Soulless
Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate, #1)by Gail Carriger
Without a morsel of exaggeration, its publisher describes this debut novel as "a comedy of manners set in Victorian London full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking." At the center of Soulless's "parasol protectorate" is Miss Alexia Tarabotti, a young woman who lacks not only a suitor but also a soul. And those are not her only problems: When she accidentally kills a vampire, it begins a series of events that she must set out to resolve without the help of any proper authorities. (goodreads.com)
People! Have you read this series yet? I can't believe I waited so long to start it!! I recall seeing the cover around the blogesphere in 2009 and I swear I thought this was a YA novel. I was so over vampires and YA that I just put off picking it up even though I was certainly curious about it. The books in this series have been on my wishlist for ages and I finally made the decision to pick up the first book before Christmas. Only none of the stores around me had the first (or second) books in stock. (This is a HUGE pet peeve I have with Chapigo that dates back to when I used to work for them. In fact my boss and I in our mall store, prided ourselves on the fact that we had an AWESOME SciFi/Fantasy section and made certain to have all series books in stock!) I was relegated to ordering the books from the Book Depository in the UK earlier this month. Since there were no hard copies on the shelves near me I wanted to order them the cheapest way possible. Book Depository won out hands down.I don't even know what to categorize the books. They are urban fantasy, but set in Victorian England and they are FREAKING AWESOME!One of the big things that surprised me was that the main character, Alexia Tarabotti is NOT a vampire. I spent all these years thinking she WAS. I was wrong.I was laughing out loud from the first pages of the book and it didn't stop there! The entire narrative of the story is hilarious and the dialogue even better. Have any of you read Sarah MacLean's Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake? Or Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord? If you have, you'll know they are also hilarious. If you have not, you should read both those books and this series. I am the last person on earth to want to read a romance novel, but Sarah MacLean's novels won me over and I am chomping at the bit to read Eleven Scandals to Start When...um..doing things to get married Or whatever the title is (I can't think of it just now). This series made me think of those romance novels in some way. The witty dialogue, the romance (nowhere near as descriptive as in MacLean's novels) and the atmosphere of the books just delighted me the entire read. I say delighted because it's the way proper Victorian England people should speak and gosh darnit if I don't find myself phrasing things in odd ways after reading Victorian novels.I was a little cross-eyed when the scientific speak happened because I felt it fly over my head as that is how I roll, but otherwise I adored everything else about this novel. I loved the characters (especially Lord Akeldama and Miss Hisselpenny and her hats) and I am not one to get all a-flutter over romance in books but the chemistry between Alexia and Lord Maccon was so electric and sweet that I found myself swooning on occasion. This is yet another example of the way relationships should form in a story. You can feel it and understand it and GET it. Well done, Miss Carriger!I am exceptionally happy that I took the plunge and ordered the second book along with the first because I dove right into it when I finished Soulless and I am seriously contemplating going into even more debt and buying the next two books if they are in stock nearby. (OMG! OMG! OMG! I was just checking the stock status of the next two books and I read the summary for the 3rd book and NOW I HAVE TO HAVE IT!! It sounds so shocking!! Book 4 does not appear to be released until July 2011. I don't know how I will even survive this wait and it's not really more than 2 months!! THE HORRORS!) (What publisher carries Orbit? Whom should I harass incessantly to see if I can sneak and ARC of Heartless?? I don't do that at all, but I feel that I need to this time around? JULY!!!)*deep breath*Ok, so, in short, this book was hella awesome and I am almost finished book two and it's also hella awesome and I must procure book 3 before my road trip this weekend... If you have not checked out this series by Gail Carriger yet I HIGHLY suggest that you do!The Parasol Protectorate
- Soulless
- Changeless
- Blameless
- Heartless
- Timeless - March 2012 ARGH!