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linzthebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed Changeless, but it fell flat for me in many ways. I liked the steampunk aspects and the sarcasm; the plot was interesting. However, many of the things I admired about Soulless felt toned down. Ultimately, the ending felt predictable and unsatisfying. Instead of making me want to continue with the series and read more, it made me not care if I read the rest of the books.
Find my full review (https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/book-review-changeless-by-gail-carriger.html)
Find my full review (https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/book-review-changeless-by-gail-carriger.html)
x_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
I found the second book in "The Parasol Protectorate" to be a frustrating read. Not because it wasn't good (it was), but because I wanted something to cheer me up (it didn't). The cliff-hanger ending was especially frustrating. Had I known, I would have waited until the third book came out before reading this one.
peyton_'s review against another edition
3.5
I enjoyed this book. I liked the banter between Alexia and Lord Macon. The mystery was interesting and the steam punk aspects added some fun and intrigue. The ending was predictable, but I am really curious to where the series goes from here.
clynnbevens's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
apuskas's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
magikspells's review against another edition
4.0
This book was fun, just as much so as the first, though it could have used a little something more. But what it lacked in action at the climax it made up for in cliffhanger.
And I love how outlandish all the characters are and the dialogue makes me laugh. If there's one word I would use to describe these books, it's tawdry, but certainly not to the point of trashy. So many YA books shy away from anything relating to sex as bad or it's simply ignored as if it doesn't exist. These books are definitely not afraid of that, which admittedly is a little refreshing.
And I love how outlandish all the characters are and the dialogue makes me laugh. If there's one word I would use to describe these books, it's tawdry, but certainly not to the point of trashy. So many YA books shy away from anything relating to sex as bad or it's simply ignored as if it doesn't exist. These books are definitely not afraid of that, which admittedly is a little refreshing.
edshara's review against another edition
4.0
Oh My Wow!! This book was really good. I felt like this one started off better, than the first book in the series, I was able to just dive right in.
The storyline was great and I enjoyed the Egyptian tie in, as well as, the travel to Scotland to meet Lord Maccon's former pack. I also like how the new characters fit into the already developing story. Alexia and Conall's relationship is one of the best parts of the books. I love how they tease and playfully torture each other, all while engaging in some friendly competition.
I could have done without Felicity, her character just annoys me and I didn't like her in the first book. She's bitter, jealous, and immature and I probably would have used the Parasol on her. Some of the science stuff was a bit confusing and I was getting irritated because I kept pronouncing the name of the machine a different way each time. I'm also glad I read the e-book because their were so many new words for me and I loved looking up the definitions to them. Hopefully I can add them to my vocabulary!
Oh and must I mention the ending? While I like the fact that some of the mystery parts were left unsolved, to hopefully continue in the other books, the big finale, left me in shock!! I have so many questions and so much disappointment in a particular character...but I have so much anticipation for Book 3!! I was going to wait to continue the series, but, after that ending I immediately put the next book on hold. Good job Gail Carriger, I am hooked!
The storyline was great and I enjoyed the Egyptian tie in, as well as, the travel to Scotland to meet Lord Maccon's former pack. I also like how the new characters fit into the already developing story. Alexia and Conall's relationship is one of the best parts of the books. I love how they tease and playfully torture each other, all while engaging in some friendly competition.
I could have done without Felicity, her character just annoys me and I didn't like her in the first book. She's bitter, jealous, and immature and I probably would have used the Parasol on her. Some of the science stuff was a bit confusing and I was getting irritated because I kept pronouncing the name of the machine a different way each time. I'm also glad I read the e-book because their were so many new words for me and I loved looking up the definitions to them. Hopefully I can add them to my vocabulary!
Oh and must I mention the ending? While I like the fact that some of the mystery parts were left unsolved, to hopefully continue in the other books, the big finale, left me in shock!! I have so many questions and so much disappointment in a particular character...but I have so much anticipation for Book 3!! I was going to wait to continue the series, but, after that ending I immediately put the next book on hold. Good job Gail Carriger, I am hooked!
freadomlibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Holy shit, I can't believe it!
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
Loved it! It was mysterious and suspenseful and intriguing. The same level of hilarity and entertainment is abound in this second installment and it was amazing. We get to travel a bit and meet new people and new places. Of course, there’s some action involved, not as much as the first book, but still enough to make it noticeable. But the best thing is the giant shock at the end. Huge cliffhanger. It was not cool.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
This is going to end up being a little redundant after awhile (since I’m reviewing the entire series) but I still want to do it. It’s incredibly fast paced and very detailed. Specially in this new place, the descriptions are amazing. It’s historically accurate, and what I mean by that is that it reads like the characters would talk, which brings a new level of authenticity to the story. It’s verbose, something really hard to understand but it’s also funny, which helps alleviate the severity of the plot points.
