Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate)

I am completely in love with Gail Carriger and her `Parasol Protectorate - Alexia Tarabotti' series. I ate up her first book, `Soulless' - and I have to admit there was a small part of me that wondered if Ms. Carriger could capture lightening in a bottle twice. Well, `Changeless' undoubtedly proves that - yes - she jolly well can! In this book we learn some very dubious and interesting things about the late Mr. Tarabotti, Alexia's father. Carriger also reveals some very large tidbits about Lord Conall Maccon and his old Highland werewolf pack. Alexia continues to impress and my fictional girl-crush grows. She is such an unconventional leading lady for this 18th century London setting - she is a veritable Amazonian warrior in trim-lace, and she's back to her wonderfully witty self in `Changeless'. Ms. Carriger also introduces a cast of new and wonderful secondary characters. There's the wonderfully androgynous inventor, Madame Lefoux who is hired by Lord Maccon to create a weapon-parasol for Alexia. Lefoux is a really fantastic character; Alexia and readers are never entirely sure if we can trust her, but we like her nonetheless. She wears men's clothes - cravats and top hats - and it's positively delicious to read her not so subtle flirtations with Alexia, which Alexia is completely clueless about. Then there's Alexia's stepsister, Felicity Loontwill, who crashes Aliexia's investigations and is foisted upon her as a traveling companion. Felicity is deliciously devilish, and lives up to the `evil stepsister' cliché. One of Lord Maccon's werewolf military leaders is also introduced - Major Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings. If the name sounds pompous, the man himself is even worse. He has only a small role in `Changeless', but it generates the most laughs and I sincerely hope he becomes a series regular. Of course Lord Connall Maccon, London Alpha, is back and sweetly gruff. He and Alexia are completely smitten and adorable, their scenes are an absolutel delight. Vampire toff Lord Akeldama also returns, along with his italic-speak and sweet endearments; "daffodil!". He is definitely a favorite of mine, along with his `delicious' drone, Biffy. These two enter a scene and hilarity ensues! The writing itself is an absolute treat; scrumptious and voluptuous. Carriger's prose reminds me of Oscar Wilde, with a dash of Joseph Heller, Jane Austen, H G Wells and Jules Verne thrown in for good measure. Her writing is an absolute feast. And the best thing is that Carriger's love of the `Steampunk' sub-genre is unmistakable. It's clear in her describing a dirigble, `glassicals' and a new invention of a dirigible-attached teapot. She loves this alternate reality and her writing of this modern 18th century is a delight because her love of the genre is infectious. I am crazy about this series. So far this is the only Steampunk I've read, and I do keep meaning to wade deeper into the Steampunk waters... but I'm afraid the bar has been raised to such great heights by Ms. Carriger, that anything else I read in the sub-genre will fail dismally by comparison. `Changeless' is wonderful, of course. But the ending will send fans reeling. Don't read the blurb for book #3 `Blameless' until you've read `Changeless'... because there are BIG, HUGE spoilers.

