Publisher: Orbit
Format: ebook
Genres: Historical Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Steam Punk, Adult
Publication Date: 1 October, 2009
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.
There's something to be said about a character who can consistently correct and/or insult people in only the most socially polite of ways. There's even more to be said when this character is the heroine of our story. This is the case in Soulless, where our heroine is a sassy, outspoken female, whose strong temper is matched only by her great wit. Alexia Tarabotti could talk you into a corner before you had taken two steps into a room, and it wouldn't even rattle her teacup once, to do so. And that is precisely why she is a fantastic heroine.
Set in Victorian London, Soulless begins with a sort of Jane Austen-style of witty dialogue and social pressures. Add in machines, werewolves, vampires, other supernatural beings, and a decidedly more outspoken main character, and you have one of the most entertaining stories I have read this year. Add to all that, the ruggedly handsome and hot-tempered, Scottish alpha werewolf love interest, and this story is bound straight for my favorites shelf.
If there is one thing I didn't like about this story, it's that some of the events weren't very detailed. We only see things from Alexia's POV, so whatever she doesn't know, we don't know either. There were some parts to the story that I would have liked to have a better understanding of (the octopuses, vampire abilities, and just how differently the Queen's agenda and BUR's are). Due to Alexia's limited involvement/interaction, these things weren't explained. BUT...that's really not super important, especially compared to the rest of this fabulous story, and the fact that I don't think there was a character that I didn't like.
Gail Carriger did an amazing job meshing so many genres into one story. I really couldn't narrow it down to just one, or even two, because they are all so well put together. It all just feels right. In these pages lies romance, danger, humor, political intrigue, suspense, and a good helping of Victorian society to boot.
THIS is how you do a love story.
THIS is how you do a truly strong female heroine.
THIS is how you do Victorian-steam-punk-paranormal-romance.
Now I need the second book, STAT!
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| Personal Favorite Temp. Guide |
...you like werewolves, the paranormal, and stand-out heroines!
Content Warning
*This section may contain some spoilers about content!*
Highlight between the brackets to reveal the text.
{Violence (no more than is expected in a paranormal novel), nudity (a character is nude for an entire chapter, after having been locked up--werewolves are naked after transforming), steamy kissing scenes, and a married couple's sex scene that is brief, and not very detailed.}
Other Books in the Series:
Book 2: Changeless / Book 3: Blameless / Book 4: Hearless / Book 5: Timeless