Characters – 5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely love all the characters in this series. They’re so complex and interesting. Alexa in this installment is herself but better. She’s witty and sassy still but she has a new job so she can also wear hear professional woman cap and she wears it well. She’s passionate and smart. She’s strong willed and doesn’t let anything get in her way of knowing whatever she wants to find out. Still one of my favorite female characters of all time. Then we have Conall, our resident werewolf, is kind of a turd in this one. He really annoyed me because he was really closed off. He’s still tough and fierce and loyal but he is back into his old home and not really acting as nice as he could be. He’s a very loyal person and particularly vulnerable in this book. All the supporting characters are amazing! I love them to pieces. The old ones and the new ones from this book banter back and forth. They all bring something new into the plot and they help move the story along. It would not be the same experience without them.
Emotionally
The plot of this book is great. It’s not as action-packed as the first one but more about the behind the scenes type of action. Secrets, theories and mysteries. It centers around this weird phenomenon that took over London for a night. An entire part of the city is affected with the preternatural effect, meaning the supernaturals become mortal. Obviously, everyone freaks out because the only time that usually happens is when a preternatural actually touches a supernatural. There was never an actual account of it happening remotely and in such a large scale. Because of the investigation, we get to travel to Scotland and meet Lord Maccon’s first pack and a brand new character named Madame Lefoux. Alexia takes a dirigible ride (kind of like a blimp) to Scotland with her sister, Felicity (who sucks cause she’s really snobby), her best friends Ivy (still obsessed with the ugliest hats) and Tunstell, a claviger for Conall’s pack (werewolf hopeful). With these crazy personalities all together in a small space, not to mention flying in the air, you can bet a bunch of crazy and hilarious things ensue. Ivy and Tunstell have a really weird and disturbing love connection, Alexia is almost killed a few times and this strange Madame Lefoux is always around at the most random times. Once we are actually in Scotland with our main character, things get even weirder. Werewolf fights, ransacked rooms and gunshots from a distance are just a few on the things that happen in this book. All of it has to do with the mystery of this supernatural effect and when we finally figure out with the cast what it is, I found it to be really interesting and incredibly dangerous. There was a huge reveal at the end which then resulted into a giant cliffhanger which was INSANE! I could not believe what I was reading and it made me drop everything and pick up the third book, it was just that crazy.
Like I said before and like I will keep saying again and again, Alexia is one of my favorite characters ever. She’s such a contradiction against the woman of her time. She’s strong and a take no shit type of woman. She’s more concerned about discoveries in science instead of clothing accessories (although she still pays attention to those). She’s such a proud woman and I love her sassy attitude. She’s very firm and has a no nonsense type of way about her that makes everyone she knows either respect her or fear her. I aspire to be as fierce as her someday.
Conall is awesome, one of my favorite characters in this series, but he’s really annoying and kind of a butt in this book. He was very secretive and judgmental. I was not having it with him. I wanted to kick his ass but… you know.
I feel like I mention the supporting characters of this series too much but seriously, they are some of the best I’ve ever read. Isn’t it annoying when the secondary characters are like cardboard cut outs? Totally underdeveloped and boring? It really bothers, if the character is there, it should have a purpose. And that’s what I love about all of the ones in this series, they are all there and all doing something specific for a reason.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
Loved it! It was mysterious and suspenseful and intriguing. The same level of hilarity and entertainment is abound in this second installment and it was amazing. We get to travel a bit and meet new people and new places. Of course, there’s some action involved, not as much as the first book, but still enough to make it noticeable. But the best thing is the giant shock at the end. Huge cliffhanger. It was not cool.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
This is going to end up being a little redundant after awhile (since I’m reviewing the entire series) but I still want to do it. It’s incredibly fast paced and very detailed. Specially in this new place, the descriptions are amazing. It’s historically accurate, and what I mean by that is that it reads like the characters would talk, which brings a new level of authenticity to the story. It’s verbose, something really hard to understand but it’s also funny, which helps alleviate the severity of the plot points.
