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veraann's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read sometimes it felt a bit cheesy. It's something to not take too seriously. It has vampires and werewolves and others. There is an interesting world build and people being proper.
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
I was ready to give up on writing a review to this book, but since I'm trying to improve my motivation and working ethic, and since I really want to make all my friends read this book, here I am.
Alexia Tarabotti is soulless, which gives her a quite useful paranormal skill and reasons to befriend some of the best seen vampires and werewolves in London. She's also a spinter, but this does not trouble her, as she is very smart and a skillfull partner in a conversation, and so her presence is still very much appreciated. One night, she is attacked by a mysterious vampire, and from then on, the situation only worsens.
I've heard so many great things about this series, everyone that I know of that read this book, can only praise it, and so my interest got greater and greater since I finally just went ahead and read the book. And Oh.My.God. The hype is real and the love is well-deserved.
Firstly, I just adore the world. We're in the 19th century, but in a London quite different than that painted in history books: vampires, werewolves and ghosts are real and an integrated part of the society, and it was fascinating to see how the dynamics of the society changed based on having to accomodate to the existance of supernatural creatures. Also, the history and religions are also changed, to fit the settings given to the story, and I just loved how Carriger managed to casually explain said changes to us.
The language also fits the period. I don't know how easy it is for a native speaker to read this book, but I had to search the meaning of a word every few pages, and although it can be an insufferable task, here I just loved it! The words and use of words fitted the period, the atmosphere was held especially thanks to the proper use of words to describe the details, and it was a real pleasure to read this book with a dictionary next to me as well. I love books that get me out of my comfort zone (here my somewhat limited vocabulary) and teach me something new (here, new words).
Alexia Tarabotti is my goddess. I don't think I can put into words just how much I love her! She's witty, sassy, smart and doesn't even dare of accepting the excuse of "you're a woman". The female in me felt so pleased seeing how Alexia is acting, she's strong and great and I'm pretty sure we all aspire to have a little bit of her in us. She's also tall, dark-skinned and curvy (not your usual main-female, you might say), but she's lovely and loved all the same, and her worth isn't diminished or raised by her appearance (even though her famility does see quite a few troublesome traits in the eldest daughter).
But actually, all of Cariger's characters are so lovely! Of course, some do stand out in the narrative, but the others are usual typhologies of the time, and so they fit the story amazingly well, and each has its own quirk, making them easy to recognize and easy to love. I also adored their interaction and the dialogue is probably the funniest and greatest part of the book.
I think that my favorite character (besides our main characters, who you simply cannot not love) was Lord Akeldama, a 400 years old vampire with a great personality, interesting fashion-sense and a totally lovely way of talking.
I had so much fun reading Soulless, I seriously smiled through half of it, and I was totally immerged in it from the first chapter. It's also a great mood-lifter, it did amazing things for me. I adored the feminist themes, the steampunk-ish elements and well, this book as a whole had me falling in love with everything in it. It was entertaining, it gave me a little bit of everything (which might be the main plus of the book, you can probably find something that fits your taste, no matter what that is) and kept my eyes glued to the pages.
*heart eyes*
Do not answer me if you've read this book, but can I expect a queer relationship in the next volumes? Because I'd love to see it done.
Alexia Tarabotti is soulless, which gives her a quite useful paranormal skill and reasons to befriend some of the best seen vampires and werewolves in London. She's also a spinter, but this does not trouble her, as she is very smart and a skillfull partner in a conversation, and so her presence is still very much appreciated. One night, she is attacked by a mysterious vampire, and from then on, the situation only worsens.
I've heard so many great things about this series, everyone that I know of that read this book, can only praise it, and so my interest got greater and greater since I finally just went ahead and read the book. And Oh.My.God. The hype is real and the love is well-deserved.
Firstly, I just adore the world. We're in the 19th century, but in a London quite different than that painted in history books: vampires, werewolves and ghosts are real and an integrated part of the society, and it was fascinating to see how the dynamics of the society changed based on having to accomodate to the existance of supernatural creatures. Also, the history and religions are also changed, to fit the settings given to the story, and I just loved how Carriger managed to casually explain said changes to us.
