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bookishlybeauty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
stepriot's review against another edition
That took some effort. Very outside my norm. I've read a bit of Anthony Trollope and I'm pretty sure he has women in their late twenties getting married fairly often. 26 seems a bit premature to be officially a spinster. Then there are widows who remarry all the time. Lady Carberry had grown children before she took a second husband. This book seems to have over simplified the family dynamics. But! This book open my eyes to the destructive powers of the adverb, so I appreciate that.
jettreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mamoru's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick and entertaining read, but I genuinely don't even remember the MC's name (even though I finished the book last night). So let's call her Parasol Lady since I'm too lazy to look up her name.
Parasol Lady has no soul. When she touches supernatural creatures, they turn human for as long as she maintains physical contact with them. She's very Italian, which in this book means she is inadequately tall, has dark skin, a big ugly nose and big boobs. We are constantly reminded of this. With every turn of the page. She's smart and not like other women, especially definitely absolutely not like her beautiful but dumb sisters. She's into this big hunk of a werewolf Alpha guy and she really wants to do the hanky panky with him. Even in moments when she really, really shouldn't. More on this later. The wolf guy is constantly objectified because it's crucial for us to know his muscly chest is amazing and his Johnson is out of this world. He is tall, muscular and well-endowed. He's also stupid and our Parasol Lady has to help him navigate the world. Because she's smarter than him and has big boobs and a big ugly Italian nose! She also reads a lot, which is very unappealing. Don't forget, she's not like other women.
PROS: This book is short, entertaining and genuinely funny. There were some disturbing scenes (I'll make sure to add trigger warnings at the end of my review) sprinkled with some AHA! moments. There's also a mystery subplot which was interesting enough to get me to the end of the book despite my eyes getting stuck in a rolling position halfway through. The MC is actually funny and smart and I absolutely do not blame her for the annoying tropes the author chose to use in her portrayal. The side characters absolutely stole the show, particularly professor Lyall - the quiet, wise and trustworthy Beta, Floote - Parasol Lady's loyal, eavesdropping, book-loving butler, and Lord Akeldama - the old, shrewd, Baroque fashionista vampire. Some other high points were all the food descriptions (Parasol Lady is a foodie) as well as the detailed descriptions of clothing and interiors. The author really shines here and you can tell that she's putting her anthropology degree to good use. While Soulless very much feels like the first in a series, it's contained enough to be enjoyed as a standalone.
CONS: Both main characters feel like caricatures to the point where I couldn't be bothered remembering their names. I would have loved to see how Parasol Lady's lack of soul affected her childhood and her interactions with the world. Maybe future books will explore that side, but I won't know since I'm not hooked enough to keep reading. The very worst part of this book was how often Parasol Lady and Hunky Werewolf guy were engaging in segzual activities in the worst possible moments. Like.....very weird moments. Moments when any decent person would not even be able to think about such things. Once the mystery starts unfolding and the plot gains traction, our focus is forced on these two idiots trying to get it on. To avoid spoilers I'll just say that someone important and precious is being tortured and possibly killed in the next room, while Parasol Lady and Hunky Werewolf are engaged in sexy time. In the following scenes, they try to get it on next to someone being mauled. Right next to them. In the same room. A few meters away. Then when they decide to stop and help that person, the Hunky Werewolf LITERALLY stops in his tracks to ask Parasol Lady if she loves him. BITCH SOMEONE IS BEING KILLED IN FRONT OF YOU. MAYBE NOW IS NOT THE FRIGGIN TIME! There's so much more to this but I don't want to spoil anything and also I'm trying to forget I ever read this part. The MCs are bad people. Let's say the Alpha guy is redeemable but Parasol Lady is not. She's a bad person and a bad friend and just impossible to root for. The ending made me roll my eyes so hard that I saw my brain cells dying.
Trigger warnings: explicit racism, ableism, sexism, body gore, extreme violence (not explicit), explicit sexual content, body shaming, classism, torture, kidnapping, parental abuse.
