly what happened without including massive spoilers, which I don’t want to do. You’ll enjoy the story more if you discover what happens for yourself. But I can tell you that near the end of this one, my heart was nearly breaking for several of them. This one is a bit of an emotional story at the end, and will very likely have a significant impact on other books from this author that take place in this world.

What I can say is that I have been greatly enjoying listening to this series, and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. I think anyone who has enjoyed any of Ms. Carrigers other steampunk novels will enjoy this book, though I highly recommend having read the previous books in the Finishing School series before this one. It will help everything to make much more sense if you do. Those who enjoy reading Steampunk or any of Ms. Carriger’s series will also enjoy this one, as while it takes place slightly before some of her other series, many of the same characters do make appearances in this book as well.

https://amzn.to/4dCrzsX(Amazon link)

https://books2read.com/u/bPGv9A (Books2Read link to other vendors)

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Highly Flawed Individual by T.C. Roberts

Archie was a man who loved women, many of them and extremely often… at least until Jezebel and a sexually transmitted disease. The two may have happened at about the same time, but one did not cause the other. Needing to refrain from having sex, caused Archie to come to realize that he was a sex addict, and that Jezebel was special. She was someone he could actually fall in love with and see himself being with for more than just sex.

This was an interesting story. I will admit that I began by not really liking Archie, but through the story, something almost shifted, and I began to feel some sympathy for him. But I am afraid that the ending left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied and once again beginning to dislike him. While he has improved and grown in many ways, I am not really sure I can feel any true sympathy for him. Part of me feels like he grew as a person as his actions at the end were, in his mind, meant to protect Jezebel, but the other part of me sees them as much more about protecting himself from his own previous poor decisions. I have a hard time feeling like he actually did learn his lesson and feel like he will wind up returning to his own previously poor behavior, and will likely end up in more trouble than he was attempting to escape from.

While the book ends suddenly at the event that led to the beginning of the story, I felt like I wanted just a bit more. (I had to go back and reread a bit of the beginning in order to remember what happens to him after the book ends. Sounds slightly confusing to try and explain doesn’t it?) I also need to warn you that there are some pretty descriptive sexual encounters throughout this book. 

It’s not a bad story. As I said, the character descriptions are vivid, and the character personalities do shine through quite clearly. I received a review copy of this book, but I don’t believe I was the intended target audience. I’ve heard this described as “lad-lit”, which might explain my luke-warm feelings about it. (Think “chick-lit” but targeted at men rather than women. So my being female may have colored my perceptions about the story somewhat.) I think that there are others who might enjoy it more than I did, particularly those who enjoy stories involving introspection and vivid descriptions, romance, and love vs lust stories. There is a lot of sex and a lot of sports and sports-related violence. There's also some instances involving what I perceive as male dominance posturing toward other males who are attracted to the same woman.

But for me, I felt like there was something more that I wanted from this story. I know that not all stories will have happy endings, but this one just left me feeling rather disappointed and unsatisfied. (Probably because as I mentioned above, I don’t feel like I was the target audience for this book.) Of course, if you really want to know why and what I’m talking about, you’ll have to read the book yourself to decide if you agree or disagree with my feelings about it.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Curtsies and Conspiracies Written by Gail Carriger Narrated by Moira Quirk

At the end of her six month probationary period at Madamoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality, all the girls in her class are given individual tests to see how well they have been learning their lessons. These tests are particularly important given that while the students are being trained to be proper young women, they are also being trained in espionage, although this is something the headmistress is unaware of. Thus part of their training involves keeping the headmistress from learning about the more covert aspects of the girls’ education. But even the test itself comes with its own lessons for the girls to learn. And after this comes another surprise. The school, along with several young gentlemen from the Bunson’s school for boys, which is one of the best schools around for young men who wish to be known as evil geniuses, will all be traveling to London for a test involving travel in the Ethersphere. An exciting time for all involved.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and really enjoyed it. Once again, Sephronia and her friends find themselves in quite a bit of trouble. And they must put the skills they have been trained in thus far to use in an attempt to not only figure out who is behind a new danger, but to help rescue some their own from a kidnapping. But the question remains, who actually is the bigger threat, the Vampires, the Werewolves, the Flywaymen, or the Picklemen? And which one is behind the current danger that Sephronia and the others suddenly find themselves in the middle of. And of course, there is Monique’s London Society Debut Ball to attend.