Characters – 5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely love all the characters in this series. They’re so complex and interesting. Alexa in this installment is herself but better. She’s witty and sassy still but she has a new job so she can also wear hear professional woman cap and she wears it well. She’s passionate and smart. She’s strong willed and doesn’t let anything get in her way of knowing whatever she wants to find out. Still one of my favorite female characters of all time. Then we have Conall, our resident werewolf, is kind of a turd in this one. He really annoyed me because he was really closed off. He’s still tough and fierce and loyal but he is back into his old home and not really acting as nice as he could be. He’s a very loyal person and particularly vulnerable in this book. All the supporting characters are amazing! I love them to pieces. The old ones and the new ones from this book banter back and forth. They all bring something new into the plot and they help move the story along. It would not be the same experience without them.
Emotionally
Spoiler
I am absolutely obsessed with this series. Every book gets better and better and more entertaining.The plot of this book is great. It’s not as action-packed as the first one but more about the behind the scenes type of action. Secrets, theories and mysteries. It centers around this weird phenomenon that took over London for a night. An entire part of the city is affected with the preternatural effect, meaning the supernaturals become mortal. Obviously, everyone freaks out because the only time that usually happens is when a preternatural actually touches a supernatural. There was never an actual account of it happening remotely and in such a large scale. Because of the investigation, we get to travel to Scotland and meet Lord Maccon’s first pack and a brand new character named Madame Lefoux. Alexia takes a dirigible ride (kind of like a blimp) to Scotland with her sister, Felicity (who sucks cause she’s really snobby), her best friends Ivy (still obsessed with the ugliest hats) and Tunstell, a claviger for Conall’s pack (werewolf hopeful). With these crazy personalities all together in a small space, not to mention flying in the air, you can bet a bunch of crazy and hilarious things ensue. Ivy and Tunstell have a really weird and disturbing love connection, Alexia is almost killed a few times and this strange Madame Lefoux is always around at the most random times. Once we are actually in Scotland with our main character, things get even weirder. Werewolf fights, ransacked rooms and gunshots from a distance are just a few on the things that happen in this book. All of it has to do with the mystery of this supernatural effect and when we finally figure out with the cast what it is, I found it to be really interesting and incredibly dangerous. There was a huge reveal at the end which then resulted into a giant cliffhanger which was INSANE! I could not believe what I was reading and it made me drop everything and pick up the third book, it was just that crazy.
Like I said before and like I will keep saying again and again, Alexia is one of my favorite characters ever. She’s such a contradiction against the woman of her time. She’s strong and a take no shit type of woman. She’s more concerned about discoveries in science instead of clothing accessories (although she still pays attention to those). She’s such a proud woman and I love her sassy attitude. She’s very firm and has a no nonsense type of way about her that makes everyone she knows either respect her or fear her. I aspire to be as fierce as her someday.
Conall is awesome, one of my favorite characters in this series, but he’s really annoying and kind of a butt in this book. He was very secretive and judgmental. I was not having it with him. I wanted to kick his ass but… you know.
I feel like I mention the supporting characters of this series too much but seriously, they are some of the best I’ve ever read. Isn’t it annoying when the secondary characters are like cardboard cut outs? Totally underdeveloped and boring? It really bothers, if the character is there, it should have a purpose. And that’s what I love about all of the ones in this series, they are all there and all doing something specific for a reason.
freadomlibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating 4.5 stars
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
As you probably now know the plots of these books are entertaining and intriguing. This one is particularly action packed, with a lot of traveling as well as some near death experiences that are not at all accidental. There is a lot of new information thrown at us about the world and about Alexia’s state of humanity. The only thing that really bothered me was that the end was really quick.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
I’ve said it before and I’m just gonna repeat all of it again haha. It’s historically accurate, funny, really detailed and descriptive. It’s imaginative and verbose and the pace for this one is medium, not too fast or not too slow.
Characters – 5 out of 5 stars
I love these characters, they officially have a big piece of my fandom love. But in this particular installment, they were a lot of drastic personality changes. Or better way to say it is we saw some new sides to their personalities and I don’t know if that’s the reason why I liked this one less than the ones before. Alexia is really sad and vulnerable in this book. She’s usually full of life and hilarious but she’s really closed off . She’s as determined as always but really angry. Conall is useless in this book, like honestly. He spends the first part of the book completely drunk and emotional. It was really annoying and he was acting so stupid because making a werewolf drunk is really difficult. I was just really annoyed with them for the majority of the time. We also meet a lot of new supporting characters which is customary in this series but these ones were just weird. They’re peculiar and very strange. There’s one in particular who was hilarious and I loved him.
