


Then, just as we think Sophronia and Soap are finally making a conscious choice to be together, something truly surprising and gasp-inducing happens. Things finally did speed up (literally) toward the end, as the gang tries to outrun some dangerous enemies. I’d have liked a little less talk and a lot more action ( Toby Keith style). Much of that grew tedious, especially her inner thoughts, which sounded too stilted to be actual thought and also gave a sense of feeding information to the reader. Instead of edge-of-your-seat action, much was told in conversation and a lot of inner dialogue from Sophronia. They were on a long trip, but I really didn’t want to feel like I had train-lag at journey’s end. Like the previous book, however, the middle dragged. The first and last third of the book kept my attention with ongoing conflict and a sense of urgency. What she doesn’t know, however, is if she can trust Felix’s intentions, considering his father and associates are notorious “Picklemen”-sort of like the mafia of this steampunk world. Both are smitten with Sophronia, and she with both of them, for different reasons. We’re also pulled into a bit of a love triangle featuring Soap the sootie and Felix Mercey, rich son of a duke.

Just as the last book drew us into vampire politics, this one features the tricky and treacherous world of werewolf culture. They have good reason for such vagrancy, as their dear schoolmate, Sidheag, wants to return as quickly as possible to her Scottish werewolf family. The rest takes place in and around a train that Sophronia and friends hijack. All our favorite main characters are back, with fewer new characters introduced, and fewer appearances of the supporting characters.Īs opposed to the first two books, only a short portion of this story takes place in Madame Geraldine’s airship school. This third installment of the Finishing School steampunk series brings us back to the misadventures of Sophronia Temminick and friends as they float above the English countryside in a giant airship/school. If it had been the last one, it would have been wholly unsatisfying, so with that in mind, I have to be a little more flexible with this review. Having been enchanted greatly with the first, and slightly less with the second, I was glad to discover that this was not the final book in the series. After a long wait, I finally got my hands on a copy of the third book in the Finishing School Series.
