12 December 2010

Book Review: Changeless

Title: Changeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: 1 April 2010
Date Finished: 9 October 2010

Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, Steampunk Challenge

The Short and Sweet of It
Alexia Tarabotti, who captured my heart in the first novel Soulless, returns again, happily wed to Lord Maccon. Well, that is until he suddenly disappears, off to Scotland with nary a word. A missing husband isn't her only trouble, however, as she is quickly embroiled in a mystery involving exorcised ghosts, fangless vampires, and a regiment of werewolves newly arrived in London. She handles it with aplomb though, parasol in hand.

A Bit of a Ramble
I adored Soulless, the steampunk paranormal mystery romance novel was wonderful fun, and in my opinion, Changeless is just as good. Alexia is an intelligent, resourceful, strong female character who handles her rather aggressive and domineering husband, his wolf pack, and the mysteries of a supernatural world with wit and class. The character of Alexia is reason enough to read the series, but add in all of the other complex and entertaining characters, the supernatural bent, and the whole steampunk Gothic aura, and wowza!

A quick note on a few of the other characters: Felicity, Alexia's horribly shallow and annoying sister, who has to accompany Alexia on her mission to Scotland; Madame Lefoux, wonderfully described below, and just as impressive as Alexia herself; Ivy, Alexia's best friend, who has an obsessive fondness for ridiculously ugly hats; and let's not forget the dirigible and the parasol, each of which have their own uniqueness which classifies them as characters in my mind.

I did have one small problem with this book though. There's a misunderstanding at the end which feels completely wrong. While the issue is certainly weighty, the misunderstanding could have been easily rectified, and the use of it as a cliffhanger seems ridiculous. I am hoping that this HUGE ISSUE is quickly resolved in Blameless, so the series can go back to being perfectly wonderful.

Memorable Scene:

Under the shade of the hat, she appeared to be of middling years, handsome but not pretty, with strong features and coarse thick hair, tending toward gray. She boasted the general battle-ax demeanor of an especially strict governess. This was the kind of woman who took her tea black, smoked cigars after midnight, played a mean game of cribbage, and kept a bevy of repulsive little dogs.

Alexia liked her immediately.

The woman shouldered a rifle with consummate skill and pointed it at Lord Maccon.

Alexia liked her less.


This Book Around the Web
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Question: How long does it take Book Depository to ship orders? I've been waiting for two and a half weeks now, and no sign of the book and no arrival date on the website. Ridiculous.

12 comments:

  1. Book Dep are usually pretty fast (24 to 48 hours), but I think this year they must be really overwhelmed by Christmas ordered, because I've noticed the same. The last book I ordered took one week and a half to ship :S

    About the book: alll I want for Christmas is this seeeries *insert tune* :P

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  2. Steampunk paranormal mystery romance? How on earth could we resist such a thing? I've not seen anything but positive on this series. Sold!

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  3. I'm with you, Sandy. Steampunk paranormal mystery romance? Good lord! Gotta check it out now.

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  4. I'll third Sandy and Vicky about the steampunk paranormal mystery romance. Just a bit of fascinating genre-bending.

    I'm eagerly awaiting a BD order too. Here's to the reindeer traveling just a bit faster.

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  5. The last time I bought something from Book Depository, it took a month to get here. :-( Did you buy Blameless?

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  6. This looks good. I haven't yet ventured too far into steampunk yet as I am just figuring out what it really is. I think I read one graphic novel when will qualify but I am still figuring out which novel to try out first.

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  7. Ana - Glad to hear it. This was my first experience with Book Depository, but since it seems this is an oddity, I'll be sure it's not my last. I hope someone gives you the series!

    Sandy - I'd love to hear your thoughts on the series!

    Vicky - I really hope you do. I'd love to hear what you think.

    Lifetime Reader - I'm keeping my fingers crossed as my Secret Santa blogger's gifts are part of that shipment!

    Vasilly - Holy Mary! I hope that doesn't happen here - Blameless is part of the shipment!

    Nicole - Soulless is a great place to start. I also just read Leviathan, a whole different kind of steampunk. :)

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  8. Oh, I am so glad to hear this one was so good! I have been waiting for a review to pop up, and was glad to see this one. I have the first book, and am excited about this series. I hope that the third continues to impress!

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  9. This whole steampunk thing seems so mysterious to me ... but I think I could handle this one.

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  10. I have not tried Steampunk yet... I am fascinated by it and need to venture into that genre one of these days.

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  11. Although I've dabbled in a little steampunk, I haven't picked this series up yet. It sounds quite lovely, though, so I may have to add it to my to-read list.

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  12. I'm halfway through this, and just read that scene! Love it :)

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