Lessons in Etiquette (Schooled in Magic Book 2)

The second installment of the series is fully as satisfying as the first, returning our favorite characters and settings while broadening the scope of the world we have been given a taste of before. If you are looking for a straightforward sword and magic adventure you won't be disappointed.

The characters are far from believable and it makes it a little hard to follow. I found the plot line to be very easy to predict which also takes away from the story. Mostly, I would have liked the character to either act her age (she is way too mature for a teenager) and for time to pass at a more reasonable pace. The amount of things that supposedly happen in a week's time is just not believable. Also, young teens don't get that athletic that fast. Overall it kept me interested enough to keep reading. However, it took me a long time to finish.

Good second book, but not as much magic happens, more politics with alessa's family. It was done well, however. I thought the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning,but it picked up toward the end.
The third book seems like it will be a lot more magic-y. Worth the read if you are emotionally invested in the characters already

Emily still rock's, and her friends and teachers, (except for Void, who's an a$&:"@le), are working their way into my heart. This is a mixture of urban fantasy, classic SF, and "Harry Potter" . Delightful.

The story and characters are interesting, but some of the references feel shoehorned, and some of the main character's inner monologues about how much better her time and place are ring false. Your character isn't convincing anyone that she's super progressive when she describes people as "oriental-looking," for example.

This book is ludicrous. The basic idea is good but character development is poor. This is nothing other than a bunch of silly out of proportion events loosely tied together dirctionally. A good book builds to an ending. The characters develop and grow. The main characters are interesting ideas on paper but lack depth and clearly have not really been thought out as their actions are elaborate and inconsistent. This book reads like a teenage fantasy with a female lead tossed in to attempt to make it more credible.

Lessons in Etiquette follows Emily from Schooled in Magic as she begins to explore new aspects of the alternate universe she was thrust into. The first book took her to a new land and she began her first year at a school for magic. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that this book didn't take us back to school for year two, but instead took Emily (and the reader) into the bigger world as she accompanied her friend, Princess Alassa, home for the summer. Alassa needs to find a husband who will make a good political ally (and hopefully not kill her in her sleep!).

Emily, meanwhile, is dealing with the fallout from events in the first book. Most notably, she is the Necromancer's Bane, after killing a necromancer. But almost as notable is the fact that she introduced so many new ideas and inventions from our world -- the phonetic alphabet, Arabic numerals, double-entry bookkeeping, stirrups, and the printing press (just to name a few). The world is changing, and she's at the center of it.

This book has a slow buildup followed by a far more action-packed second half. But this story is at least as much about the world and about making the reader think as it is about the underlying political upheaval that consumes the second part of this book. Emily is growing, changing, and learning, and she becomes a far more sympathetic and dynamic character in this volume than she was in the first. (Which I did enjoy.)

If you enjoyed Schooled in Magic, you should read this book. If you haven't read Schooled in Magic, you're probably better off starting there. I don't think you'll be too confused because the author provides plenty of reminders of what happened, but you will probably be more invested. And really, why not start a series at the beginning? :)

Christopher Nuttall's latest fantasy is "Lessons in Etiquette," which is the second novel about Emily, a sixteen-year-old girl originally from Earth who's learning magic in another world. (The first, "Schooled in Magic," discusses just why Emily is in this other world, and a whole lot about her training, plus a great deal about why necromancers are very, very bad and should be avoided at all costs. But I digress.) Emily's smart, talented, and resourceful, but because of her power, she's gained as many powerful enemies as she has friends.

This time around, Emily's visiting Zangaria with her friend Princess Alassa, who's about to be named the official Heir to the Throne of that realm. Alassa is a capable magician, but she's not anywhere near as strong as she should be due to a wide variety of factors (going back, again, to "Schooled in Magic"). And considering there are powerful people who don't want to see Alassa as a ruling monarch in her own right, there are problems aplenty for Alassa and Emily just to keep Alassa alive long enough to be confirmed as the Heir.

That's only half of the plot, however.

The other half has to do with the technological advances Emily has made to this new world (which is never named). Progress is coming, and has already wiped out some of the various, corrupt guilds that didn't even attempt to adapt . . . this has added to Emily's enemies considerably, and also ups the level of complexity overall.

I enjoyed "Lessons in Etiquette" very much, to the point I wasn't able to put the book down for very long before coming back to it. (Yes, I thought I would only read a few, short chapters before bed. Silly me.) I think it's better than "Schooled in Magic," though I enjoyed that also. (Note that you probably should start with SIM before you get to "Lessons in Etiquette" to maximize your reading pleasure.)

Overall, I adjudged this just short of a five-star read (more like a 4.5 star read), but I rounded up for the store's purposes.

If you like YA fantasy novels with a strong, resourceful lead character, you will enjoy "Lessons in Etiquette."

Four-point-five stars, recommended.

Barb Caffrey

P.S. I received this book for the purposes of an honest review . . . which I have just given you. (All hail the FCC.)

The story and characters are interesting, but some of the references feel shoehorned, and some of the main character's inner monologues about how much better her time and place are ring false. Your character isn't convincing anyone that she's super progressive when she describes people as "oriental-looking," for example.

