Customer Reviews

Blameless (The Parasol Protectorate)

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I went into this seriously hoping that this book would redeem the godawful cliffhanger in the last one, because up to that point I'd really enjoyed the series. And I don't mean godawful in the sense of I hate cliffhangers, I mean godawful as in who has their primary love interest go off on their wife like that and expect them to remain sympathetic? Especially when the reason for her apparent infidelity is so painfully obvious that it's obvious to everyone with half a brain?

Nope. It didn't. It's quite literally one of the worst mishandled bungle of a relationship I have ever seen. First Maccon spends the first quarter of the book being hit with the stupid stick in order to be a drunken jackass to everyone around him while his pregnant wife is in danger. Obviously, this was necessary for the plot to advance to get Alexia into Italy, but there had to be a better way of doing that than making your heroine's romance interest into an unmitigated asshat. By the time he disappeared from most of the book, I was glad enough to see him gone. Then...well, I won't go into details because it would be spoilery. Suffice to say that I would have thrown the book across the room at the reconciliation scene if I hadn't been reading it on my iPad. It may, in fact, be the least satisfactory reconciliation scene ever. Honestly, I half read it as an abusive relationship at this point. Certainly, I'd have a hard time believing that Maccon holds Alexia in any great regard after this. He may love her in his own way and he certainly desires her, but I don't believe he has any respect for her at all.

I enjoyed the rest of this, and I'm sure everyone who enjoyed the first two would as well. It had the same sparkle that the first one had, with Alexia's very distinct voice and thoroughly enjoyable steampunk adventures. I greatly enjoyed the side character's stories, and loved Professor Lyall's bigger role, and Akeldama's dilemma, Madame Lefoux's adventures and inventions, and even Ivy showing that she has some wit underneath all those hats. The Templar storyline was fun, and had a lot of promise for future books, and I really enjoyed the steampunk technology crossed with vampires and werewolves and preternatural. I'd love to find out more about Alexia's father after this, in particular.

But, barring a friend whose opinion I trust telling me that she's not bungling any relationships in future books in this series, I probably won't be reading any more. It's a shame, since I do enjoy them, and enjoyed this one when Maccon wasn't onscreen. But I just hate to watch characters butchered like that, no matter how witty and charming the rest of the book is.

** SPOILERS ahead of book #2 `Changeless' **

Gail Carriger's second instalment of the Parasol Protectorate ended on a doozy of a cliff-hanger. At the end of `Changeless' our buxom heroine discovered she was pregnant, and her werewolf husband Conall Maccon accused her of infidelity and kicked her out of his house.

When `Blameless' begins Alexia is living in the aftermath of scandal. She has become the talk of London town for Conall's abandonment, and when word gets out about Alexia's delicate condition, she is kicked out of her mother's house too. Everyone is convinced that Alexia was unfaithful to Lord Maccon because he is a werewolf and therefore dead, and thereby unable to procreate. But everyone seems to be forgetting that Alexia Tarabotti is a prenatural soulless - the first female soulless in history, and therefore an anomaly.

Desperate to prove everyone (namely Conall) wrong about the legitimacy of her unborn child, Alexia decides to travel to Italy and uncover information about her prenatural self.

Gail Carriger's books are a breath of fresh air. Her `Parasol Protectorate' series is historical paranormal romance with a healthy dose of Steampunk. In a word: `fabulous'. Gail Carriger is probably the most unique voice in the paranormal genre to date, and she continues her magnificence in `Blameless'.

This instalment sees Alexia Tarabotti in the uncomfortable quandary of being abandoned and pregnant. But Alexia is a heroine made of tough stuff, with a backbone of steel and enviable etiquette. In `Blameless' Alexia really shines and proves her mettle - she faces down London gossip-mongers, nightgown-wearing Templars, rampaging vampires and killer ladybugs. Oh yes, Alexia Tarabotti is probably at her finest when she is backed into a corner, armed only with her Italian fortitude and weaponized parasol.
But `Blameless' also reveals a softer side to Alexia, mainly triggered by her `infant-inconvenience'. The moments when Alexia allows herself to crumble and wallow are wonderful if only because they make her recovery that much braver.

