Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger, pub. 2009, 365 pg.
Rating: 5/5 stars

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. 

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. 

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.--From Cover

Anyone who likes to laugh and appreciates a witty heroine needs to read this series. Alexia is sassy, spunky and, well, soulless! In spite of that fact, she's the type of girl we all kind of wish we could be. She's always got a snappy comeback ready and is always stylishly coiffed.

My sister recommended this series to me on a long car trip. I wasn't sure if I'd like it at first. I'd never read any steampunk books and I was kind of sick of the vampires and werewolves motif (I mean, come on, it's everywhere!). I was delighted when I finally got around to cracking this little treasure open. It completely exceeded my expectations. Actually, I would say this is now one of my favorite series. Ever!

Soulless follows Alexia (a spinster at the ripe old age of 24) as she stubbornly tries to figure out why vampires and werewolves (common members of society) are disappearing across England. 

She is accompanied by a marvelous cast of characters. There is the brutish Lord Maccon, head of the Woolsey werewolf pack and head detective for the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (in addition to being her nemesis), the silly and poorly-hatted Ivy Hisselpenny (Alexia's best friend), the Loontwills (her foolish family), and the fabulous Lord Akeldama (her vampire confidante).

This book is filled with humor, mystery, and romance. It's sure to leave you laughing and reaching for the next book in the series!

(In case you are curious, the order of the books in the Parasol Protectorate series is: Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, and Timeless. I would HIGHLY recommend them all!)

1 comment:

  1. This sounds like a very entertaining book. Is it in your library, or must I search elsewhere?

    ReplyDelete