Alexia Maccon, nee Tarabotti, has left the "scandal" of her bluestocking spinsterhood behind for scandal of a deliciously different sort. Her marriage to Conall Maccon, Earl of Woolsey, werewolf, and head of BUR (Bureau of Unnatural Registry), set the gossipping tongues of London's social scene aflame. And her new position as muhjah to Queen Victoria -- the preternatural or soulless seat on the queen's Shadow Council for supernatural affairs -- keeps her on the cutting edge of vampire-werewolf-human relations and policy. But a mere three months into her marriage, Conall abandons her for Scotland and his former pack's stomping grounds with nary a word of explanation, and Alexia determines to follow. Her husband may be supernatural, and she may be soulless, but this is simply not the way to make a marriage work. When news breaks that a literal plague of humanization is sweeping from London to Scotland, leaving supernaturals human and vulnerable, Alexia's curiousity is more than piqued -- as the only member of the Shadow Council immune to the "plague's" affects, she is tasked with uncovering its source. The stakes are high as Alexia wends her way to Scotland (via dirigible), coping with mysterious Frenchwomen, lovelorn best friends, recalcitrant werewolves, and unknown assassins. With the survival of the empire and her young marriage at stake, Alexia's considerable intellect and propensity for parasol-related weaponry face its greatest challenge yet -- the very survival of those supernaturals who are wired to distrust a soulless... I thoroughly enjoyed Soulless, Carriger's introduction to Alexia and Conall's world, but oh my word I think its sequel is even better. Marriage hasn't dimmed Alexia and Conall's predisposition for arguing and teasing, in the best Darcy and Elizabeth tradition, and the sparks continue to fly post-nuptials. If anything, the twist of having Alexia adjust to her role of Alpha female for the Woolsey pack adds spice to the relationship, since certain wolfish habits -- like grooming and table manners -- are a constant source of trial when met with Alexia's very proper upbringing. I love Carriger's exploration of both Conall's and Alexia's pasts. Conall's history is particularly interesting since he has a good two centuries of life on Alexia, and Carriger takes full advantage of his trip to Scotland to explore his prickly past history with the Kingair pack and his long-estranged relations. For her part Alexia's position as an Alpha pack female and muhjah to the queen widens her circle of supernatural acquaintances, many of whom knew her long-dead (but apparently infamous and promiscuous) father. Carriger is clearly poised to take her time developing Alexia's antecedents and their impact on her position as one of England's few registered preternaturals, but the hints she drops in this installment of the saga are tantalizing, leaving me eager to see how Alexia's history and role in current supernatural affairs progress throughout subsequent volumes. The delightful, albeit somewhat one-dimensional characters first introduced in Soulless make their encore and oft-times more successful appearances in the pages of this sequel. Alexia's best friend, Ivy of the horrendous hats, is if possible sillier than ever, but I thoroughly enjoyed her on-again, off-again romance with Conall's werewolf-in-training valet, Tunstell. Even better I loved the reappearance of the flamboyant rove vampire, Lord Akeldama, whose propensity for spying introduces the aethographic transmitter, a replacement for the "troublesome" telegraph, a highly convoluted piece of steampunk technology that figures significantly in Alexia's investigations. The humanization threat even makes unlikely allies of vampires and werewolves, and the cooperation between Akeldama's favorite drone, Biffy, and the Woolsey Beta, the deliciously enigmatic Professor Lyall, is absolutely hilarious. Where the plot of its predecessor was meandering but nonetheless an enjoyable trip, its sequel is more focused, the plotline more linear and well-developed. There is still plenty of humor, hijinks, and romantic sparks, but Carriger's sophomore effort feels more focused and polished. Alexia is altogether more assertive and sure of herself (though her alleged "susceptibility" to Madame Lefoux felt forced and contrived), and given the killer cliffhanger at the end of this book those are qualities that will stand her in good stead. The cliffhanger -- gah! It BROKE MY HEART. While far from flawless this series is on a roll and I cannot wait to see where Carriger takes Alexia and Conall next. Imaginative world-building, clever, quirky characters and a ton of humor mark Changeless as a page-turning entry in a highly addictive series.

Changeless by Gail Carriger is breathtakingly brilliant. I am enamored with this series and this is only the second installment. Carriger had me drooling over book three, due out in September, with an excerpt from the next book. If you haven't read Soulless, the first in the series- do it. And warning- don't read the blurb for book three until after you have read the first two! Major spoilers. So- the ending. THE ENDING. It has me in a fit- threw me into a whirlwind! It is heart wrenching. It left me heartbroken, sad and crazily anticipating the next book. I mean, I never could have predicted or even thought this ending was possible. What an excruciating way to end a book! All of this meant positively, of course... even though it's achingly painful waiting for book three. :) I'm still not over the cliff hanger, obviously. Alright, back to Alexa Tarabotti, Conall and the crew. Their story starts off three months after Alexa marries Conall. There is a slew of humdrum problems to deal with. Ugh- The entire military regiment camping out on her front lawn and her irritating sister coming to stay with her... But Alexa is settling in just fine as a new wife and adviser to Queen Victoria. Uh oh, spoke too soon. Conall scurries off one evening without telling Alexa- and coincidentally a plague has over come London and left London about the same time as her hubby scampered off. Now Alexa must set out after her husband on a trip to Scotland, hopefully she can figure out why London was afflicted. What is going on here?! Why has all of London's supernatural residents become stricken with morality? THIS is steampunk at its best! All the necessary elements are here- exquisite details, impeccable devices. Yes, devices. Dart guns. Glassicals. Air-Travel Dirigibles. Wireless Transmitters. Wait until you read about the parasol that was designed exclusively for Alexa- an inventors dream. Haha, it holds a bundle of secrets... a steampunk version of Inspector Gadget. Speaking of Inspector Gadget- we've been introduced to a woman who dresses like a (very fashionable) man. How scandalous. The new characters introduced here are strong and so easy to visualize. I'm smitten with the secondary characters- ah- the Professor and Lord Akeldama coming together to save the day? Icing on top of my cake. I have not even come close to putting how amazing this book is into words, so just start this series! Move it up to spot #1 on your TBR pile! Brace yourself for the brilliance that is the ending of this book- it is astonishing, jaw dropping- ugh, is it September yet!?