`Blameless' also concentrates a lot on the series secondary characters. Accompanying Alexia to Italy is Madame Lefoux, the androgynous French inventor and hat-shop owner. I love Lefoux for her top-hat costuming, but also because she cares so deeply (and unrequitedly) for Alexia. There's definite chemistry on Lefoux's side for Alexia, and I love reading the heated remarks and undercurrents between these two women... I can't wait for the time when those unreturned feelings boil to the surface.

Then there's Professor Lyall, Beta werewolf-second to Lord Conall Maccon. Poor Lyall has a lot to contend with in this book, looking after his depressed Alpha while trying to navigate vampire politics. I absolutely adore Lyall; he's an immaculately dressed sheep-enthusiast (don't go getting the wrong idea...) who can turn into a proficient and vicious fighter when needs be. I really like the contrasting combination of Lyall's Beta ruthlessness - he's at once a well-dressed intellectual, and a formidable werewolf. I would love to read Lyall get a love-interest at some point in the series, because I think he would be very interesting when he falls in love. I'd even like it if Lyall got his own spin-off series, because I think he's interesting enough to be his own protagonist (provided he gets his own love interest).

Everybody's favourite secondary character, Lord Akeldama, does make an appearance in `Blameless', albeit a small one. However, his storyline in the book will have repercussions in future novels... I don't want to give anything away, but Akeldama's love life just got interesting.

Conall Macon has a relatively small role in `Blameless'. But his minimalist role is understandable, what with being heartbroken and all. Regardless, Conall is at his absolute funniest in `Blameless'. Once again I don't want to give anything away, but look forward to formaldehyde-soaked musings and a drunken werewolf fight. Hilarious!

One of the best things in any Parasol Protectorate novel is the ludicrously ingenious Steampunk inventions. In `Changeless' it was the introduction of the dirigible (complete with attached teapot), and in `Blameless' it is "homicidal mechanical dripping ladybugs" (yes, they are as cool as they sound!). Carriger seems to have an endless imagination for Steampunk contraptions, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

My one complaint with `Blameless' was not enough Conall/Alexia goodness. Of course the storyline explains the reason for their lack of page-time together... but I love their relationship so much and they bounce off one another with such charming velocity that the book is a little lacking for not having enough scenes with the two of them. The need is further highlighted by their short time together which is entirely romantic, sweet and leaves you wanting *more* of the mushy stuff.

One thing that Gail Carriger does very successfully in `Blameless' is secure the longevity of her Parasol Protectorate series. I don't want to give anything away, but Carriger has set up a storyline of ensured durability that will likely take many more books (fingers crossed!) to unfold. The last page of `Blameless' will have you jitterbugging for the next instalment, a far-away July 2011 wait (entitled `Heartless')... but it will be well worth it!

Blameless continues the story of Alexia Tarabotti, advisor to the Queen and married to one of the hunkiest werewolves around. After the cliffhanger ending of Changeless, I was really looking forward to this one! While this installment of the series is still full of all the snappy dialogue, fun steampunk elements and fantastic supernatural action, to me it was still missing something. Lord Maccon makes only very brief appearances in this one. He spends most of the story being inebriated and wallowing in self-pity and depression. The reader misses out on the interaction between the couple because they spend most of the story in different countries. Instead, we are introduced to some new characters that aren't all that memorable. Alexia is adventuring this time with Floote and Madame Lefoux, both characters we are familiar with, but both ill suited to providing the humor and back and forth banter evident in previous volumes of the series. This one sorely misses Ivy and even Alexia's annoying sisters. They provided perfect foils for Alexia's rapier sharp wit, and sadly only had minor roles in this story.