Emotionally
The plot was divided in two. The Maccons are separated over the events of the last book. I’m not going to say which those are but I’m still crazy over it. Because of this separation Alexia travels to Italy to learn more about her heritage, both as an Italian and as a preternatural. She also has a certain inconvenience in her life that drives her to make this trip. Her butler Floote and her friend Madame Lefoux accompany her and they manage to not get themselves killed, no matter how many people try to make that happen. On the other hand in London, Conall spend most of his time incapacitated because he’s drunk and stupid so poor Professor Lyall his beta gets to be in charge of the happenings in London which are also quite crazy. I enjoyed it but I just felt like it lacked that thing that made me obsessed with the other books. My favorite things about the series were there: the action, the funny banter and thought process of Alexia, strange new information, and the gadgets. But there was just something off, I didn’t get the same feeling that I’m used to from this installment. I don’t know if it was because Conall and Alexia were separate the majority of the book and I missed their actions or if it was something else but it wasn’t as great as the ones before it.
Alexia is also a little bit off. I’m used to her being sassy and strong and totally confident. In this book though, we see another side of her. She’s depressed and sad and vulnerable and really down about herself. She’s quiet which in and of itself is weird. Her usual spunk is just gone and although, in true Alexia fashion, she tries to ignore it and push on, you can definitely tell she’s not the same. I get why, it’s totally understandable but it still bothered me not to have her be her full self.
There are so many insane things going on that I wish I could do into depth for but I really don’t want to spoil anything because I want more people to read this series so I’m going to list them out and that way you’ll keep an eye out when you read: Biffy, the Templars, Lord Akeldama, the Potentate, and most importantly the inconvenience.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
As you probably now know the plots of these books are entertaining and intriguing. This one is particularly action packed, with a lot of traveling as well as some near death experiences that are not at all accidental. There is a lot of new information thrown at us about the world and about Alexia’s state of humanity. The only thing that really bothered me was that the end was really quick.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
I’ve said it before and I’m just gonna repeat all of it again haha. It’s historically accurate, funny, really detailed and descriptive. It’s imaginative and verbose and the pace for this one is medium, not too fast or not too slow.
Characters – 5 out of 5 stars
I love these characters, they officially have a big piece of my fandom love. But in this particular installment, they were a lot of drastic personality changes. Or better way to say it is we saw some new sides to their personalities and I don’t know if that’s the reason why I liked this one less than the ones before. Alexia is really sad and vulnerable in this book. She’s usually full of life and hilarious but she’s really closed off . She’s as determined as always but really angry. Conall is useless in this book, like honestly. He spends the first part of the book completely drunk and emotional. It was really annoying and he was acting so stupid because making a werewolf drunk is really difficult. I was just really annoyed with them for the majority of the time. We also meet a lot of new supporting characters which is customary in this series but these ones were just weird. They’re peculiar and very strange. There’s one in particular who was hilarious and I loved him.
Emotionally
Spoiler
This is my least favorite book in the series. I still enjoyed it but it was missing that one thing that I loved about the other books.The plot was divided in two. The Maccons are separated over the events of the last book. I’m not going to say which those are but I’m still crazy over it. Because of this separation Alexia travels to Italy to learn more about her heritage, both as an Italian and as a preternatural. She also has a certain inconvenience in her life that drives her to make this trip. Her butler Floote and her friend Madame Lefoux accompany her and they manage to not get themselves killed, no matter how many people try to make that happen. On the other hand in London, Conall spend most of his time incapacitated because he’s drunk and stupid so poor Professor Lyall his beta gets to be in charge of the happenings in London which are also quite crazy. I enjoyed it but I just felt like it lacked that thing that made me obsessed with the other books. My favorite things about the series were there: the action, the funny banter and thought process of Alexia, strange new information, and the gadgets. But there was just something off, I didn’t get the same feeling that I’m used to from this installment. I don’t know if it was because Conall and Alexia were separate the majority of the book and I missed their actions or if it was something else but it wasn’t as great as the ones before it.
Alexia is also a little bit off. I’m used to her being sassy and strong and totally confident. In this book though, we see another side of her. She’s depressed and sad and vulnerable and really down about herself. She’s quiet which in and of itself is weird. Her usual spunk is just gone and although, in true Alexia fashion, she tries to ignore it and push on, you can definitely tell she’s not the same. I get why, it’s totally understandable but it still bothered me not to have her be her full self.
There are so many insane things going on that I wish I could do into depth for but I really don’t want to spoil anything because I want more people to read this series so I’m going to list them out and that way you’ll keep an eye out when you read: Biffy, the Templars, Lord Akeldama, the Potentate, and most importantly the inconvenience.