Retro Review: Changeless by Gail Carriger

I originally read and reviewed this book in 2012 and I do believe this is where I stalled in the series.



Changeless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, #2)

Released April 2010

Steampunk |  Goodreads  |  Amazon 

 Source: Library Borrow
Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

 But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

 CHANGELESS is the second book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking. . 

My 2 Cents For Free!

I adored "Soulless" but this one was a chore and a half to finish. I only did so because it's another of those damn "middle of the series" books and I keep hearing the other books are much better (they'd better be!). This one was a little bit mystery, a little bit witty comedy (I lived for those biting Alexia remarks, she's so awesomely, truthfully rude!) and a whole lot of rather uninteresting busyness a-going on here.

It's hard to pinpoint why this book couldn't hold my interest but if I had to hazard a guess it would be the fact that there simply wasn't enough dialogue and character interaction between Alexia and the more interesting characters in the bunch such as Conall (her new husband who only pops in for short bits), Professor Lyall and Lord Akeldama. We are left with Tunstall, love-confused (and frustrating as hell) Ivy, a bland maid and a new character named Madame Lefoux who was interesting enough but didn't truly get to shine because so much was happening around them every moment. The plot is about Alexia travelling to Scotland to discover why the preternaturals are losing their powers or somesuch and Alexia uses her dandy new super-powered parasol to fend off some dastardly minded characters. I'm hoping things calm down a wee bit in the next book and we get to see more character interaction and more from Madame Lefoux.

Also, it ends on a big ass cliffhanger. Have the next book handy to avoid ripping your hair out by the roots.

2.5 out of 5



Comments

  1. Tammy SparksMonday, February 10, 2020

    I've never read anything by Gail Carriger and I feel sort of bad about it. I hope the rest of this series gets better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bark At The GhoulsWednesday, February 12, 2020

      I don't know if I'll ever back around to it. I'm a bit sad about that.

      Delete
  2. chucklesthescotTuesday, February 11, 2020

    I tried the author years ago but I didn't much connect to all the society stuff in the plot. Hope book three works out better for you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. sherry fundinTuesday, February 11, 2020

    your last statement in your review put a smile on my face. i don't want to be ripping my hair out. lol
    sherry @ fundinmental

    ReplyDelete
  4. LauraThursday, February 13, 2020

    I was on the fence about this series and never did get to it. Probably will take a pass on it now.

    ReplyDelete

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