Heartless, by Gail Carriger

Potential Spoilers here folks, so if you haven’t read Blameless, Changeless or Soulless, do not read on. Instead, go buy her books or borrow them from your local library!

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband’s past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux’s latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf’s clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama’s second best closet?

~ Heartless Back Cover, by Gail Carriger

I was weary about reading the fourth book in the Parasol Protectorate Series, by Gail Carriger, after Blameless didn’t quite live up to the first two books. However, Ms. Carriger won my interest in Heartless.

The story itself returns to its fast-paced nature. It builds on interesting character dynamics started in Blameless, between Lord Akeldama, Biffy, and Lord Maccon. Better yet, I couldn’t help laughing at Alexia dealing with the vampire hive, a plot on the queen, the mystery of her husbands past, all while waddling. Even though I haven’t been pregnant, I can imagine pushing myself the way Alexia does.

I love it when books play on my expectations. The way Ms. Carriger presents vampire threat in her books, leads the reader to believe the opposite will take place in Heartless, and I wondered how the plot could proceed that way. I was pleasantly surprised by Ms. Carriger’s twist at the end. Now, I can’t wait to finish reading Timeless.

On a couple of related notes, Gail Carriger’s blog is a wonderful blog for a writer studying the craft of writing. She often posts about the things in her books, from parasols, to character studies, to tea, and even some Q & A sessions with the wonderful Lord Akeldama himself. Her images pertaining to Professor Lyall inspired me to join Pinterest (see the link on the right side-bar) to develop images that relate to the characters in my head.

Long live the Parasol Protectorate.

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I received a Kobo e-reader for my birthday, and I’m looking for book suggestions. What has you reading electronically?

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