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magikspells's review
4.0
Alexia Tarabotti, you are my spirit animal! I have missed you so much. That's really all I have to say, this series is such ridiculous fun! Need next book now.
edshara's review against another edition
5.0
I must say, this was my favorite Parasol Protectorate book so far. While the first two books in the series took me a bit to get into, I was able to dive right into this one. I was so excited to read this book, I almost reverted back to my childhood reading self(read the last paragraph of the book to make sure it turns out okay therefore making it safe to read). However, I didn't want to spoil it, so I controlled myself.
At first I thought the book was too wordy, then I realized I was just being impatient and wanting to rush the story. Once I calmed down and let Gail Carriger tell her story, her way, I was able to truly appreciate all the details. It's also important to know, like in a lot of novels, those details/descriptions that we tend to want to rush are vital pieces of the story that will show up later on and are important to remember.
While I noticed it in the first two books, I only began to appreciate Gail Carriger's character names in this book. Having a unique name myself, I was able to truly appreciate characters with names like: Algonquin Shrimpdittle, Aldelphus Bluebutton and Captain Featherstonehaugh. (I'm also very curious about Captain Featherstonehaugh. He's pretty active for a background character and I'm starting to get curious as to who he is and if he'll play a major roll later on.)
Being a fan of steampunk, I found the use and description of some of the devices and contraptions, used in this book very fascinating. To think the characters were creating gadgets used to kill, detect and transport in a time when torches and chamber pots were still very much the norm, really intrigues me. I just hope my imagination was able to do them justice.
As far as the characters go, I was only slightly disappointed that some things seemed to wrap up quickly or nicely, while at the same time being glad they didn't get dragged out. Lord Akeldama's story line was really good in this book and I could really feel the emotion that was written across the pages, I'm just surprised that it went the way it did with him being as old(and wise?) as he is. I would have thought he would have been just a bit more cautious or taken a little more time to think things through before he reacted (kind of how I wanted Lord Maccon to do in the previous book). It did, however, add a bit of depth to the story line(in my opinion).
I personally think this was a great book and I highly recommend this series!
At first I thought the book was too wordy, then I realized I was just being impatient and wanting to rush the story. Once I calmed down and let Gail Carriger tell her story, her way, I was able to truly appreciate all the details. It's also important to know, like in a lot of novels, those details/descriptions that we tend to want to rush are vital pieces of the story that will show up later on and are important to remember.
While I noticed it in the first two books, I only began to appreciate Gail Carriger's character names in this book. Having a unique name myself, I was able to truly appreciate characters with names like: Algonquin Shrimpdittle, Aldelphus Bluebutton and Captain Featherstonehaugh. (I'm also very curious about Captain Featherstonehaugh. He's pretty active for a background character and I'm starting to get curious as to who he is and if he'll play a major roll later on.)
Being a fan of steampunk, I found the use and description of some of the devices and contraptions, used in this book very fascinating. To think the characters were creating gadgets used to kill, detect and transport in a time when torches and chamber pots were still very much the norm, really intrigues me. I just hope my imagination was able to do them justice.
As far as the characters go, I was only slightly disappointed that some things seemed to wrap up quickly or nicely, while at the same time being glad they didn't get dragged out. Lord Akeldama's story line was really good in this book and I could really feel the emotion that was written across the pages, I'm just surprised that it went the way it did with him being as old(and wise?) as he is. I would have thought he would have been just a bit more cautious or taken a little more time to think things through before he reacted (kind of how I wanted Lord Maccon to do in the previous book). It did, however, add a bit of depth to the story line(in my opinion).
I personally think this was a great book and I highly recommend this series!
threesixnine's review against another edition
5.0
Yeah, I ordered it on audio, forgot about it, then read it. So when it came, I had nothing to listen to so.....beside, the narrating is great.
ttsarahb's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kberry513's review
5.0
I got completely sucked into this series, way more than I thought I would when I started it. I just had to keep reading. I was glad that it didn't take Maccon too long to forgive Alexia - it was completely believable that he would immediately jump to angry conclusions, then be wasted for awhile, then realize his Beta was right. At the end of Changeless, I had originally thought he was being ridiculous, but once I read this one it made much more sense. I also absolutely love Lyall, I think he's one of my favorite characters.
I really enjoyed seeing more of the world, especially a bit about Alexia's father and how the Italians have reacted to the supernatural.
I really enjoyed seeing more of the world, especially a bit about Alexia's father and how the Italians have reacted to the supernatural.
morkskittar's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
theseventhl's review
5.0
Originally posted here at Anime Radius.
Do you like fantasy books in alternative Victorian England where the technology and fashion of steampunk is part of everyday life? Do you like your werewolves and vampires and other supernatural things to wear fancy dress and follow the old fashioned rules of etiquette, usually to humorous effect? Do you like reading about a well-read half-Italian woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind and wields a parasol like a weapon (because it is)? And . . . you're not reading the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger, now at three books and ongoing? For shame! Right now, there hasn't been a better time to jump into this excellent series, especially since the third book kicks off so many plots and subplots that will continue the story through several more volumes - all of them wickedly interesting and sure to make great reads in the next year. Plus, more Alexia Tarabotti! And that can never be a bad thing.
