Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 20, 2014 Jojobean rated it really liked it

Shelves: paperback, adult-historical-fiction, 2009-publication, steampunk, series-book-1, set-in-other-countries, 4-star-ratings

I really liked this book. It was funny and action packed. I loved Gail Carriger's Finishing School series and decided to try this one too. I'm glad I did. While she wasn't mentioned in this book, I wonder if Sophronia will make an appearance in the series.

I really liked Alexia Tarabotti. She is so spunky and she has a huge personality. She is very in your face and has no qualms about stating her opinion or arguing as long as she's doing it politely. She is a victorian lady so etiquette, fashion I really liked this book. It was funny and action packed. I loved Gail Carriger's Finishing School series and decided to try this one too. I'm glad I did. While she wasn't mentioned in this book, I wonder if Sophronia will make an appearance in the series.

I really liked Alexia Tarabotti. She is so spunky and she has a huge personality. She is very in your face and has no qualms about stating her opinion or arguing as long as she's doing it politely. She is a victorian lady so etiquette, fashion and manners are very important to her and play a large part in the book. In our modern times Alexia is very young, only 26, but in her time she is considered a spinster. She is also very advanced for a woman of her time. She enjoys reading scientific articles and is very knowledgeable in many areas. She is also brave and tries hard not to let fear show when she does feel it.

Alexia lives in a world where vampires, werewolves and ghosts have come out to society and live among humans. Vampires and werewolves are even advisors to Queen Victoria. Alexia is something that is very rare even among all the other supernaturals. She is a is a preternatural, which means she has no soul. Her abilities allow her to cause vampires and werewolves to turn human when she touches them. In ancient times, preternaturals hunted vampires and werewolves. Vampires call people like her a soul sucker.

Alexia gets involved in a vampire murder which cascades into more problems having to do with scientists and experimentations. All these situations bring her closer to Lord Conall Maccon who is the chief leader of BUR (which is a government office that deals with the supernatural) and the Alpha wolf of the Woosley werewolf pack. Of course romance blooms between them and I did feel that it got very physical between them for the time the book takes place. Especially since Alexia considered herself to be a "lady" and was acting like a girl in modern times would. Not that that bothered me but it was kind of contradicting. Anyway I really liked the romance between them. It was sweet and hilarious. They loved each other but got on each other's nerves and enjoyed annoying one another.

I did like Lord Maccon too. He was so unaware of how to be social in this era and his mistakes were hilarious as were how Alexia described them. He was also hot from what I read- tawny eyes, dark hair, big and muscular and scottish. He was very no nonsense at times, but he was playful and loving with Alexia. He was also domineering and dominant when it came to others, his pack and his work. But still a nice guy.

I also loved Alexia's butler Floote. He reminded me of Alfred from Batman. He was on Alexia's side for everything and even though he disapproved of the things she did, he helped her in doing them or helped her in sneaking out. He would ask her if she thought what she was doing was a good idea, lecture her for a minute then sigh and help her.

I also really liked Lord Akeldama. He is a rove vampire and is so flamboyant. He's rich but he is what the book calls a dandy. He is always calling Alexia pet names like sweet, pearl, dumpling, dear, rosebud and other silly names. He is a very good friend of Alexia and they share information and gossip with each other. I liked the way Akeldama talked and some words he used were in italics for exclamations. His outfits were always outlandish but that was who he was.

I also really liked Lord Maccon's beta wolf Professor Lyall. He was very no nonsense and was extremely polite. He was a true gentleman. He was very knowledgeable and was very intelligent. He also worked for the BUR office. He helped Lord Maccon with his love life (in regards to Alexia) and he helped Lord Maccon get used to London society when he came from Scotland. His thoughts on how Lord Maccon sometimes acts and dresses is also hilarious. He becomes good friends with Alexia and protects her when Lord Maccon can't.

I also loved the world building in this book. I really liked how the supernatural beings were immersed and accepted by most humans. The approach that the author took on vampires was very different and interesting. That stood out to me the most because I am a vampire freak and read anything and everything that has to do with vampires. Her idea, in my reading experience anyway, is very original. I also liked her views on werewolves and their pack dynamics. I am hoping to read more about how ghosts affect this world in the later books.

I can't wait to read the second book of this series.

This review is also posted on The Book Owl Extraordinaire ...more

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Apr 30, 2015 Iris rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2015

“A vampire, like a lady, never reveals his true age.”

Not my cup of tea. Took me a long time to finish this book. Don't know if I'll continue the series.

Alexia Tarabotti was quite an whiney character. She hated being half Italian, her skin was the wrong color, her nose and body shape were wrong (according to who, I don't know) and I found it annoying that she repeated that all the time. Yeah, you don't like yourself, I got iy the first time, now stop please.

Another annoying thing (view spoile ...more

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Mar 30, 2014 Kme_17 rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

I really like this book. It is about Alexia Tarabotti who was born with out a soul and has to deal with various supernatural characters. I had a hard time getting into this book but after about fifty pages I was so in to it. I really like that it was a steam punk book. It was my first one and now I really interested in the genre. I also love the relationship of Alexia and Lord Maccon. I will definitely read the other books of this series.

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Jun 05, 2012 PepperP0t rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-read, adult, series, paranormal, urban-fantasy, romance, shifters-weres, what-was-that, steampunk, historical-regency

Soulless Alexia Tarabotti is witty, intelligent and a spinster. Despite her Italian ancestry, Alexia is born of both elite society and the local preternatural community and excluded from but she's excluded from it because of her sex and breeding. Relegated to 'the shelf' instead of attending her debut, at 25, Alexia is odd woman out whether at home, at a ball or traipsing through the local supernatural haunts.

At the latest ball to serve sub-standard fare, Alexia retires to be alone and is accos ...more

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Feb 10, 2012 April rated it it was ok

Shelves: lib-borrowed, paranormal, historical-fiction, read-in-2012, ccc-2012-yearly, ccc-yearly-tbr, ccc-holidayfun-spell

An interesting take on paranormal genre but I was reading it as steampunk. There really was not enough to qualify it. I might come back to the others later this time knowing what genre I'm really reading. ...more

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