The character of Professor Lyall was prominent, and I enjoyed the sub plots involving the vampire intrigue and the Professor's efforts to keep the pack together in the face of Lord Maccon's constant state of drunkenness. As to the resolution of the cliffhanger, I don't want to be a spoiler so I will say only that things are set up for a very intriguing next installment of the series. My hope is that next time around Lord Maccon gets his act together. I didn't really like where the author went with his character. I was disappointed in what he did and in Alexia's quick forgiveness. But then again, maybe she hasn't totally forgiven him yet... Time will tell. All in all, still a very fun installment of the series with enough action to keep the pages turning, but not quite enough humor and verve to make it as enjoyable as the previous installments.

This review is brief, and perhaps---by your standards---redundant. But hopefully, helpful to some.

With BLAMELESS---the 3rd book in a 5-part series---I feel that I am reaping diminishing returns on my investment.

Gail Carriger has taken our intrepid heroine Alexia---Lady Maccon---even further away from London and the original cast with whom she so wittily bantered and interacted in the sparkling debut novel, SOULLESS. This is a mistake.

The Wodehouse-inspired by-play that initially entertained so charmingly is substantially missing, due to the author's largely confining Alexia to the company of one of the series less-interesting supporting characters and a Jeeves-inspired butler, who doesn't speak much at all.

The novel is comically amusing in fits and starts, and there is some clever Steampunk technology introduced. Some not-terribly-deftly executed action is inserted, near the end. Beyond that, not much interesting goes on. Given the brilliance of the first novel and it's slightly less-shiny sequel, CHANGELESS, I was surprised to find myself, this time, periodically casting about for something else to read.

As I said, hopefully helpful. If not, at least I enjoyed writing this. More than I enjoyed reading BLAMELESS.

Perhaps I was so disappointed because Changeless had such a great cliff hanger that I envisioned a different book. But I found myself reading quickly in hopes that the book would pick up steam! It is amazing but the best parts of this series are the witty verbal battles between Alexis and Lord Maccon, Alexia and her best friend Ivy (who is an absolute airhead) and Professor Lyall and Lord Maccon. Unfortunately there were not many conversations from the above mentioned pairings...only Professor Lyall and Lord Maccon...which are very good. I didn't particularly care for the story line of Madame Lefoux in this book. In truth this book read like a filler book for part 4 as if the writer had to write something in order to justify a fourth book in the series. Many unresolved questions and no plot is how I would describe this book. It's a really shame because I have enjoyed the previous two books for there unique storyline, lively banter between characters and engaging characters. I hope the fourth book in the series Heartless will be better!

What can i say, not as good as the first book but better than the second one. the 3rd book in the series and it read more like and steampunk action/adventure tale, which is OK because that's the kind of book i like. my biggest complaint is with the dynamics between lord and lady maccon, grownups know that some things can't be made right. the character of lady maccon is from a time and place where people (especially women) would be expected to be naive about relationships, but the readers aren't and lord maccon's behavior simple isn't excusable and alexia's response to his "apology" just isn't believable.

I'm beginning to wonder if Gail Carriger is capable of not hitting one out of the park. Soulless, the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series, was incredibly unique. Book 2, Changeless, improved on the unique setting of the first book, introducing more of the supernatural world and the fascinating steampunk technology.

Blameless picks up right where Changeless left off (which means if you haven't read Changeless yet, beware spoilers in this review!), with a pregnant and shamed Alexia who has moved out of her husband's house and back in with her lovely family. When she discovers that Britain's vampires (with the exception of Lord Akeldama, who has gone missing) want her dead, she goes on the run with Madame Lefoux and faithful Floote, her late father's valet.

I think I was most impressed by Alexia's continued judicious use of spine. She's found herself in quite a shameful position-pregnant and cast out by her husband, and in Victorian England's snooty and prudish society, that's probably the worst thing that could possibly happen to a woman. Alexia is more irritated by this than anything else, and despite the physical woes of early pregnancy, she still keeps her head high and kicks some ass when necessary. I absolutely love this character.