This was a very fun story with quite a few twists and turns. And if you are familiar with some of the other series of books by Ms. Carriger, then you will likely recognize some familiar faces in this book, though I believe this series takes place before the others. Still, it was fun to be introduced to those characters in a new light, and this book does give the reader quite a bit of insight into many of the dramas that take place with the characters within the various series.

The narrator does a fantastic job with keeping each character distinct from each other so that the listener does not get confused as to who is speaking. And I found the steampunk novel as well as the characters themselves quite entertaining. If you’ve enjoyed any of Ms. Carrager’s other books, either read or listened to as an audiobook, then I believe you will also enjoy this book as well.

https://amzn.to/3WYV2qT (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/mqQ6Yd (Books2Read link to other Vendors)

Back to You by Richard Plourde

John Fisher thought he had it all: Money, a gorgeous girlfriend, fantastic life, expected to soon be given a partnership position at work, his life was pretty perfect. And then he was diagnosed with leukemia. His life was saved by an anonymous bone marrow donor, but after that, it seemed like everything fell apart. His girlfriend left him, he threw himself into his work, his attitude turned to being rude and no longer caring about other people, and his employer didn’t give him the promotion and instead forced him to take a six-month leave to find himself again, telling him to come back as the kind and caring person he used to be. Now, feeling quite lost and alone, he must find a way to put his life back together by facing his past.

I received a review copy of this book and enjoyed it. It was a very sweet tale of a man who had lost who he truly was inside. He had embraced vanity, pride, appearance and possessions, but lost something much more important, and this journey takes him back full circle. Confronting his past, his personal demons, discovering what he wants the future to hold, and how to find both himself, and his future. I found it to be an interesting contemporary tale of self-discovery. And though I saw the ending coming from early on, it was still an enjoyable tale of how they got there.

I believe that anyone who enjoys reading contemporary novels about lost love, found love, self-discovery, and facing one’s past will enjoy this book.

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Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Etiquette and EspionageWritten by Gail CarrigerNarrated by Moira Quirk

Sephronia Temmenick was the youngest daughter in a large family. Her eldest sister is about to have her “coming out” party to introduce her to the other noble families and which could make or break her chances for an advantageous marriage. However as Sephronia is still a rather wild and unruly girl who is more interested in climbing trees and other “unseemly” things (such as dismantling clocks) for a young lady, and who cannot even curtsy or show the proper manners, it is recommended by an older family friend that she be sent to Madame Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. What neither Sephronia nor her family are aware of is that this finishing school is not the normal finishing school that most assume it to be. Instead, while it does train the students in the usual things taught at a finishing school, it also trains the girls in covert espionage tactics. And Sephronia is a covert recruit, who until she arrives, is herself unaware that this is not a normal finishing school.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The story in this steampunk novel was very entertaining and the narrator did an excellent job of keeping the individual voices distinct from each other. I enjoyed listening to Sephronia’s exploits at her new school, and her discovering that there were advantages to knowing some of the things a “proper lady” was expected to know, and how to use those skills to her benefit, both personally and professionally.

And naturally, as can be expected when there is a large group of students gathered together, there are usually some bullies among them. And in this case, Sephronia seems to have started out by making an enemy out of one of the older girls, simply in the process of trying to save her from a group of villains attempting to kidnap her.

This book clearly ties into the world of both the Parasol Protectorate and Custard Protocal series, though it takes place in a time before either of them. So if you happen to have read any of the books in either series, some of the characters within this book may be somewhat familiar to you.

Overall, I did enjoy listening to this book and look forward to continuing on with this series.

https://amzn.to/3LLmYYU (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/31nLV6 (Books2Read link to other Vendors)