Etiquette & Espionage
RECOMMENDED: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger by $1.99! This is the first book in the Finishing School series, which both Carrie and I highly recommend. This is young adult with a steampunk historical setting. And would you look at that cover. Readers loved the creative, whimsical setting, though some expressed difficulty in reading a lot at one time. They had to take breaks every few chapters because of the overwhelming twee-ness. The book has a 3.7-star rating on GoodReads and, if you’re looking to binge read the series, the next two books are also on sale for $1.99. Curtsies & Conspiracies ( A | K | G | AB ) and Waistcoats & Weaponry ( A | K | G | AB | Au ).
It’s one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It’s quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners–and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine’s, young ladies learn to finish…everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage–in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year’s education.
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We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han is $1.99! I’ve heard really good things about this young adult book, and the premise seems fun and cheeky. A few readers felt that the book had no clear ending, while many felt the plot was original and just downright cute. It has a 4-star rating on GoodReads. Has anyone picked up this title?
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this book last summer and gave it a B-:
This book was not the best book I’ve every read, but I had a lot of fun with it. It was like those snack size bags of potato chips – yummy, quick, not super-deep, but fun. I especially enjoyed Hadley’s relationship with her parents. The stuff about her dad was truly emotionally powerful. The romance with Oliver was less powerful, but I believe that was intentional. It’s not the focus of the book.
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.
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Uninvited by Sophie Jordan is $1.99! Young adult with a scifi/dystopian plot, the blurb calling it “The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report” made my ears perk up like whoa. Though many found the book engaging, especially with the aspects of science fiction, a few readers found the heroine a tad Mary Sue-ish. Has anyone read this book? Care to weigh in?
The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she’s destined to become a murderer.
When Davy Hamilton’s tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn’t feel any different, but genes don’t lie. One day she will kill someone.
Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he’s not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.
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And the other Gail Carriger series — Parasol Protectorate (Souless/Changeless/Blameless/Heartless/Timeless) are all 2.99 on Kindle as well. These are set 50 years after the YA books. Steampunk mixed with paranormal. The first book Soulless is probably the closest to a romance tropes.
Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series is $2.99 per Kindle book at the moment. (Unless you’re geo blocked like I am—woe!)
Also, I highly recommend the audiobooks* for the Finishing School series, so snag the whispersync while you’re at it… (*Okay, so I’ve only listened to the first one so far—I’m hoarding my credits for a rainy day—but it was a totally awesome listen, entertaining and full of giggle-snorts. Hilarious book, great narration.)
@Julia aka mizzelle I think it’s more like twenty years, not fifty. A couple of characters from FS show up in PP all grown up. (Might be more, I recognized two.)
@ms bookjunkie Oops, yes, that’s right, I don’t know why I thought there was more difference. But yes, there are lots of Easter Eggs you’ll discover depending which order you read them!
Are any actual YAs reading all these YA books?
Well, here’s my grand opportunity to round out my Parasol Protectorate collection AND glom a whole new Carriger series at the same time. Everybody’s working
for the weekendto support their reading habit.BTW, the Amazon link for Waistcoats & Weaponry goes to the hardcover instead of the ebook.
Wishing these sales were around before I dropped $8 for each of the Carriger books… but let’s face it, I wouldn’t wait for a sale for them anyway. Can’t wait for the next one.
My 14YO (15 in June) Girl-child loves the Finishing School books, and so do I (and I think, when she spent last summer with my parents, she got my mom hooked, too). We are anxiously awaiting the 4th & final book (which I think doesn’t come out until FALL; it’s so HARD!) and I admit I’m excited for the Custard Protocol books, which follow the Parasol Protectorate timeline-wise and star Prudence, daughter of Lord Maccon and Alexia.
LML @#5 — My 12 year old daughter is tearing through the Finishing School books and loving every word. So yes… some YAs are reading them… but I admit I am waiting right behind her for my turn 🙂