I picked up Soulless by Gail Carriger mainly because I had never before tried anything ‘steampunk’ and I wanted something different from the usual.
The main character is Alexia- a young woman whose smart, witty and can handle any situation she finds herself in. (She also has no soul.) This all works for her as she lives in a world where vampires and werewolves are out in the open and mix with society. In fact she often tangles with vampires, werewolves and at one point verbally with Queen Victoria. It’s a quick easy to read book with a good mystery that begins when Alexia is attacked by a young vampire who obviously doesn’t know anything about the social etiquette of the day.
I really enjoyed the characters and the universe. It alternates between light and fun and sometimes downright creepy. (The wax faced man creeps me out even now.) Sure it gets a little repetitive and Alexia gets herself into a lot of the more dire situations by not listening but otherwise I liked her as a heroine. My only problem was I expected something more out there and imaginative but all I could really think was she’s basically Buffy with a little bit of Pride and Prejudice thrown into the mix.
Still I enjoyed it. I’d recommend it and I will probably continue with the Parasol Protectorate series as well as other work from Miss Carriger.
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