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a_eterno's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
3.75
definitely a fun, light read. writing was a bit anachronistic considering the time period it's supposed to reflect, but i don't think it was meant to be that serious. would've been interesting to learn more about what being soulless means in the long run/in general?
nicolerene's review against another edition
4.0
This book really surprised me. I loved the author's writing style, which was completely in tune with the language of the Victorian era. It was witty and suspenseful.
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
3.0
Alexia Tarabotti is one of those people who are more upset because a vampire doesn't care to introduce himself before he attacks her, rather than the fact that she is actually being attacked by that vampire.
She's independent, has a special place in her heart for tea and happens to have a great sense of humour. Miss Alexia is in her mid-twenties and unmarried. She also fights with a parasol.
She is the main character of this book, and a brilliant one at that. It was impossible for me not to fall in love with her personality.
This was the first adult fantasy novel I ever read. And my thoughts on it are very mixed.
On one hand, the writing and the witty character that is Alexia Tarabotti were very lovable.
On the other hand, I often had to put it down because I got sick of it. It took a long while to get into it, not just in the beginning, but every single time I had taken a break from it and started reading again.
The characters were rememberable and I ended up mildly liking nearly all of them.
The only one I found myself annoyed with was lord Maccon.
He'd go straight from fighting with Alexia to passionately exchanging saliva with her. And she would just go along with it and I'd be sitting there with raised eyebrows, thinking ''Oh, come on. Really? Again?''
Then there's lord Akeldama - miss Tarabotti's dear friend who also happens to be a vampire. Let's just say that he's unlike any other paranormal creature you usually see in urban fantasy books. With his colorful clothing and flattering words he is definitely something out of the ordinary.
Sure, he was entertaining and funny, but as with many of the characters in this novel, Akeldama was too much.
This entire book was a little too much for me. I kept forgetting about the plot whenever the intense characters were talking, and got caught up in their conversation.
One of my favorite things about this book is the setting. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and it's also one of the biggest reasons why I was interested in Soulless in the first place.
This book is set in the Victorian era, which is a time period I'm very fond of. And it's well done.
The parasols, the beautiful dresses, the environment. It gives you that perfect feeling as if you actually were in 19th century's London. You know, except for the bloodsucking and howling creatures.
I'm looking forward to reading more adult urban fantasy. Perhaps the sequel to this book will be the next one I pick up.
She's independent, has a special place in her heart for tea and happens to have a great sense of humour. Miss Alexia is in her mid-twenties and unmarried. She also fights with a parasol.
She is the main character of this book, and a brilliant one at that. It was impossible for me not to fall in love with her personality.
This was the first adult fantasy novel I ever read. And my thoughts on it are very mixed.
On one hand, the writing and the witty character that is Alexia Tarabotti were very lovable.
On the other hand, I often had to put it down because I got sick of it. It took a long while to get into it, not just in the beginning, but every single time I had taken a break from it and started reading again.
The characters were rememberable and I ended up mildly liking nearly all of them.
The only one I found myself annoyed with was lord Maccon.
He'd go straight from fighting with Alexia to passionately exchanging saliva with her. And she would just go along with it and I'd be sitting there with raised eyebrows, thinking ''Oh, come on. Really? Again?''
Then there's lord Akeldama - miss Tarabotti's dear friend who also happens to be a vampire. Let's just say that he's unlike any other paranormal creature you usually see in urban fantasy books. With his colorful clothing and flattering words he is definitely something out of the ordinary.
Sure, he was entertaining and funny, but as with many of the characters in this novel, Akeldama was too much.
This entire book was a little too much for me. I kept forgetting about the plot whenever the intense characters were talking, and got caught up in their conversation.
One of my favorite things about this book is the setting. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and it's also one of the biggest reasons why I was interested in Soulless in the first place.
This book is set in the Victorian era, which is a time period I'm very fond of. And it's well done.
The parasols, the beautiful dresses, the environment. It gives you that perfect feeling as if you actually were in 19th century's London. You know, except for the bloodsucking and howling creatures.
I'm looking forward to reading more adult urban fantasy. Perhaps the sequel to this book will be the next one I pick up.
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
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
3.0
Soulless is written in a lightly pompous, high English style that is really off-putting for me. I thought the story itself was interesting, but I had to get through the writing to access the story and that was hard to do. I might have given up if we weren't on vacation and getting out of my comfy chair to get another book was just too much! If that sort of writing doesn't bother you, you would probably enjoy the book.
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