2 Bloggers 1 Series - Heartless

Stormi and I are almost finished with our buddy read of the Parasol Protectorate series.  Only one more book to go.  I'm just going to warn you that there will probably be some spoilers here.  There are just some things that I need to mention.  I will try to warn you though.  So read on for my thoughts and then make sure you visit Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: Heartless (Parasol Protectorate #4)

AUTHOR: Gail Carriger

PUBLISHER: Orbit

PUBLISHING DATE: July 1, 2011

FROM GOODREADS: 

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?

MY THOUGHTS: So I think this probably ended up being my second favorite book of the series so far.  Even though we started out with people once again trying to kill Alexia, that element was short-lived and I for one am very glad.  In this installment, Alexia is still incapacitated slightly (more about that in a minute).  A mad ghost comes to her and delivers a message which infers that the Queen is at risk of being murdered. Alexia takes on the task of trying to stop the murder before it occurs, all while dealing with all of our favorite, and not-so-favorite characters.

This book definitely featured more of my favorite people.  Lord Akeldama is a key player and I love this vampire just as much as I originally did - even if every time I read about him I can't help but picture Sir Elton John.  Lord Maccon is also very present and is dealing with some of the aftermath from the ending of the last book.  Ivy makes a small appearance and I am finding her less annoying and we mustn't forget Alexia's annoying family.  Her sister shows up on her doorstep seeking refuge but Alexia should have known there was more to the story than meets the eye.

Once again the book was pretty action-packed.  It read rather quickly and I'm super excited to see how the series wraps up.  Now for the SPOILER:  Alexia is 8 months pregnant while trying to do all of the above.  She is not a very maternal individual, being soulless and all, and I have to admit that picturing her doing everything she did while pregnant was rather amusing.  I also love how Alexia refers to the baby throughout the novel as the "infant inconvenience."

Definitely a strong addition to the series, I'm glad Heartless pulled the series out of somewhat of a rut for me.  Can't wait to grab the last one!

RATING: 4 Paws