Carriger's prose is, as usual, laugh-out-loud funny and elegant in its mimicry of Victorian fiction. Most of the story is a cross-continent chase during which Alexia tries to figure out both how she was able to get pregnant and what her child might be when it is born. The scenes in which Professor Lyall attempts to find out why the vampires are after Alexia are very welcome. I liked Lyall in the other books, but he gets his chance to shine in Blameless, and he proves himself to be an excellent beta to Lord Conall Maccon's pack as well as a good leader in his own right.

My only complaint about Blameless (and admittedly, it is kind of a major one) needs to go under a spoiler cut, since it deals with something that happens at the end of the novel. Beware Blameless spoilers below!

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I don't think that Conall groveled enough to get Alexia back. I was just as relieved as she when she found out that he had publicly apologized for being a right bastard, but his actual groveling in Italy? Not enough. I really wanted an emotional scene where Alexia vents all of her justified anger and Conall has to really, truly feel bad about how he reacted. Instead, I got a short, jokey scene where Alexia demands he buy her expensive things to win back her heart.

Um. Yeah.

On one hand, I can understand Conall's initial reaction. In his long life, no supernatural has been able to produce offspring, so it makes sense that he'd initially think that she had been untrue. On the other hand, he's a reasonably smart guy, so I would have expected him to come to the realization that DUH, when Alexia touches him, he becomes mortal and could maybe produce some viable little swimmers. If he had realized it too quickly, though, it would have changed the whole rhythm of the story. I think, though, I almost would have preferred it if he had been trying to track her down throughout the story rather than popping up at the end in an almost deus ex machina sort of way.

I'm really hoping that Carriger deals more with my problem in the next book, because I think the forgiveness-and-back-to-a-happy-couple thing happened way too easily. I want Alexia and Conall to be happily back together, but I'd like a little more realistic conflict along the way.

Other than that complaint, though, I enjoyed the heck out of Blameless and count myself as a devoted reader of the Parasol Protectorate.

**Some spoilers if you haven't read Changeless, book 2*

When we last left Lady Alexia Maccon, she had been thrown out by her husband Conall due to her being pregnant. Seeing as Conall is a centuries old werewolf, there is no possible explanation for Alexia to be pregnant with his child. He comes to the conclusion that she cheated on him and turned her out. (Conall never stops to think that because Alexia is soulless, and when she touches a supernatural creature, she makes them human. So perhaps while they are intimate, there is a possibility he could get her with child). Alexia has no choice but to move back home with her mother, step-father and two annoying sisters who blame Alexia for their hardships in not finding any men to marry. Alexia is more than perturbed, not only by her husband's disregard, but the fact she's been saddled with an, "infant-inconvenience" as she calls the fetus growing in her womb. She can hardly keep anything down and her appetite has wasted away, another horrid side affect to her pregnancy. This is a woman who loves to eat and now she can't find joy in even that.

And the fact that Alexia is mark for extermination by the vampire community make things very hard indeed. She is almost killed by a group of mechanical ladybugs that infest her carriage. She captures one in a hat box and goes to see Madame Lefoux, a scientist, inventor and owner of a hat shop. Alexia has no one else to turn to, not even her good vampire friend, Lord Akeldama, who can give her sanctuary. He has gone missing, and now without the protection of her husband, Alexia and the baby she carries are marked for death. She needs to figure out how and why she has gotten pregnant so she can show her husband that she hasn't been canoodling with another man. She, along with Madame Lefoux, and her dead father's former valet, Floote, will travel to Italy, not only for Alexia's safety but to find her roots, since her father was Italian and a soulless like she is.

Italy is just as precarious as England, with vampire assassins following their every move and the religious group of the Templars who welcome Alexia, but with disdain. They believe Alexia is a demon and have a devious plan regarding her. With only her specially made parasol as a weapon, and her analytical thinking, Alexia, as always, must save herself.