The language also fits the period. I don't know how easy it is for a native speaker to read this book, but I had to search the meaning of a word every few pages, and although it can be an insufferable task, here I just loved it! The words and use of words fitted the period, the atmosphere was held especially thanks to the proper use of words to describe the details, and it was a real pleasure to read this book with a dictionary next to me as well. I love books that get me out of my comfort zone (here my somewhat limited vocabulary) and teach me something new (here, new words).
Alexia Tarabotti is my goddess. I don't think I can put into words just how much I love her! She's witty, sassy, smart and doesn't even dare of accepting the excuse of "you're a woman". The female in me felt so pleased seeing how Alexia is acting, she's strong and great and I'm pretty sure we all aspire to have a little bit of her in us. She's also tall, dark-skinned and curvy (not your usual main-female, you might say), but she's lovely and loved all the same, and her worth isn't diminished or raised by her appearance (even though her famility does see quite a few troublesome traits in the eldest daughter).
“How ghastly for her,” said Alexia, driven beyond endurance into comment. “People actually thinking, with their brains, and right next door. Oh, the travesty of it all.”
But actually, all of Cariger's characters are so lovely! Of course, some do stand out in the narrative, but the others are usual typhologies of the time, and so they fit the story amazingly well, and each has its own quirk, making them easy to recognize and easy to love. I also adored their interaction and the dialogue is probably the funniest and greatest part of the book.
I think that my favorite character (besides our main characters, who you simply cannot not love) was Lord Akeldama, a 400 years old vampire with a great personality, interesting fashion-sense and a totally lovely way of talking.
I had so much fun reading Soulless, I seriously smiled through half of it, and I was totally immerged in it from the first chapter. It's also a great mood-lifter, it did amazing things for me. I adored the feminist themes, the steampunk-ish elements and well, this book as a whole had me falling in love with everything in it. It was entertaining, it gave me a little bit of everything (which might be the main plus of the book, you can probably find something that fits your taste, no matter what that is) and kept my eyes glued to the pages.
*heart eyes*
Do not answer me if you've read this book, but can I expect a queer relationship in the next volumes? Because I'd love to see it done.
daumari's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Soulless is a fun adventure, mixing Victorian social niceties with the supernatural and a dash of steampunkish science fiction (if I had to make a judgement call, would err on the side of fantasy because of the vampires, werewolves, and ghosts but it does have both sf/f imo).
The characters were definitely chatty- did sort of feel like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer level of quippiness, and POV shifts from paragraph to paragraph probably added to that. Intrigued to see where the rest of the series goes.
The characters were definitely chatty- did sort of feel like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer level of quippiness, and POV shifts from paragraph to paragraph probably added to that. Intrigued to see where the rest of the series goes.
ashley_apairofreaders's review against another edition
5.0
Fun gaslamp fantasy with vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. The tongue in check humor and the romance aspects had me flying through this one. The perfect book to read after a lot of dark romantasy books. It has a little bit of everything with a cozy vibe. Can’t wait to dive into book two.
aerialcataloger's review against another edition
DNF-ed at 30%. Not for me because 1) Alexi is a Very Special Fantasy Heroine who is Not Like Other Girls, 2) there is an unchallenged "Alpha-hole kisses heroine for explicit purpose of making her 'shut up'", and 3) no one told the author that she didn't have to note in every scene - whether or not it's relevant, and usually it's not - that Alexia is Very Voluptuous (even in a corset!) and Too Tan to Be Accepted in Lily-White Society (because her father was Italian).
bookschaosnart's review against another edition
4.0
A great first story in the series as the paranormal society of Victorian England is experiencing turmoil and low key racism. I can't wait to see how the side characters as well as Alexia & Lord Maccon's relationship develops.
lucindarie's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I found it to be very slow paced. The tension between the two main characters was good, and there were some funny moments. The book left me with more questions than answers and overall underwhelming plot. The characters were likable and the primary source of motivation to keep going with the read. The end felt hurried through and was the most interesting part by a long shot.
eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
2020 Reread
Changed rating from 4 to 3.
I first read this book three years ago but, even though I quite liked it, I didn't get around to reading the sequel soon enough. So I decided to reread it. And I didn't expect to write another review. Unfortunately, my opinions have changed since the first read, so here we are.
