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A review by iam
Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger
5.0
4.5 stars
I was absolutely delighted when I found this book. I'm so happy Madam Lefoux is getting her happy ending (as well as several other characters in other books.)
Imogene is a new character to the Parasolverse and I found her as a POV character very intriguing since she is VERY different from Alexia, Sophronia and Prudence.
Born on the countryside and very well aware of her sapphic inclinations (and polite society's stance on such things), Imogene decides to work for the nearby vampire hive, hoping that the rumors about vampires' "perversions" are true (and so she can financially support her family).
While working for the vampires turns out not quite as she expected, she then meets Madam Lefoux and not only in love with her but also finds her inventions and equations quite fascinating - but there are complications.
One thing that surprised me was that this novella seemed to be a bit more serious than the author's other books. I think that's mostly because Imogene is not gentry - as a parlormaid she has no social power whatsoever and is constantly at the mercy of her superiors: those being the vampires and quite a big part of their household.
In this context the novella contains sexual harassment, bullying, repeated sexual and physical assault and a certain undertone of hopelessness. Both the lesbian main character and the lesbian love interest also have a lot of internalized homophobia, talking about their "perversions" or "corrupting" other women.
It's still definitely not a sad heavy book - there's still a lot of the typical humor - and Imogene remains, while not exactly optimistic, a very strong silent type, and I loved reading about her.
One minor thing I found a bit weird was how Imogene was repeatedly said to be "very young" or even "too young" - even though she's 28 at the beginning of the book, and Alexia has been called an "old spinster" at 26 already.
I adored the countless cameos of well-known characters from other books of the Parasolverse. In fact, all characters who aren't household staff (and a few of those as well) have been at least minor if not major side- or main-characters in other books.
Plot wise in ties in with the Parasol Protectorate books a lot, if only to reference or mention certain things that happened. I don't think that technically one wouldn't understand Romancing the Inventor if one hasn't read the Parasol Protectorate books, but for me personally a lot of the charm lay with those mentions and cameos.
I was absolutely delighted when I found this book. I'm so happy Madam Lefoux is getting her happy ending (as well as several other characters in other books.)
Imogene is a new character to the Parasolverse and I found her as a POV character very intriguing since she is VERY different from Alexia, Sophronia and Prudence.
Born on the countryside and very well aware of her sapphic inclinations (and polite society's stance on such things), Imogene decides to work for the nearby vampire hive, hoping that the rumors about vampires' "perversions" are true (and so she can financially support her family).
While working for the vampires turns out not quite as she expected, she then meets Madam Lefoux and not only in love with her but also finds her inventions and equations quite fascinating - but there are complications.
One thing that surprised me was that this novella seemed to be a bit more serious than the author's other books. I think that's mostly because Imogene is not gentry - as a parlormaid she has no social power whatsoever and is constantly at the mercy of her superiors: those being the vampires and quite a big part of their household.
In this context the novella contains sexual harassment, bullying, repeated sexual and physical assault and a certain undertone of hopelessness. Both the lesbian main character and the lesbian love interest also have a lot of internalized homophobia, talking about their "perversions" or "corrupting" other women.
It's still definitely not a sad heavy book - there's still a lot of the typical humor - and Imogene remains, while not exactly optimistic, a very strong silent type, and I loved reading about her.
One minor thing I found a bit weird was how Imogene was repeatedly said to be "very young" or even "too young" - even though she's 28 at the beginning of the book, and Alexia has been called an "old spinster" at 26 already.
I adored the countless cameos of well-known characters from other books of the Parasolverse. In fact, all characters who aren't household staff (and a few of those as well) have been at least minor if not major side- or main-characters in other books.
Spoiler
Especially Mayor Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings's involement in this book was a huge but extremely pleasant surprise.Plot wise in ties in with the Parasol Protectorate books a lot, if only to reference or mention certain things that happened. I don't think that technically one wouldn't understand Romancing the Inventor if one hasn't read the Parasol Protectorate books, but for me personally a lot of the charm lay with those mentions and cameos.