Changeless by Gail Carriger

After reading Soulless, Book 1 in the Parasol Protectorate series, I simply had to pick up Book 2 and, again, I have not been disappointed. Gail Carriger has the ability to write a fantastic story that just draws you in.  (I'm already starting on book 3, Blameless.)

I am very pleased with this series. The characters are engaging and well rounded.  It's like the child of an Austen novel and insert your favorite vampire/werewolf novel here (Except that one - you know which one I mean).  I would reccommend this to anyone looking for an intelligent and fun series. 

***Note: if you have not read Soulless or Changeless, there may be spoilers in this post.  Also, the links to Changeless on Amazon contain several major spoilers***

Changeless opens with Alexia immersed in her new life as Muhjah to Queen Victoria and wife to Lord Maccon.  She has to deal with Werewolf politics and a strange type of plague of Humanity upon the Supernatural set.  Her investigation takes her to Scotland where she becomes acquainted with Lord Maccon's former pack.  Spies, assassination attempts, and a passel of bickering women follow her.

My new favorite character is Madame Lefoux.  She dresses in men's clothing, loves to tinker with technology, and has great chemistry with Alexia.  I love how, even with her association with Lord Akeldama, Alexia is completely oblivious to Madame Lefoux's attraction to her.  I kind of see her as Alexia's Q, supplying her with all sorts of fun gadgets and an interesting ally.  What I love most about her is that she refuses to play by society's rules.  Alexia doesn't care for most of the societal rules, but she is still guided by them, and while she greatly admires Madame Lefoux's practical clothing choices, I don't think she could bring herself to "cross the line" that much.

I won't spoil too much, but I just have to say that the ending broke my heart.  Throughout the entire book, we see how much Lord and Lady Maccon truly care for one another and the ending just made me weep openly.  It was quite fortunate that I was reading into the wee hours of the morning and my roommate didn't see me sobbing over the pages.   

Soulless by Gail Carriger

I just picked up a new series, Amazon actually recommended it to me, about Vampires & Werewolves.  I know it's overdone at this point and it seems like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, but I've been interested in this type of literature ever since I read Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice in high school.  The one exception to my fascination with Vampire Literature has been the Twilight Series.  In Stephanie Meyer's work, I have found the something that can make vampire stories uninteresting to me, and that is the complete lack of characterization and the less than adequate plot development.

Soulless by Gail Carriger is the first in a series called, The Parasol Protectorate.  The description that caught my attention on Amazon was this: "SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking."  Something about this just seemed interesting and I have not yet been disappointed.  I am only five chapters in, but already we've had a rogue vampire death at the hands of our heroine, Alexia Tarabotti, and a look at the Supernatural Politics present in this alternate representation of Victorian England.  There is a definite, what some would call, Steampunk element to the novel that is very intriguing. 

What I have learned, thus far, is that Vampires, Werewolves, and other supernatural creatures are well known in Victorian society.  There is a government agency run by Alpha werewolf, Lord Maccon, that helps to maintain that balance between good taste and lawless abandon.  There is an obvious tension between Lord Maccon and Alexia, but neither one will openly admit to anything more than a severe distaste for the other.  Alexia is not a normal human, she has the unfortunate condition of being soulless.  This means that the supernatural creatures in London do not have any effect on her.  In fact, it's quite the opposite as her touch can restore temporary humanity to whomever is daring enough to come close. 

So far, my favorite quote in the book is one having to do with Lord Maccon.  In this passage (chapter 2, page 36)Alexia's friend, Ivy, is musing on the Scottish Werewolf:

He was so very large and so very gruff that he rather terrified her, but he always behaved correctly in public, and there was a lot to be said for a man who sported such well-tailored jackets - even if he did change into a ferocious beast once a month.

 This is a great example of the tongue-in-cheek dialog and descriptions present in this novel.  I am very anxious to see how this all turns out in the end.  Undoubtedly, Lord Maccon and Alexia will finally succumb to the secret feelings even they don't realize they have for one another.  According to the author's website this is the first in a projected five novel series.  I think this may be a series I will keep on my bookshelf, but it will depend on how it develops.  Check back in with me later this month to see how things are progressing.