Soulless

I have really got to start writing down the #bookstagrammers behind the recs. I have read so many books that I’ve only found through random posts and greats suggestions from fellow bookworms on Instagram and I never remember who to thank! Regardless, this is one of those. And I’m sending a thank you to the universe that will hopefully find the right place to land, because this book was great!

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless takes place in Victorian London. Well, an alternate Victorian London, where vampires and ghosts and werewolves exist and are part of normal society and hold important advisory-to-the-Queen roles and head their own government Bureaus. Our heroine herself, Miss Alexia Tarabotti, is what’s known as soulless (a preternatural), which means that her touch neutralizes any supernatural power. She has to deal with a lot of daily strife, like her annoyingly shallow family, her own spinsterhood, the importance of social etiquette in daily interactions, dealing with Lord Maccon (a werewolf, a good-looking and powerful one), and getting caught up in an investigation with him over disappearing vampires.

This book was just straight entertaining. SO entertaining. Like, I haven’t been this amused reading a book in quite some time. I laughed so much. This was like, the quirkiest, tongue in cheek, steampunk take on Victorian England and I simply loved it. Plus, we all know that I have a huge soft spot for traditionally supernatural beings, like vampires and werewolves, in any form. The author poked fun at the societal expectations and regulations of the time period, while simultaneously giving a great homage to it. I don’t totally know how she was able to walk that line, but she nailed it. In addition to that, the mystery and romance of the story were both very solid. They fit well into the time period, yet, with both relationship interactions and the scientific (this is where the steampunk comes in) advancements, also pushed the boundaries of what was actually possible/acceptable in a wonderfully diverting way. I loved the way Alexia led that charge with her attitude, strength, transparency, and out of character bravery for the typical “woman” of the period – it was a great and unexpected dose of feminism fun.

This novel is the perfect summer read. With intrigue, drama, romance, the paranormal, steampunk tendencies and female attitude…I sped through it. And I enjoyed it so so much! I’m also thrilled to know that there are more of these books, that this is the first in a longer series, because I definitely have not had enough of Miss Tarabotti and her confidence and her parasol and, of course, her Lord Maccon.