Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Soulless by Gail Carriger

7 reviews

thecolouryes's review

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I wanted this book to be better than it was. Also, this is super picky of me, but split drawers are a thing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Gore, Blood, Classism, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Body horror, Death of parent, and Misogyny

pedanther's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

I found the prose style easy to read - aside from an irritating tendency to change its mind several times a scene about who the viewpoint character was - but for me the story never entirely came alive. The plot is serviceable, but unsurprising, the characters underdeveloped, and while the worldbuilding has some interesting elements, it also has a tendency to rely on unexamined tropes that often left me wishing that certain aspects had been thought through more. I suspect that someone who's already more into urban fantasy and/or regency romance than me would find it more enjoyable. (I don't know if someone who's more into regency romance than me would be more or less annoyed by the use of regency romance tropes in a story that's explicitly set in the late Victorian era.) I wasn't surprised to find PG Wodehouse listed as one of the author's inspirations; I'm going to say that she doesn't have Wodehouse's knack for funny character names and leave it at that.

It says something that I've gone on so long about the book: I don't usually have this much to say about books I really dislike (or books I really like). This one's in that middle ground where it was good enough that I want to be just to it, but not good enough that I really liked it. Not sorry I gave it a shot, not likely to read any of the sequels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Classism, Torture, Medical trauma, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexism, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Racism, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Confinement

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Genocide, Gore, Police brutality, War, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, and Cursing

ramakn22's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I adore this author. I started with her finishing school series and followed the books chronologically. The dialogue reminds me of my favorite TV shows, witty and fast-paced, which serves to emphasize when there's a dark moment that needs to be focused on.
Funny and heartwarming in all the right places and an introduction to my absolute favorite Vampire of all time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, and Body shaming

Minor: Sexual content, Classism, and Dysphoria

melodyseestrees's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, Body shaming, and Classism

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Genocide, and Kidnapping

flohbeutel's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Als sie auf Seite 7 ihren Haarstab als Pflock benutzt, wollte ich ihr einen Antrag machen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Fatphobia, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Body shaming, Cursing, Classism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Misogyny

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Alexia Tarabotti is a fantastically capable heroine and the mystery of learning more about the supernatural and preternatural communities in London society was a hilarious romp with Gail's signature steampunk flair. And the narrator for the audiobooks did a fantastic job distinguishing characters with delightful voice acting. I look forward to picking up future installments in the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content, Confinement, Racism, and Classism

the_disreputable_dog's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was told there was a lot of spice in this book, and while the spice was missing in action save for two instances of making out, a single, incomplete handy, and then sex - once - at the end (that was only partially included!), I did very much like this story over all. It was funny, and I felt the flirtation was suitably Victorian in its reserved nature. After all, as Ms. Tarabotti indicates, it's quite scandalous in Victorian England to be caught showing ankles in public, so it makes sense for a young spinster to keep mostly to herself, except for her penchant for winning arguments all the time. This one is a funny, soft enemies to lovers romance, with a fun mystery to solve as well.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Racism, Sexual content, Murder, Kidnapping, and Blood

Minor: Body shaming, Violence, Misogyny, and Homophobia