REVIEW: The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

Title: The Clockwork Scarab

Author: Colleen Gleason

Publisher/Publication Date: Chronicle Books, Pub. date Aug. 16, 2013

I was so excited when I picked up The Clockwork Scarab at ALA Annual 2013. I stumbled across the coupon for it in the book and was instantly smitten with the premise of Bram Stoker’s half-sister and Sherlock Holmes’s niece teaming up to solve mysteries.  Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes are both quick-witted, talented, and intelligent girls with a real passion for crime solving while still dealing with the kerfuffles that come from being sixteen-year olds in 19^th century London. The book reminds me a lot of Gail Carriger (which is high praise indeed coming from me) in that it combines humor, adventure, mystery, and manners.

Their first case involves a series of mysterious deaths of young women of means, the only link seeming to be an Egyptian scarab. Mina and Evaline must figure out how the girls are connected, what the scarab means, and who is behind these inexplicable tragedies. There is a small bit of romance thrown in but nothing overly heavy handed and the girls remain the focus of the story throughout. Though the time-traveling nature of Dylan Eckhert did feel a little out of place to me. I felt that the story was more than strong enough to stand on its own and the time-traveling didn’t really seem to fit. Gleason ties it in with other elements of the plot so that it makes sense, it just didn’t seem to fit to me. I would have preferred that little storyline be left out, but not enough that it took away any real enjoyment from reading. It will be interesting to see how that storyline continues to develop throughout the series.

The narrative goes back and forth between Mina and Evaline as narrators which is a great way to give them both a strong voice as well as to help the reader get a better sense of the ups and downs of this new partnership. It’s fascinating to watch as Mina and Evaline learn to navigate around each other and work together, no easy feat for two such strong-willed characters who are both more than aware of their exceptional nature. Sixteen is such a great age because the girls have firmly developed personalities but are still dealing with the awkwardness that comes from being an exceptional sixteen girl, especially in the 16^th century where expectations were pretty narrow.

I would definitely recommend this book for a good read. It’s thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable and I am greatly looking forward to reading more in the series as they become available. 

REVIEW: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Title: Curtsies & Conspiracies (Book the Second of the Finishing School Series)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher/Publication Date: Little, Brown and Company, anticipated pub. Date November 2014

I’m going to preface this review by acknowledging that I am a huge fan of Gail Carriger and I have utterly adored every single book of hers that I have read. So it probably comes as no surprise that I found this book to be wonderful.

I first came across Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series while browsing through Borders. I liked the cover, read the description and made a mental note to come back to it one day. Six months or so later, I finally got around to reading it and was hooked on the madcap mischief of Alexia Tarrabotti. I like Carriger’s books because they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously. They’re incredibly well written and show an obvious dedication to being as accurate as possible when possible. But they aren’t at all stuffy or hard to get into which makes them appealing to a wide variety of readers.

The Finishing School series is set earlier than the Parasol Protectorate series (I’m not entirely sure by how much) and does focus on a younger set of characters who are being educated at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. What at first glance, and to the untrained eye, appears to be a typical finishing school is actually a school of espionage and clandestine activities located on a dirigible. The first book in the series, Etiquette & Espionage, follows our somewhat clumsy but quite clever protagonist Sophronia as she enters and then completes her first year of academy. Curtsies & Conspiracies follows Sophronia’s second year of schooling and involves a deadly conspiracy surrounding an intriguing device.

While this series is aimed primarily at a YA audience, it is easily enjoyed by adult fans as well. There are fewer romantic entanglements involved with the younger set of characters, but there is plenty of amusing awkwardness as Sophronia begins to  take more note of her male counterparts and tries to sort out who she is, what she wants, and who she wants. A portion of the plot hinges heavily upon the question of friendship: what defines our friendships, how strong are they, and to what extent do we need them? While espionage tends to be more of a solitary activity, Sophronia’s friends, including Soap, Sidheag, Vieve, Agatha, and Dimity, all continue to play prominent roles in the plot as they also tackle these questions.

The book contains enough mystery to drive the plot and be suitably entertaining without overshadowing the character development that makes the book more than happy fluff. Carriger’s characters are relatable as well as likable, her villains are properly diabolical, the language is clever, and the surprise appearance of a well-known character absolutely made my day. I’m greatly looking forward to the next book in the series and will probably promptly re-read the first two with as much enjoyment as my first read through.