Pretty cute steampunk story about a girl who is sent to a finishing school that trains young ladies in the arts of etiquette and espionage. I probably would have enjoyed this book when I was 10, but as an adult listening to it, there were a lot of missing parts to the puzzle. The main mystery, "where is the secret prototype" is not developed well at all. For example:
- Why does the main character have this as her quest? To get other people's approval.
- What does the prototype do? Something with a communication machine? Never fully explained.
- Why did the school have the prototype? Why is it valuable enough to be stolen? Why, at the end, does the British government, the badguys, another special interest group, and the school all want their hands on it?
- Who does the school work for? I mean, who commissions the girls are being trained to be spies? Not answered.

Not going to finish the series.