Heartless by Gail Carriger

Author: Gail Carriger
Title: Heartless
Series: Parasol Protectorate #4
Pages: 374
Source: Owned

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking ), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.
Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

Information reaches the now-heavily pregnant Alexia that someone plans to kill the Queen. So of course, since Alexia will never shirk her duties as muhjah, she takes it upon herself to find the culprit and put a stop to their shenanigans.

Gail Carriger's writing so witty and fun, and it has this old-world feel to it that suits the historical aspects of the book perfectly, making it a pleasure to read. Conall Maccon is such a gruff sweetie, I can't help but love. He and Alexia are a riot when put together.

I felt so sad for Professor Lyall, as the revelations about his past came to light. And we got to meet Prudence herself, finally! :D

I think this is not one of the better stories in this series, and it dragged quite a bit more than some of the previous three books. There were three main reasons for that. Number 1: I HATE Felicity and Ivy Tunstell. They were in the book a bit too much for me, especially Felicity, distracting me whenever they were on. At least Ivy is much smarter than she appears. Felicity just has no excuse for existing. Number 2: I am not much of a steampunk person, the story dragged a bit in the sizable portions where steam machines and such play a role. Number 3: I was tired of Lord Akeldama and Biffy's whining.

Not the best story in the series but still worth a read.

★★★½

Changeless by Gail Carriger

Parasol Protectorate #2
Changeless by Gail Carriger
My rating: ★★★★

3.5+

More than 3.5 but not quite 4 stars. I jumped into the third book in the series without bothering to finish the second because its plot sounded more interesting. Now I am back to #2. CHANGELESS is the second book in the parasol protectorate series, and it follows a new adventure of werewolf Lord Conall Maccon and his wife, the soulless Alexia Maccon.

I like the story. None of it felt fillerish. I love the humor and the writing and the unique feel it has - a werewolf-vampire-soulless world set in 1800's United Kingdom: very unique and very well-executed. I am loving the relationship and the banter between Lord and Lady Maccon. Their love does not overshadow the story, but it doesn't take a backseat either; it strikes the perfect balance.

What I am NOT loving,however, is some of the supporting characters: Ivy Hisselpenny is so stupid and annoying and doesn't serve any useful purpose, not even comic relief. Neither does Alexia's family. I am just grumpy because I had to spend more time than I liked with those people in this book.

But yeah! I am really enjoying this series.

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Blameless by Gail Carriger

Parasol Protectorate #3
Blameless by Gail Carriger
My rating:★★★★

Gail Carriger is fast becoming one of my new favorite authors. I love this series!

BLAMELESS is book three of the series. I haven't actually finished book 2 - I peeked at the end and saw that the events in book three were going to be far more interesting, so I took a break from reading the second book to jump headlong into the third :P

In this one, Alexia leaves for Rome after her pregnancy was spurned by her husband, the werewolf Alpha of Woolsey Pack, Lord Conall Maccon. She heads to Italy, to see if she can find some evidence to make him see the error of his ways. There are more attempts on her life.


Back in London, Lord Maccon finally comes to his senses, realizes that Alexia would never be unfaithful to him, and he wants to go and find her and bring her back. But there are other more pressing matters to attend to, and he can't leave until he has seen to them.

I love Alexia and Conall. They make me laugh so much. There is not much I have to say about this book/any book in this series. The mystery is intriguing, and some of the characters are gems. I enjoy them immensely and would heartily recommend them!!

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Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Soulless by Gail Carriger

My rating: ★★★★½


The entire time I was reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about limericks. That's what this book is - a limerick: something absurd and fanciful, which is created masterfully and results in a work that is utterly delightful. Right from the get-go, I thoroughly enjoyed wading through the story.

The book is essentially about Alexia, a soulless person in a London filled with soul-full beings. Normal humans have the requisite amount of soul, while supernaturals (vampires, werewolves, etc) have an overabundance of soul. Of course, since this is a romantic fantasy, it is also about Alexia finding love with the local werewolf Alpha, Lord Maccon.

Lord Maccon, Professor Lyall and Alexia were a joy to read about, and consistently kept me laughing. Some of the side characters are also interesting, namely the flamboyant Lord Akeldama and Alexia's friend Ivy.

By far the best thing about this book is the writing. Absurd fun!
It is definitely well worth a read.



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The Iron Duke, by Meljean Brook

The Iron Seas #1
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
★★★½

I don't quite know how to feel about the Iron Duke.

I really enjoyed Ms. Brook's writing style,the genre (steampunk) is new to me, and her premise was fascinating. Having said all of that...

The plot was kinda confusing for me to follow. We have a parallel world which I did not fully understand. I still can't quite picture the horde in my mind and it took several chapters for me to figure out who a bugger was. There were also several scenes that I read that I couldn't quite 'see' with my mind's eye, so it felt like I was just reading words instead of following the story.

This is supposed to be a romance (no?) but there was a mystery that formed a significant part of the plot - I enjoyed the bits I could understand. Even though I read the book, I still am not clear how exactly they pieced the clues together....yeah.

Rhys, the title character ,is the hero (duh) and a well-written one at that. (What is it with authors writing really good heroes and slightly less-good heroines?)He was a man of honor, although it was a peculiar sort of honor. I liked his characterization. He has an interesting backstory which I felt could have been explored more. In any case, the details Ms. Brook gave of his past was not enough to satisfy me, nor was it enough for me to be able to see why/how Rhys grew into the man we know as the Iron Duke.

Mina the heroine was...less well-written than Rhys, but she was one of the better heroines I've read: not simpering, not an idiot, not harsh-masquerading-as-badass. Her backstory was heartbreaking. She was the preoduct of a mating frenzy where her mother had presumably mated with a horde. Unfortunately she was born with horde features,a constant reminder to the people of England what they'd suffered at the hands of the horde; so she went through life a pariah, with people spitting at her in the streets, etc. She was also the reason I almost cried reading this book.

But sister-girl could be annoying at times. No, Rhys is not obligated to pay the ransom for all of the boys taken captive by the pirate ship! And a good deal of the misunderstanding she and Rhys had could have been avoided if she'd just opened her mouth and said something instead of being a martyr.

I enjoyed immersing myself in the world Ms. Brook has created: the mystery and the romance were engaging enough - but there were several things that detracted from it for me, especially the murkiness of the plot ( others may not have been confused, but several times I was confused ) But I'm glad I read this one. And I'll continue with the series.
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