Parasol Lady has no soul. When she touches supernatural creatures, they turn human for as long as she maintains physical contact with them. She's very Italian, which in this book means she is inadequately tall, has dark skin, a big ugly nose and big boobs. We are constantly reminded of this. With every turn of the page. She's smart and not like other women, especially definitely absolutely not like her beautiful but dumb sisters. She's into this big hunk of a werewolf Alpha guy and she really wants to do the hanky panky with him. Even in moments when she really, really shouldn't. More on this later. The wolf guy is constantly objectified because it's crucial for us to know his muscly chest is amazing and his Johnson is out of this world. He is tall, muscular and well-endowed. He's also stupid and our Parasol Lady has to help him navigate the world. Because she's smarter than him and has big boobs and a big ugly Italian nose! She also reads a lot, which is very unappealing. Don't forget, she's not like other women.
PROS: This book is short, entertaining and genuinely funny. There were some disturbing scenes (I'll make sure to add trigger warnings at the end of my review) sprinkled with some AHA! moments. There's also a mystery subplot which was interesting enough to get me to the end of the book despite my eyes getting stuck in a rolling position halfway through. The MC is actually funny and smart and I absolutely do not blame her for the annoying tropes the author chose to use in her portrayal. The side characters absolutely stole the show, particularly professor Lyall - the quiet, wise and trustworthy Beta, Floote - Parasol Lady's loyal, eavesdropping, book-loving butler, and Lord Akeldama - the old, shrewd, Baroque fashionista vampire. Some other high points were all the food descriptions (Parasol Lady is a foodie) as well as the detailed descriptions of clothing and interiors. The author really shines here and you can tell that she's putting her anthropology degree to good use. While Soulless very much feels like the first in a series, it's contained enough to be enjoyed as a standalone.
CONS: Both main characters feel like caricatures to the point where I couldn't be bothered remembering their names. I would have loved to see how Parasol Lady's lack of soul affected her childhood and her interactions with the world. Maybe future books will explore that side, but I won't know since I'm not hooked enough to keep reading. The very worst part of this book was how often Parasol Lady and Hunky Werewolf guy were engaging in segzual activities in the worst possible moments. Like.....very weird moments. Moments when any decent person would not even be able to think about such things. Once the mystery starts unfolding and the plot gains traction, our focus is forced on these two idiots trying to get it on. To avoid spoilers I'll just say that someone important and precious is being tortured and possibly killed in the next room, while Parasol Lady and Hunky Werewolf are engaged in sexy time. In the following scenes, they try to get it on next to someone being mauled. Right next to them. In the same room. A few meters away. Then when they decide to stop and help that person, the Hunky Werewolf LITERALLY stops in his tracks to ask Parasol Lady if she loves him. BITCH SOMEONE IS BEING KILLED IN FRONT OF YOU. MAYBE NOW IS NOT THE FRIGGIN TIME! There's so much more to this but I don't want to spoil anything and also I'm trying to forget I ever read this part. The MCs are bad people. Let's say the Alpha guy is redeemable but Parasol Lady is not. She's a bad person and a bad friend and just impossible to root for. The ending made me roll my eyes so hard that I saw my brain cells dying.
Trigger warnings: explicit racism, ableism, sexism, body gore, extreme violence (not explicit), explicit sexual content, body shaming, classism, torture, kidnapping, parental abuse.
hollyn_middle's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
x_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
The mix of urban fantasy, Victorian England setting, mysterious happenings, and romantic interludes made for an interesting read, although I could have skipped the romantic interludes. I'll definitely read the next in the series.
xtinetreasure's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
chrystalo's review against another edition
4.0
I don't have the energy to write a real review, but I did enjoy this book. It took a while to get over the Victorian style language, but I loved how it was still super snarky and the heroine was someone who felt like a real person - super sincere, makes dumb decisions sometimes, and, of course, has sexy times. Well done. I'll read the rest :)
magikspells's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I don't know what else I can say. I normally don't listen to a whole audiobook in one day, but I couldn't turn this one off. This book was just absolutely enjoyable all around.