Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

I'm not a steam-punk reader, and even though I keep talking about reading more of the genre, I never seem to find books that I feel like reading. Until this one. This one is awesome.

Etiquette and Esponiage is the YA version of a steampunk/paranormal series (Parasol Protectorate) that I have never read. But it still holds its own as a standalone novel. I imagine that if you follow the series, you'll find some familiar characters or something like that.

The book follows Sophronia, an unruly fourteen year old who gets sent to finishing school. Only it's a finishing school like no other - where else do you learn to kill? But even if it's a different school from what she was dreading, fitting in and learning the ropes is bound to be hard, especially when you're what they call a 'covert recruit' (which means she had no idea what she was getting into).

For some reason, this book reminds me of the Enid Blyton boarding school stories. There is the mean girl, the shy girl, the girl you become best friends with, really, most of the story is about friendships. There is a plot about a secret device, but it seems to be on the backburner for most of the story. I don't really mind, because I love reading this sort of stories though.

I think the worldbuilding was really great! I like all the stuff they did, and it was very very interesting to read about a world run by steam, and with werewolves and vampires.

Personally, I'm looking forward to reading more of this - I'm glad it's going to be a series (it says Finishing School #1 so it has to be series!)