In the third book of the series chronicling Alexia's adventures in both the abnormal and the mundane, Blameless, she finds herself in a bigger pickle than ever before: her husband has deserted her; there's an impossible baby on the way; she has to live with her odious family yet again; her vampire BFF has gone AWOL with no clear reason why; it seems like everyone is pretty much out to kill her - including, of all things, mechanical ladybugs with very dangerous antennae. As usual, the amount of paranormal nonsense Alexia must go through on a daily basis is always strange and vastly interesting - as well as the fact that Alexia is less scandalized by these things happening to her as much as the fact that protecting herself from them means ruining all her best skirts and gowns in the process. In this volume, however, she has one more thing to worry about - she's pregnant. Her conversations with the 'infant-inconvenience' growing in her body are terribly amusing, and it makes one wonder what kind of mother Alexia will make if/when the child is born - or for that matter, what kind of father Lord Maccon might be.
Another new thing in Blameless is the new attention on Lady Tarabotti's preternatural soulless state, now more curious than ever seeing that she's with child by a werewolf, and such a union is rare if not impossible. As readers, we have spent two books following Alexia's life without a soul and have gotten used to her 'condition', so seeing characters like the German scientist Mr. Lange-Wilsdorf (who insists on addressing Alexia as the 'Female Specimen') and the church's preceptor (who in turn calls Alexia 'My Soulless One', capital letters and all) examine her like a slide underneath a microscope's gaze is unsettling in the strangest of ways. It's a good sign that Alexia's soullessness is going to become part of the ongoing story in a big way and I look forward to seeing how everything is resolved, if anything is. Add to this the dynamics of werewolf packs and vampire hives as well as the inner workings of England's high society set against a very gears-and-cogs world and it's plain to see that all the world-building and details built up in the first book are greatly paying off.
So, let's add it all up, shall we? In this book alone, a fearlessly stubborn and pregnant soulless female lead is dodging killer insects and odious vampires currently swarming a most steampunk London set in the Victorian age before being forced to flee with her stiff upper lipped butler and French inventor female friend to the land of tasty green sauce and dementedly religious Templars while her husband skulks around drunk on 'pickling' liquid and his beta is forced to pick up the pace of running the pack - and somewhere in the English countryside a fabulously distressed vampire is looking for his favorite drone and a research center disguised as a hat boutique is being overrun by ugly headgear by an unwitting Ivy Hisselpenny and her board-treading husband. With all these awesome exciting things going on, you'd be demmed foolish to not give this book a whirl.
Do you like fantasy books in alternative Victorian England where the technology and fashion of steampunk is part of everyday life? Do you like your werewolves and vampires and other supernatural things to wear fancy dress and follow the old fashioned rules of etiquette, usually to humorous effect? Do you like reading about a well-read half-Italian woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind and wields a parasol like a weapon (because it is)? And . . . you're not reading the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger, now at three books and ongoing? For shame! Right now, there hasn't been a better time to jump into this excellent series, especially since the third book kicks off so many plots and subplots that will continue the story through several more volumes - all of them wickedly interesting and sure to make great reads in the next year. Plus, more Alexia Tarabotti! And that can never be a bad thing.
In the third book of the series chronicling Alexia's adventures in both the abnormal and the mundane, Blameless, she finds herself in a bigger pickle than ever before: her husband has deserted her; there's an impossible baby on the way; she has to live with her odious family yet again; her vampire BFF has gone AWOL with no clear reason why; it seems like everyone is pretty much out to kill her - including, of all things, mechanical ladybugs with very dangerous antennae. As usual, the amount of paranormal nonsense Alexia must go through on a daily basis is always strange and vastly interesting - as well as the fact that Alexia is less scandalized by these things happening to her as much as the fact that protecting herself from them means ruining all her best skirts and gowns in the process. In this volume, however, she has one more thing to worry about - she's pregnant. Her conversations with the 'infant-inconvenience' growing in her body are terribly amusing, and it makes one wonder what kind of mother Alexia will make if/when the child is born - or for that matter, what kind of father Lord Maccon might be.
Another new thing in Blameless is the new attention on Lady Tarabotti's preternatural soulless state, now more curious than ever seeing that she's with child by a werewolf, and such a union is rare if not impossible. As readers, we have spent two books following Alexia's life without a soul and have gotten used to her 'condition', so seeing characters like the German scientist Mr. Lange-Wilsdorf (who insists on addressing Alexia as the 'Female Specimen') and the church's preceptor (who in turn calls Alexia 'My Soulless One', capital letters and all) examine her like a slide underneath a microscope's gaze is unsettling in the strangest of ways. It's a good sign that Alexia's soullessness is going to become part of the ongoing story in a big way and I look forward to seeing how everything is resolved, if anything is. Add to this the dynamics of werewolf packs and vampire hives as well as the inner workings of England's high society set against a very gears-and-cogs world and it's plain to see that all the world-building and details built up in the first book are greatly paying off.
So, let's add it all up, shall we? In this book alone, a fearlessly stubborn and pregnant soulless female lead is dodging killer insects and odious vampires currently swarming a most steampunk London set in the Victorian age before being forced to flee with her stiff upper lipped butler and French inventor female friend to the land of tasty green sauce and dementedly religious Templars while her husband skulks around drunk on 'pickling' liquid and his beta is forced to pick up the pace of running the pack - and somewhere in the English countryside a fabulously distressed vampire is looking for his favorite drone and a research center disguised as a hat boutique is being overrun by ugly headgear by an unwitting Ivy Hisselpenny and her board-treading husband. With all these awesome exciting things going on, you'd be demmed foolish to not give this book a whirl.