Heartless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Parasol Protectorate (#4)
Publisher: Orbit
How Received: gift
Read my review of Soulless (#1).
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?
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I wasn't originally going to review this because I knew exactly what was going to happen - it was going to turn into a love fest about how much I adore this series.
Warning: Love fest ahead.
I mean, I adore it. It sits proudly on my favorites shelf next to the Bloody Jack series and the Hunger Games series. And I am going to list the reasons why, all of which appear in this novel.
It's absolutely hilarious. I laugh out loud every time I read it; from the plot to the thing Alexia says (and the phrase "infant-inconvenience" - I know what I'm calling my child if I ever get pregnant), I can't help but giggle.
The plot is fantastic. Is it slightly predictable? Yes, but it's supposed to be; it touches on the mysteries of old. You know how it's going to end, but you keep reading because it's just that damn good.
And then there's the plots with the individual characters and not just the mysteries, like the ones with Ivy and the ones with Lyall and the ones with Biffy and Akeldama, and I sit and squee because I love the characters so much and they're so nicely done.
And the characters. The CHARACTERS! Oh my parasols, how I love these characters. When this series ends, part of my heart will break; I haven't had characters I lvoe this much in a long time. Alexia takes after my own heart and I want an Akeldama to call my best friend and Maccon. Maccon, how perfect can one werewolf alpha lord husband BE!? I love him, I do, and I re-fell in love with him on page 193. (I have the UK version, so it may be slightly different from the American version. You guys will know when it happens, though. Hint: Alexia's sleeping at the time.)
Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. My love for this series knows no bounds.