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blogthatbook's review against another edition
4.0
Book two with Alexia Tarabotti gets off to a great start in chapter one. Continuing series editions can be tricky: too much recap and reintroduction and you’ll alienate diehard readers, but not enough and the casual reader could end up lost and confused. Carriger handles this exceptionally well with a perfect balance of exactly what’s needed to settle you right back into the read like you’d never even been away.
Instead of what could easily be considered a necessary chore, I thoroughly enjoyed being reacquainted with known characters and their world. It beautifully intertwines additional elements and situations with expanded character insights. All with that delicious tinge of humour, which makes these books such a fun experience.
This addition to the series feels more relaxed than the first, it's not in too much of a hurry to deliver action or force plot. Forward progression is periodically put on hold as the author indulges in character antics and entertaining interactions. Unnecessary to the overall story, but these happenings are always amusing and a welcome expansion to the personalities we already love.
These character indulgences can de-emphasise the importance and progression of the story and the reader’s focus on it. This isn’t a negative by any means, but it is different to what you usually expect from standard novels with their dedicated focus on driving the story to conclusion. Personally, I like to indulge in character personalities and their quirks, especially when they are as colourful as those Gail Carriger has created.
I’ve said it many times before. Modern books are in too much of a hurry to get to the finale. I for one like to meander and drink in the world and its inhabitants. Nineteenth century writing is utterly mesmerising for this technique, and I lament the lack of this style of writing in our time. So thank you Gail Carriger, please meander to your heart’s content.
Plot wise and the driving premise behind much of the goings-on in Changeless is intriguing, and I don’t think I’ve come across its like before. Although, since I’m not a fantasy reader, that may be an outlandish claim to make. A moving, widespread infection/affliction, affecting all supernatural beings, despite their kind or origin, really gets the mind ticking. I’m intentionally avoiding giving you specifics here, for obvious reasons. Although the title gives a pretty big clue.
Negatives? If I were really pushed, I might say the driving story doesn’t expand a great deal, but for reasons previously given, I didn’t mind too much. I was also hoping for more of the original duo antics from the insufferable Lord Maccon and the long suffering Lyall as we saw in book one. But hey, there are more books to come.
Oh, one final thought, happenings in the last few pages utterly gutted me!
Got to Blog That Book for more reviews...
Instead of what could easily be considered a necessary chore, I thoroughly enjoyed being reacquainted with known characters and their world. It beautifully intertwines additional elements and situations with expanded character insights. All with that delicious tinge of humour, which makes these books such a fun experience.
This addition to the series feels more relaxed than the first, it's not in too much of a hurry to deliver action or force plot. Forward progression is periodically put on hold as the author indulges in character antics and entertaining interactions. Unnecessary to the overall story, but these happenings are always amusing and a welcome expansion to the personalities we already love.
These character indulgences can de-emphasise the importance and progression of the story and the reader’s focus on it. This isn’t a negative by any means, but it is different to what you usually expect from standard novels with their dedicated focus on driving the story to conclusion. Personally, I like to indulge in character personalities and their quirks, especially when they are as colourful as those Gail Carriger has created.
I’ve said it many times before. Modern books are in too much of a hurry to get to the finale. I for one like to meander and drink in the world and its inhabitants. Nineteenth century writing is utterly mesmerising for this technique, and I lament the lack of this style of writing in our time. So thank you Gail Carriger, please meander to your heart’s content.
Plot wise and the driving premise behind much of the goings-on in Changeless is intriguing, and I don’t think I’ve come across its like before. Although, since I’m not a fantasy reader, that may be an outlandish claim to make. A moving, widespread infection/affliction, affecting all supernatural beings, despite their kind or origin, really gets the mind ticking. I’m intentionally avoiding giving you specifics here, for obvious reasons. Although the title gives a pretty big clue.
Negatives? If I were really pushed, I might say the driving story doesn’t expand a great deal, but for reasons previously given, I didn’t mind too much. I was also hoping for more of the original duo antics from the insufferable Lord Maccon and the long suffering Lyall as we saw in book one. But hey, there are more books to come.
Oh, one final thought, happenings in the last few pages utterly gutted me!
Got to Blog That Book for more reviews...
october_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Whoa
Three stars because of the end. It's just so mean. And sad, and it both made me sad and angry.
Three stars because of the end. It's just so mean. And sad, and it both made me sad and angry.
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.