I still liked the first scene of the book, in which Alexia is being bothered by a newbie vampire trying to drink her blood ...and she accidentally kills him. But she's very chill about it, and it made for an entertaining scene that made me like Alexia immediately.
Liking Alexia remained consistent for me throughout the novel. She's funny and clever and bold, and she livens the book up. I also enjoyed the world-building aspect of the book—everything from how the supernatural were incorporated into this world, and funny things like vampires not going into homes uninvited, not because they couldn't, but because they cared too much about social etiquette. Other parts, unfortunately, weren't so consistent.
My biggest issue was with the narration. I think the author was going for a third-person omniscient but couldn't quite manage it. So instead, we got prose that seemed to shift POVs from one paragraph to the next. And that became a problem when we'd go from Alexia wanting tea to thinking about her generous curves! Is Lord Maccon, the werewolf love interest, the one thinking that or is Alexia just that modest?
Another issue was the balance in how much page-time was given to which aspect of the book. The world-building was fine, the romance needed a bit more, the plot about supernatural individuals going missing need a lot more, and a significant amount of the frivolous trying-to-be-clever portions could've been removed. Because while I won't deny that the book was clever, the attempts to imitate an Austen-esque tone fell short. And they ended up just taking up space in the book that could've been given to more important things.
Overall, this was a disappointing read—partly because of what it could've been, and partly because of what I thought it was since I'd previously liked it. Still, I think it's a book worth checking out.
The last thing I wanna mention is the ending. Certain developments felt like they came out of nowhere—an issue that could've been resolved if the book focused more on the plot! But despite the plausibility of the development, I like that it happened, and I might still read the second book because of that.
**********************************************************************
2017 Review (4 Stars)
This is a steampunk novel about a woman who fights vamps while wearing a dress (and a corset) using her parasol. At least, that's what's insinuated by both the Goodreads synopsis and the first chapter of the novel, in which the protagonist, Alexia, kills a vamp who attacks her for no reason while she's awaiting sandwiches, as a guest, in someone's library.
As you read on though, you see that the novel is quite different. The protagonist doesn't ever fight vampires. She simply found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, while led to her being involved in some troublesome stuff. Alexia is more of an intellectual. She a preternatural, meaning that she doesn't have a soul. Her emotions work fine, it's just, whenever supernatural creatures come in contact with her, they lose their abilities and become human. Her kind is very rare, which could be dangerous for her. Thankfully, her soulless state is not known by many, especially not her mother, who's constantly fretting that her 30-year-old peculiar, spinster daughter will ruin the marriage prospects of her younger sisters.
The official supernatural-committee-thing knows about Alexia. Supernatural creatures are a part of civilized society now so, of course, there are records kept. One of those official people is a werewolf called Lord Maccon. He and Alexia get in a lot of spats. It's a love-hate relationship and, obviously, a romance. The romance takes over a large portion of the novel. The other part is devoted to some trouble with the supernatural.
The story is interesting, thanks to the intriguing world. It's nice to see supernatural creatures be a normal part of society instead of constantly hiding or warring. The tone of the novel is humourous. A lot of it because of Alexia, who I really like. She's a bit of a troublemaker, considers food very important, and rolls her eyes at what most of society would consider a scandal. Her narrative was a ton of fun, and her and Lord Maccon's bickering was entertaining as well. And while I think that their relationship could have been more gradual, I liked it. They both unsettle each other (though usually, Alexia likes to rattle his fur).
So if you can overlook the misleading synopsis on GR and the romance being a little on the sped-up side, this is a really fun and enjoyable read. I think this is one definitely worth checking out and I'm looking forward to reading the future installments of the series.
Changed rating from 4 to 3.
I first read this book three years ago but, even though I quite liked it, I didn't get around to reading the sequel soon enough. So I decided to reread it. And I didn't expect to write another review. Unfortunately, my opinions have changed since the first read, so here we are.
I still liked the first scene of the book, in which Alexia is being bothered by a newbie vampire trying to drink her blood ...and she accidentally kills him. But she's very chill about it, and it made for an entertaining scene that made me like Alexia immediately.
Liking Alexia remained consistent for me throughout the novel. She's funny and clever and bold, and she livens the book up. I also enjoyed the world-building aspect of the book—everything from how the supernatural were incorporated into this world, and funny things like vampires not going into homes uninvited, not because they couldn't, but because they cared too much about social etiquette. Other parts, unfortunately, weren't so consistent.
