Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless (Orbit) (Parasol Protectorate, #1)

by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is labouring 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? Or 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.

Reviewed by empressbrooke on

2 of 5 stars

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Oof. I had really expected to like this one, and I was under the impression that it was going to much better than it actually ended up being. Despite its promise of a steampunky setting and a soulless heroine, which seems like it has to be interesting, Soulless felt like a cookie cutter example of the current paranormal urban fantasy stuff that saturates the market right now. The writing is stiff, the ridiculous courtship between the main love interests pops up in the most unfortunate situations, and despite some vague hints about what it means to be without a soul, aside from her ability to neutralize the effects of the paranormal creatures she encounters, the idea was never fully developed. It didn't seem to have any effect on her personality - she still has emotions, she still forms attachments to people, she still cares about things. There are some rumblings about not being able to pick out clothes and needing to follow the trends closely because she can't feel or somesuch, but her soulless status seemed little more than a plot device to bring up when it was convenient. I had the sequel reserved from the library, but I canceled my spot on the list as soon as I finished this one.

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  • Started reading
  • 17 January, 2011: Finished reading
  • 17 January, 2011: Reviewed