Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Oct 11, 2009 The Flooze rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, romance_or_chicklit, vanquished_2009, urban-fantasy-paranormal, favorites, owned, steampunk

Recipe for success:
- Liberal amount of Austen & Wodehouse
- Generous helping of the supernatural
- Sprinkling of steampunk
- Heavy dose of humor
- Dollop of romance

Icing:
- One sorely abused treacle tart
- One hedgehog, slightly squashed

What a success Soulless is. No First Book Syndrome here.

Gail Carriger shows that she is a woman with ideas in this alternate history paranormal tale. Not only does she have ideas, but Carriger knows how to execute them. Soulless is a refreshing and wildly amusing new ...more

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Apr 01, 2010 Beth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, favorites, humorous, historical, british-isles

My fist Steampunk read, the cover hooked me in and I've been addicted ever since. Victorian setting with stream-powered contraptions and mechanical gadgets but add werewolves and vampires as part of Her Majestey's government. Interesting plot, setting and characters with humor and just a dash of romance.

Delightfully whimsical, I have devoured all 5 books in the series as they were published and they are among my favorite rereads.

I also highly recommend her new related series beginning with Etiqu ...more

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Feb 03, 2010 Logan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-bought-ebook, steampunk, paranormal

First impressions: One of the first things I loved about this book was Alexia's voice. She's a stickler for etiquette, and her commentary on the manners of others, even in the most ridiculous of circumstances, is hilarious.

Lasting impressions: What a refreshing take on the paranormal and steampunk genres! I loved the mash-up of steam and clockwork technology with werewolves and vampires in Victorian society.

Conflicting impressions: The first third of the book moved pretty slowly. It wasn't unti First impressions: One of the first things I loved about this book was Alexia's voice. She's a stickler for etiquette, and her commentary on the manners of others, even in the most ridiculous of circumstances, is hilarious.

Lasting impressions: What a refreshing take on the paranormal and steampunk genres! I loved the mash-up of steam and clockwork technology with werewolves and vampires in Victorian society.

Conflicting impressions: The first third of the book moved pretty slowly. It wasn't until the last third that I got truly hooked on the story.

Overall impressions: I've been meaning to read this book for a long time, and I'm happy that I finally did. Although this is a steampunk novel, it's really more along the lines of "steampunk light." I think if I had read this a few years ago, when it first popped up on my radar, I would have had a much different idea of what constituted steampunk. There are some elements of steampunk to the story, but it's not nearly as integral to the story as, say, Leviathan. I definitely recommend this one for folks looking to ease in to the steampunk genre.

The paranormal elements are what make this book really shine. In Alexia's world, vampires and werewolves are a part of society, even if they still inspire some trepidation and fear. They pose no threat to Alexia, however, as she has no soul. As a preternatural, her touch returns supernatural beings to their human state - vampires lose their fangs, werewolves shift back. Alexia's abilities are known to select members of society, but she works to keep it away from friends and family.

Alexia is strong, stubborn, willful, and of course, proper. Yet her Italian heritage, abrasive (for the time) personality, and advancing age (I think she's 27) have resigned her to life as a spinster. If I have one complaint about the book, it's the incessant beating to the head we take on these three facets of Alexia's life. On almost every page, and certainly in every scene, we are reminded that Alexia is old, Italian, and not suitable as a mate. She constantly refers to herself as a spinster. Later in the book there are hints that this has been drilled into her by her family, but through most of the story it is simply presented as fact so I never felt bad for her. Since these descriptors didn't serve to elicit empathy, they just became annoying.

Lord Maccon is the best sort of love interest. He's a dashing alpha male who still respects and appreciates Alexia. He can be condescending and brusque, but all in good fun as he matches wits with the equally snappish Alexia. The verbal sparring between these two is lots of fun to witness, and were some of my favorite parts of the book.

The mystery and plot were not nearly as exciting as the characters and world, so the story seemed to drag at points. Still, the ending sets up a new chapter in Alexia's life that holds lots of promise and I'm eager to start the next book. ...more

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Sep 15, 2016 Kati rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-para, in-english, queer, audiobooks, urban-fantasy, historical, steam-punk, 2016

I loved the beginning and the end and some parts were downright hilarious. But the middle... eh.

Somewhere in the middle the main heroine started to get on my nerves a little with her endless refusals of the main hero's marriage proposals - if she did not actually like him, then I would have had all the sympathy in the world for her, but no, she liked the guy and she wanted to marry him and he asked and kept asking, so... There were issues for the sake of issues, and I hate when that happens in ...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Nicole rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

love this book!!!

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Oct 01, 2009 Kimberly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

This was a very good first book for a new series.
The main characters were a lot of fun when they were trying to avoid one another.
The rest of this series should be fun and interesting

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Jan 13, 2010 Drea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-book, june-2012

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the rest. I loved the mix of historical fiction and the supernatural along with the added bonus of wit - a delightful mix.

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Dec 08, 2009 Cindi Kelley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read

It grew on me slowly after I got use to Alexia's snooty attitude. But you soon find out why she acts that way. I love that it's a historical paranormal mystery. Very good indeed! ...more

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