Blameless is book three in Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series. The reason I read these books is because of the character of Alexia. She is so very adorable with her thinking and dry wit. This woman gets in to so much trouble and, even with the possibility of death breathing down her neck, all she can think of is food. The reason she loves Italy is because of the pesto. But unfortunately for Alexia, her child causes her a great amount of grief. She isn't sure how she should feel toward her unborn baby. She is fearful she doesn't have maternal instincts and may not care for her child. Her goal in finding out why she is pregnant moves along the story, and for once you see a more delicate Alexia. She's hurting a great deal because her husband has cruelly turned his back on her. Alexia maybe very vocal about Lord Maccon's fault, but he is the only one who has given her true affection, something she can no longer live without.

Now where do I start with Conall Maccon, the alpha of the werewolf pack of London? I'm deeply perturbed by his actions and the way he has treated Alexia. If you're expecting him and Alexia to have a great deal of interaction in Blameless, you will be very disappointed. I was peeved, not only by the way Conall is portrayed this time around, but when he comes to the conclusion how wrong he was about Alexia, it was very, very lacking. The word grovel comes to mind.

I was less than please in the outcome of Alexia and Conall's relationship because Conall didn't do enough, in my opinion, to have Alexia forgive him. The so-called grovel scene was unbelievably lacking. The man even has the nerve to be upset that Alexia didn't do enough on her part to try and make him believe her. I felt robbed in that sense and I hope in the next book that Conall will move Heaven and Earth to make Alexia happy.

Blameless is fun reading and I adore Alexia so much. I love her attitude, the way she looks upon the world and the non-stop loopy adventures she finds herself in. Even though one part of Blameless was less than satisfactory for me, I do look forward to Heartless and can't wait and see how the Maccons start a family.

Katiebabs

Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate)
Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate)

After reading and enjoying both previous novels in this series by Gail Carriger, I am finding it difficult to put my finger on why it doesn't exactly live up to the previous two. This is far from a bad story and I was entertained and enjoyed visiting with these characters again. However the story seemed to go on and on for me. When it takes me three days to read a book, thats a long time. This particular book took me over a week. For some reason I found I wasn't as engaged in this story as I usually am. In this tale, Alexia along with Floote and Madame Lefoux, runs away to Italy to escape the scandal that was discovered at the end of book 2. While Floote is enjoyable, I really don't care for Madame Lefoux. Maybe I just missed her interactions with all the great characters. The best Lord Alcameda and Ivy were absent for a good portion of the book. I missed them. The best parts of this story were the parts that dealt with life back home. Professor Lyall has quickly become another favorite after this story, in which he takes a big part. I think the new twists that took place back home involving Lord Alcameda and his drone are going to be the cause of a lot of fun stories in the future. Like others I thought Alexia was too quick to forgive the idiotic Lord Maccoon. I did enjoy seeing the softer side of Alexia as she pinned for her husband and over time found herself becoming closer to her 'inconvienance'. The gadgetry was cool as ever, I enjoyed the Ladybugs tremendously. I did find the explanation and theories surrounding the 'inconvienance' to be dull and far too hard to follow. This was still worth reading, and I am hopeful the other books will be more enjoyable. Still I think so early in the series, it was a mis-step for Alexia to be away from the settings and characters we know and enjoy.

I still really love this series, but this book didn't quite have the spark and charm of the previous two. Perhaps it was the lack of interaction between the main characters, Alexia and Conall. Most of the book is Alexia traveling with Madame LeFoux and Floote. I enjoy the character of Floote, but not so much Madame LeFoux.

For me, I think that the cliffhanger ending of the last book prepared me for how the book was going to play out, so nothing was really a surprise. The particular plot device used as the cliffhanger in Changeless and the major plot point of Blameless is one that I've seen a million times other books to separate the couple and get them together.

I did enjoy getting to see more of Professor Lyall, and his adventures trying to take care of the pack and BUR and a drunken Alpha. As always the mechanical and gadgetry aspects are well done, and the Victorian Steampunk vibe is very interesting.

I wouldn't recommend starting the series with this book, you miss a bit of background and detail on exactly what a Preternatural is.

I still look forward to the next book, Heartless, as this series is very entertaining and I hope that the author can recapture the magic of the earlier installments.