This book is ludicrous. The basic idea is good but character development is poor. This is nothing other than a bunch of silly out of proportion events loosely tied together dirctionally. A good book builds to an ending. The characters develop and grow. The main characters are interesting ideas on paper but lack depth and clearly have not really been thought out as their actions are elaborate and inconsistent. This book reads like a teenage fantasy with a female lead tossed in to attempt to make it more credible.

Lessons in Etiquette follows Emily from Schooled in Magic as she begins to explore new aspects of the alternate universe she was thrust into. The first book took her to a new land and she began her first year at a school for magic. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that this book didn't take us back to school for year two, but instead took Emily (and the reader) into the bigger world as she accompanied her friend, Princess Alassa, home for the summer. Alassa needs to find a husband who will make a good political ally (and hopefully not kill her in her sleep!).

Emily, meanwhile, is dealing with the fallout from events in the first book. Most notably, she is the Necromancer's Bane, after killing a necromancer. But almost as notable is the fact that she introduced so many new ideas and inventions from our world -- the phonetic alphabet, Arabic numerals, double-entry bookkeeping, stirrups, and the printing press (just to name a few). The world is changing, and she's at the center of it.

This book has a slow buildup followed by a far more action-packed second half. But this story is at least as much about the world and about making the reader think as it is about the underlying political upheaval that consumes the second part of this book. Emily is growing, changing, and learning, and she becomes a far more sympathetic and dynamic character in this volume than she was in the first. (Which I did enjoy.)

If you enjoyed Schooled in Magic, you should read this book. If you haven't read Schooled in Magic, you're probably better off starting there. I don't think you'll be too confused because the author provides plenty of reminders of what happened, but you will probably be more invested. And really, why not start a series at the beginning? :)

Christopher Nuttall's latest fantasy is "Lessons in Etiquette," which is the second novel about Emily, a sixteen-year-old girl originally from Earth who's learning magic in another world. (The first, "Schooled in Magic," discusses just why Emily is in this other world, and a whole lot about her training, plus a great deal about why necromancers are very, very bad and should be avoided at all costs. But I digress.) Emily's smart, talented, and resourceful, but because of her power, she's gained as many powerful enemies as she has friends.

This time around, Emily's visiting Zangaria with her friend Princess Alassa, who's about to be named the official Heir to the Throne of that realm. Alassa is a capable magician, but she's not anywhere near as strong as she should be due to a wide variety of factors (going back, again, to "Schooled in Magic"). And considering there are powerful people who don't want to see Alassa as a ruling monarch in her own right, there are problems aplenty for Alassa and Emily just to keep Alassa alive long enough to be confirmed as the Heir.

That's only half of the plot, however.

The other half has to do with the technological advances Emily has made to this new world (which is never named). Progress is coming, and has already wiped out some of the various, corrupt guilds that didn't even attempt to adapt . . . this has added to Emily's enemies considerably, and also ups the level of complexity overall.

I enjoyed "Lessons in Etiquette" very much, to the point I wasn't able to put the book down for very long before coming back to it. (Yes, I thought I would only read a few, short chapters before bed. Silly me.) I think it's better than "Schooled in Magic," though I enjoyed that also. (Note that you probably should start with SIM before you get to "Lessons in Etiquette" to maximize your reading pleasure.)

Overall, I adjudged this just short of a five-star read (more like a 4.5 star read), but I rounded up for the store's purposes.

If you like YA fantasy novels with a strong, resourceful lead character, you will enjoy "Lessons in Etiquette."

Four-point-five stars, recommended.

Barb Caffrey

P.S. I received this book for the purposes of an honest review . . . which I have just given you. (All hail the FCC.)

I had a most enjoyable Memorial Day afternoon sitting in the garden, drinking good beer, and devouring many a page of Chris's new book. Schooled in Magic was good. Lessons in Etiquette is evolved. What I've enjoyed about Chris's books is that the first book in his many (!) series builds up a palate that he uses to great effect in the second (and further) book(s) of the series. With Lessons, we have a character that is finding herself in the first book, and growing in the second. In the former, she is befuddled. In the latter, she's figured out her place in her new world and has buckled down to making things work. Almost more importantly, I always had a "Yeh, I can see myself in her place..." kind of feeling. I'm looking forward to book 3...and beyond.

The first one was good but this one is definitely better. Mr Nuttall learned a great deal about writing between the two and it shows. Great job.
Also there are far fewer grammar and spelling errors in this one. The first one was full of those nasty things.

Christopher Nuttall has done it again! In the thought provoking sequel to "Schooled In Magic", Emily faces new challenges, as she travels with across the world to help her friends stay alive during summer break!

In the awesome second book of Schooled in Magic Emily takes a break from classes and visits the home of her new friends. But if she thought a summer as a princess's companion would be all fancy balls and swooning princes she was sadly mistaken. There is still plenty she needs to learn if she wants to survive!

Emily, who was brought from our world to a fantasy world because she was a daughter of Destiny (her actual mother’s name) and because she had magical potential. She killed the Necromancer who brought her in the first tale when he attacked her school, but she also made friends with Alassa, an heir to Zangaria. As Christopher Nuttall tells it, Emily needs Lessons in Etiquette (ebook from Twilight Times Books which I bought) as she goes on tour with Alassa who is visiting potential husbands. Being declared the heir in her home castle is too much for someone who will do anything for power. As usually for Mr. Nuttall, this provides for an exciting ending. Review published by the Philadelphia Weekly Press