Curtsies & Conspiracies

Gail Carriger is truly an author of Quality!

If you could sum up Curtsies & Conspiracies in three words, what would they be?

Deliciously delightful deceit.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Vieve. The child is truly an evil genius of the highest caliber and everyone has to love an evil genius. Also, Steam. Propelled. Roller. Skates. That is all.

Which character – as performed by Moira Quirk – was your favorite?

I do not believe I can name just a single character. Moira Quirk is absolutely brilliant. She breaths life into the characters and the world. Listening to this series would not be the same without her.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I laughed out loud at several parts and had more than one moment of concern for the characters throughout. The 'fall' was one of the better scenes in the book. I will not spoil it for all by pontificating further.

Any additional comments?

If you are reading this then you should be using your credit to purchase this and the previous books immediately. This is one of the best written and performed books on audible. It is a rare mixture of adventure, comedy, supernatural, and steampunk executed with a masters stroke. Each consecutive book from Miss Carriger gets better and better. I guarantee, gentle reader, that you will not be disappointed.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Excellent Follow-up

Any additional comments?

Gail Carriger writes another amazing book. If you are new to Gail Carriger's writings, she mixes the supernatural with steampunk Victorian England to produce some really entertaining stories. But what resonates most with me is her hilarious, dry wit. I hope Ms. Carriger writes for a long, long time. The narration is great until Lord Akeldama enters the story. Moira Quirk does not capture Lord Akeldama’s character as vividly as Emily Gray does.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Perfect!

An Audible narrator can often make or break a book: in this case, we have a narrator who really appreciates the nuances of the book and brings all the quirky characters to glorious life. I can't imagine reading this on my own now without all the great affectations and accents, personality and charm, brought about by narrator Moira Quirk.

All the adventure of the first novel is in the second: Sephronia is tested and pronounced the quickest study in the history of the school. This causes problems with her friends, who distance themselves from her after being told she is furtively spying on them. But what might just be a kidnapping attempt of Dimity and her brother draws Sephronia further into the plot around the mysterious device of the first book. As well, she will find herself between two amorous boys: Soap the sootie and Lord Mersey, son of a duke. What will a girl do?

I greatly enjoyed this book - even more so than the first one. Although I didn't welcome the addition of a bit of a love triangle, the inventiveness of the names, plots, and characters more than made up for that. Sephronia gets into all the action of the first novel and uncovers plots with alacrity. Even with the whole school turned against her, Sephronia navigates her way quite intelligently and with fun.

Gail Carriger has really caught her stride with this book and I eagerly await her next book.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Still a great story, still a great narrator

And still pronunciation/voice problems. The deviation from established character voices/pronunciations remains the biggest fault in the series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fun with a dash of steam punk

A wonderful tale of action, espionage in the settinbg of a special school and all that that implies. Carriger does a brilliant job of weaving the natural, supernatural together with the quirky actions and good wit of well written characters in this slightlky steam punk novel. Quirks narration does a fantastic job bringing it off the written page into your head.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

one of the best narrations

The book itself was fun, I like that the author doesn't put huge walls between the individual novels, each is like a chapter of the story, but it is really the narration that made me fall in love. The narrator's upbeat tone and seamless transition from scottish gentlelady raised by werewolves to middleaged british dandy is truly extraordinary.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

More supernatural steampunk fun

I never thought I'd love a series based on a spy school, but I so do. It is wonderful. I adore how Ms. C crafts a tale, especially how she points out how ridiculous the trappings of Victorian society could be. Add a nicely woven bit of the supernatural and I'm all set. And this falls clearly into the 'cozy' realm...no over the top blood and gore descriptions.

This series also is great because it is about a female protagonist who not only doesn't need a male to save her, she is the one who does the saving.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Curtsies & Conspracies: Finishing School, Book 2

What did you love best about Curtsies & Conspiracies?

What a great book to listen to!!! While I did not read the first book in this series, The Finishing School. I picked up quickly the finishing school for girls taking place on a dirigible (floating boat with all kinds of bells and whistles) and being educated in all things having to do with espionage, spies and etiquette. I howled with laughter at the crazy names of professors, the mechanical dog, Bumbersnoot, and Sophronia's schemes. This was an adventurous romp and I particularly enjoyed Gail Carriger's steampunk--I will definitely read all the others and now I understand why my students LOVED all her books!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sophronia because she was sneaky and brave.

What about Moira Quirk’s performance did you like?

I loved they way she narrated all the voices; I loved listening to her!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

As I listened to this book, I realized why my students enjoyed this book- the mysteries, the steampunk, the technology and descriptions of clothing was key.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I love this series

This book was as exciting as the first. I can't wait to start the third.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Superbly delightful!

What did you love best about Curtsies & Conspiracies?

A delightfully easy and fun listen! Fantastically entertaining!

What about Moira Quirk’s performance did you like?

Her voicing is superb! Each character is perfectly matched with an accent to bring out their personality.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful