So in July Stormi and I are continuing on with our buddy read of the Parasol Protectorate series. I have to admit this one is going to be a tad hard to review because a major plot point in the book is also a massive spoiler. However, I'll do my best. So read on for my thoughts and then make sure you visit Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
TITLE: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3)
AUTHOR: Gail Carriger
PUBLISHER: Orbit
PUBLISHING DATE: September 1, 2010
FROM GOODREADS:
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season in the third book of the NYT bestselling Parasol Protectorate series.
Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.
While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season in the third book of the NYT bestselling Parasol Protectorate series.
Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.
While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.
MY THOUGHTS: If I'm honest, this has been my least favorite of the series so far. That's not to say I didn't like it, I just had a hard time picking it up and at times felt I was struggling to read it when I read the previous two so darn quickly.
So something has happened which has caused quite a riff between Alexia and Lord Maccon. Because of this, most of the book they spend apart. And unfortunately, part of the appeal to me of this series is the constant banter and wit between the two. Which is probably why I found it more lacking. In addition, the majority of this book is Alexia being on the run because numerous people are trying to kill her - like every single time she turns around. By the time I was two-thirds through the book, this trope was getting really old.
Now I will say that I enjoyed getting to know a tad bit more about Alexia's deceased father and it was also nice to see her old butler, Floote, step up his game and take a more important role. Even Ivy, whom in the past I've found annoying, played an important part and I'm beginning to think her air-headedness is actually just an act.
So while this book does play an important part in the series (can't give too much away), I'm hoping that it sets up a bang of a finish for books 4 and 5. And I'm also hoping I get to see more interaction between our two main characters.
RATING: 3 PAWS
BONUS REVIEW!
TITLE: Meat Cute: The Hedgehog Incident (Parasol Protectorate #.75)
AUTHOR: Gail Carriger
PUBLISHING DATE: February 2020
FROM GOODREADS:
From the comedic mind of New York Times bestseller Gail Carriger comes the much requested prequel short story to Soulless.
Alexia Tarabotti attends what appears to be a very dull London party, until the new werewolf Alpha turns up, is unconscionably rude to her, and sits on a hedgehog.
Don’t miss this charming novelette featuring the very first encounter between the Parasolverse’s most popular power couple, preternatural Alexia and supernatural Lord Conall Maccon.
Look out for cheeky appearances from other much beloved characters, not to mention the strategic application of a certain wicker chicken.
A Note On Chronology
Set in the spring of 1872 this story occurs just prior to events chronicled in The Parasol Protectorate series (featuring Alexia and Conall) and after those in Defy or Defend. Alexia also appears briefly in Romancing the Inventor, and Conall and England’s most scandalous wolf pack is referenced in The Finishing School series. Want more hot gruff werewolf gentlemen and practical tough ladies? Try How to Marry a Werewolf.
This is a quick read at 9000 words (about 15 printed pages) available in print only as part of Fan Service (collected Supernatural Society omnibus). It is best read if you are already familiar with Gail Carriger’s gaslight universe and comedy of manners style, as it was written specifically with her fans in mind.
From the comedic mind of New York Times bestseller Gail Carriger comes the much requested prequel short story to Soulless.
Alexia Tarabotti attends what appears to be a very dull London party, until the new werewolf Alpha turns up, is unconscionably rude to her, and sits on a hedgehog.
Don’t miss this charming novelette featuring the very first encounter between the Parasolverse’s most popular power couple, preternatural Alexia and supernatural Lord Conall Maccon.
Look out for cheeky appearances from other much beloved characters, not to mention the strategic application of a certain wicker chicken.
A Note On Chronology
Set in the spring of 1872 this story occurs just prior to events chronicled in The Parasol Protectorate series (featuring Alexia and Conall) and after those in Defy or Defend. Alexia also appears briefly in Romancing the Inventor, and Conall and England’s most scandalous wolf pack is referenced in The Finishing School series. Want more hot gruff werewolf gentlemen and practical tough ladies? Try How to Marry a Werewolf.
This is a quick read at 9000 words (about 15 printed pages) available in print only as part of Fan Service (collected Supernatural Society omnibus). It is best read if you are already familiar with Gail Carriger’s gaslight universe and comedy of manners style, as it was written specifically with her fans in mind.
MY THOUGHTS: So many times in the first and second books the infamous hedgehog incident is referenced. In fact, I'm kind of surprised to see this wasn't published until 2020 because it tells a very important, and quite hilarious tale, about how Alexia and Lord Maccon initially meet.
The tale is very short and I was able to grab it from Overdrive which is good because I think Amazon has it priced way too high for something that was easily read in under a half hour. However, I am glad I read it because it was extremely cute and yes, it involved hedgehogs!
RATING: 4 PAWS
Haaa, 'Meat Cute -- I like that! And, I'm glad that was a better read than the first -- one of two (good reads) isn't bad at all!
ReplyDeleteIt is a rather catchy title for a short story. I'm glad to finally be getting this series out of the way.
DeleteNow you've reminded me of New Moon when Edward and Bella spent the entire book apart, and I really disliked that book, lol.
ReplyDeleteYes, I recall that one too and yep, it annoyed me at the time as well. However, I still think I'd been happier if Edward and Jacob became a couple and they both dumped Bella.
Deletei've seen blameless around today but meat cute is the one that caught my eye. great title
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Such a great little tale about how they met. And come on, who can resist hedgehogs!
DeleteI didn't love Blameless as much as the first two books in this series, either, and I think it was because Alexia and Lord Maccon weren't together, and their stubbornness just frustrated me.
ReplyDeleteYou nailed my thoughts exactly!
DeleteI love the idea of homicidal mechanical ladybugs!
ReplyDeleteThey were quite entertaining. And MUCH better than snakes or spiders.
DeleteWonderful review! I have seen this series and I'm interested in reading it sometime.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
I'm kind of surprised you haven't read it yet Anne. I know how much you enjoy urban fantasy and this is kind of urban fantasy with a steampunk feel.
DeleteI hope your reading of this series picks up - although to be fair I found that my interest kind of waned with each novel and I never read the fifth so will be interested to see how you find it.
ReplyDeleteLynn :D