Gail Carriger Soulless [The Parasol Protectorate, Book 1] (2009)
He kissed as though he needed her to subsist. It was unbearably intimate. Worse than allowing one’s ankles to be seen.
This was fun. I read it on the plane to Europe, and it is perfect for that sort of ordeal - light and funny and rather silly. But! - if you don't like vampires, werewolves and anachronistic Victoriana, turn away now...
Miss Alexia Tarabotti was not enjoying her evening. Private balls were never more than middling amusements for spinsters, and Miss Tarabotti was not the kind of spinster who could garner even that much pleasure from the event. To put the pudding in the puff: she had retreated to the library, her favorite sanctuary in any house, only to happen upon an unexpected vampire.
Alexia Tarabotti is a preternatural - she has no soul. This is a little tricky for her, although it is not causing her as much social difficulty as reaching a dangerously unmarriageable age for a young lady. Being soulless affords good protection against the vampires and werewolves who openly roam this alternate England where the supernatural mingle openly with the human population. Being a spinster is making her home life hellish. And then she discovers that someone is intent on destroying the fragile peace between the supernatural and human worlds...
She was quite uncomfortable, for corsets, bustles, and all other accoutrements of a lady’s appropriate dress were not conducive to lying, bound, on a hard floor. She shifted, sighed, and stared up at the ceiling, trying to think about anything but Lord Maccon, her current predicament, or Lord Akeldama’s safety. Which meant she could do nothing but reflect on the complex plight of her mama’s most recent embroidery project. This, in itself, was a worse torture than any her captors could devise.
This really is over-the-top silly; but an enjoyable read. The heroine is strong and independent of mind (and wields a mean parasol "with purple satin pansies... and buckshot in its silver tip"), and not averse to getting to (all sorts of) grips with the handsome Lord Maccon, sent by the supernatural side of the civil service to sort things out.
She could not restrain herself; she did so like it when the earl’s Highland lilt came out. It was currently her second favorite thing he did with his tongue.
If you liked this... it was like India Black {REVIEW and REVIEW} meets vampires.
And (bonus!)... if you like retro things, Gail Carriger has a blog on retro fashion.
And (bonus!)... if you like retro things, Gail Carriger has a blog on retro fashion.
I wouldnt have thought to put this book together with the India Black books, but I think you are right in that there is a certain similarity in the humour!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marg - I think I first read about this series (actually, perhaps both series) on your blog. That sly sexy humour is very similar, I thought.
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