I will definitely be looking into the sequel. Kind of like champagne at midnight on New Year's Eve. I also really liked the side characters- one used italics in his speech an excessive amount, but he was still fun.Īnd that's the big word I'd use to describe this book- fun. He's strong and angry and attractive and the interplay between the two of them is a lot of fun to watch. Maccon, also, as the romantic interest, is a great alpha male. Alexia is a woman who can hold her own in a conversation and in a fight, and she was a fabulous character. But then- I'm pretty awesome myself and have moments of insecurity, so I suppose I can understand to an extent. The girl can kill vampires without breaking a sweat, and yet is inordinately self-conscious about the size of her nose.

I found that aspect of her character fairly difficult to believe. She could be depressingly down on herself sometimes. Alexia is exactly the sort of person you'd like to sit down with after a bad day and have a snark-fest.Īnd that's another part I really liked- Alexia, the character.

It's smart and teasing the whole way through, even while being quite decorous. I don't blame her- she uses language really well in the book. Gail Carriger, I think, set out to write a book in Victorian times because she really likes the way people from that era converse. It is hard not to giggle when reading the above, and while reading this book, I often had a smile on my face. (Convincing her mother that Christianity had, to all intents and purposes, originated with the Italians, thus making them the exact opposite of heathen, was a waste of time and breath.) Alexia refused to apologize for the boisterousness of her stomach. She would have colored gracefully with embarrassment had she not possessed the complexion of one of those 'heathen Italians,' as her mother said, who never colored, gracefully or otherwise. Not only the dialogue between characters, but also the internal dialogue. It is witty, it is sassy, it is wonderful. I will first talk about the many aspects of the books I did like, because I have a feeling the things that annoyed me probably wouldn't annoy the vast majority of people reading this book. Luckily, Cara sent me a copy and I was thus able to read it much more quickly than I had expected. So while this book really intrigued me, I wasn't sure if I would love it. I also really like fantasy, though I have never really ventured into the vampire or werewolf camp before. I adore historical fiction, though I am more a Georgian and Regency era fan than a Victorian era one. This is one of those books that, while you're reading it, you can just tell that the author had a lot of fun writing it. And get up to some shenanigans of their own along the way. Alexia and Maccon, with a strong cast of supporting characters, work together to determine where all the werewolves and vampires are going. This is upsetting enough, but when coupled with attacks on her person by wax-faced men and several irritating intrusions by Alexia's horrid family, it is the outside of enough. At a ball one night, Alexia accidentally kills a vampire while defending herself upon further investigation, she and Lord Maccon find that there are a great many loner vampires and werewolves disappearing around London. Being basically immune to supernatural activity, and also being a free-thinking older woman, Alexia is pretty used to doing things her own way, unless Lord Maccon the werewolf is involved.

She is also a preternatural- soulless- and so can counteract the vampires and werewolves around her. Alexia Tarabotti is a half-Italian spinster living in an alternate version of Victorian England.

Soulless by gail carriger recap