My biggest issue was with the narration. I think the author was going for a third-person omniscient but couldn't quite manage it. So instead, we got prose that seemed to shift POVs from one paragraph to the next. And that became a problem when we'd go from Alexia wanting tea to thinking about her generous curves! Is Lord Maccon, the werewolf love interest, the one thinking that or is Alexia just that modest?
Another issue was the balance in how much page-time was given to which aspect of the book. The world-building was fine, the romance needed a bit more, the plot about supernatural individuals going missing need a lot more, and a significant amount of the frivolous trying-to-be-clever portions could've been removed. Because while I won't deny that the book was clever, the attempts to imitate an Austen-esque tone fell short. And they ended up just taking up space in the book that could've been given to more important things.
Overall, this was a disappointing read—partly because of what it could've been, and partly because of what I thought it was since I'd previously liked it. Still, I think it's a book worth checking out.
The last thing I wanna mention is the ending. Certain developments felt like they came out of nowhere—an issue that could've been resolved if the book focused more on the plot! But despite the plausibility of the development, I like that it happened, and I might still read the second book because of that.
**********************************************************************
2017 Review (4 Stars)
This is a steampunk novel about a woman who fights vamps while wearing a dress (and a corset) using her parasol. At least, that's what's insinuated by both the Goodreads synopsis and the first chapter of the novel, in which the protagonist, Alexia, kills a vamp who attacks her for no reason while she's awaiting sandwiches, as a guest, in someone's library.
As you read on though, you see that the novel is quite different. The protagonist doesn't ever fight vampires. She simply found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, while led to her being involved in some troublesome stuff. Alexia is more of an intellectual. She a preternatural, meaning that she doesn't have a soul. Her emotions work fine, it's just, whenever supernatural creatures come in contact with her, they lose their abilities and become human. Her kind is very rare, which could be dangerous for her. Thankfully, her soulless state is not known by many, especially not her mother, who's constantly fretting that her 30-year-old peculiar, spinster daughter will ruin the marriage prospects of her younger sisters.
The official supernatural-committee-thing knows about Alexia. Supernatural creatures are a part of civilized society now so, of course, there are records kept. One of those official people is a werewolf called Lord Maccon. He and Alexia get in a lot of spats. It's a love-hate relationship and, obviously, a romance. The romance takes over a large portion of the novel. The other part is devoted to some trouble with the supernatural.
The story is interesting, thanks to the intriguing world. It's nice to see supernatural creatures be a normal part of society instead of constantly hiding or warring. The tone of the novel is humourous. A lot of it because of Alexia, who I really like. She's a bit of a troublemaker, considers food very important, and rolls her eyes at what most of society would consider a scandal. Her narrative was a ton of fun, and her and Lord Maccon's bickering was entertaining as well. And while I think that their relationship could have been more gradual, I liked it. They both unsettle each other (though usually, Alexia likes to rattle his fur).
So if you can overlook the misleading synopsis on GR and the romance being a little on the sped-up side, this is a really fun and enjoyable read. I think this is one definitely worth checking out and I'm looking forward to reading the future installments of the series.
wollstonecrafty's review against another edition
1) I was tricked, bamboozled, hoodwinked, led astray into reading werewolf romance! this is not a safe space for team jacob. 2) why do people insist on still writing idealized british empire fic. this is like britain is soooooo good bc they do not legally discriminate against the supernatural and if they do they’re not TRUE brits! um also lots of discussion of how the MC is oppressed for being italian (britain is racist & specifically colorist only towards italians apparently)
faeriesparks's review against another edition
3.0
Most of this book I read while I was in a reading slump so I think that had a big impact on my rating. I did like the quirky writing. I'm still not too sure about the characters. I did enjoy Alexia's and Lord Maccon's relationship though I do wish it had been dragged out just a bit more. It wasn't exactly insta-love but it did happen quite fast and I think I would've enjoyed a bit more slowburn.
Overall this was an okay read for me, it didn't exactly blow my mind and I'm not quite sure if I will continue on with the series.
Overall this was an okay read for me, it didn't exactly blow my mind and I'm not quite sure if I will continue on with the series.