When Lady Maccon first adjusted to the nocturnal life as wife to Lord Maccon, alpha of Woolsey Pack; life was routine, if a bit strange. However, when word went around that both werewolves and vampires found themselves mortal without so much as a calling card, and ghosts were forcibly exorcised... That was entirely uncalled for! The second book in the series by Gail Carriger starts off three months after the previous story "Soulless" ends. Alexia Tarabotti, now Lady Maccon and muhjah to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, finds herself embroiled in another mystery. A mysterious force appears to render supernaturals powerless, and despite the camp of werewolves on her front lawn, a strange illness (is it poison?) and several attempts on her life, Alexia is determined to solve the mystery. After all, she is a respectable married woman now, not merely a decoration on her husband's well-muscled arm or a preternatural curiosity. This adventure includes dirigibles, which were only briefly mentioned in the first novel, and truly set the landscape for the steampunk genre. The sensibilities are spot on for Victorian England of 1870, from delicate interactions between people, the ceremony of tea, hats and parasols, but still throws in the occasional oddity that DID surface in that time, including the incomparable Madame Lefoux: a character of impeccable taste in gentleman's clothing, a purveyor of hats and parasols, and a mystery to herself. The adventure brings back some of the favorite secondary characters, such as Professor Lyall, Miss Ivy and the flamboyant Lord Akeldama. It is a delight to see that these caricatures of Victorian society will not be left behind after the initial introduction. In fact, while Ms. Carriger does whisk us away to the heathen North, she builds upon that which has already been established. Alexia's scheming half sister (one of them) is included a bit more this time, which only allows us a deeper understanding as to why dear Alexia wished to leave in the first place. I will allow one spoiler: the ending is a bit of a cliff-hanger. While the adventure itself is completed, we are left with a question as to what will happen to our heroine and her future. I must confess that I was very annoyed at not knowing what would happen next, but if I didn't care that much about her characters, I probably would not enjoy it so much, nor have such empathy at the end. If you enjoy Victorian adventures with all the trappings, but without the unrealistic abandonment of propriety, this is a wonderful addition to the series. Much like a Jules Verne novel, we have all that is majestic in the Victorian Steam age, even the tea and parasols.

After reading Soulless, I was quite eager to start the next book of the series because I found the characters, the story, and the writing very entertaining, however, I must say that Changeless was a bit of a disappointment for me. Everything that made Soulless so successful was almost completely absent in Changeless. I missed the spiciness of the conversations between Alexia and Lord Maccon; the supportive friendship with Ivy, and surprisingly the major presence of Lord Akeldama and Professor Layll, even though I didn't find the former so interesting in the first novel. I found myself almost bored with the interactions between our now married couple, and particularly annoyed with their constant reference to each other: "husband/wife"; they lacked the spunkiness and sexiness that filled book one. I felt that this marriage have ruined everything that was good about this couple in the first place. Alexia was annoyed with her husband, her dear friend Ivy, and pretty much everyone else nearly throughout the whole novel. Specifically, she was almost mean-spirited towards her friend Ivy, which made me think why the two of them were still friends. Add to the mix her half-sister Felicity and I snoozed throughout most of their traveling misadventures that seemed to occupy a good chunk of the book. The story itself did not pick up until the last few chapters, and even then the events and revelations that took place were predictable and expected, thus rendering them boring. The only thing that surprised me was Lord Maccon's reaction to Alexia's news at the end of the novel - I thought him to be more open-minded character. The refreshing, no cliff-hanger ending of Soulless was very welcomed for the first book in the series - it could have been a stand-alone novel if it wanted. However, there is a major cliffhanger ending in Changeless, which probably was the only thing that saved the series for me and made me pick up Blameless - although, I am starting to get worried that the names of these novels might give away everything upfront. On another note, the new cast of characters including the Kingair pack and Madame Lefoux felt underwhelming. I really wanted to like Madame Lefoux, but her character felt a bit flat, and even though she was written as a major player in the novel I did not thirst to see more of her or even her story. A worthwhile mention should go to Major Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings - he certainly was an interesting character, and his interactions with Alexia, as well as with Professor Layll reminded me so much of Alexia/Conall and Conall/Layll relations in book one. I hope we get to see more of Channing in the coming novels.

Overall Rating 4 Stars -Book Description: 5 -Cover: 3 -Plot: 4 -Creativity: 4 -Grammar: 5 -Simile Use: 4 (minimal usage) -Description: 3 (at times overwhelming) -Show And Tell Balance: 3 Changless is the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series and has within its pages humor, mystery, intrigue and a whole lot of supernaturals. I'm not stranger to Ms. Carriger's style, being as I have read the entire Finishing School series and am following up with this series. Granted, it would seem I took to things a bit backward, as this series was written before the latter. That being said is probably the reason I enjoyed this book slightly less than Soulless. At this point, I'm very accustom to the world that is within this series and the Finishing School series and found that some of the description became a bit overwrought and tedious. Carriger is good at description, but I do believe it could have been minimized and kept the novel to a more reasonable length. Further, in Changless, we begin to run into characters from the Finishing School series but the stories don't exactly line up. Several of the characters are far older than they ought to be in comparison, and facts don't align such as Sidheag and Naill becoming alpha. There were several of these points that stuck out to me, and having fully fallen in love with Naill during Finising School, I was slightly devasted to find in this novel he's not present because of his demise. All things considered, Changless is an interesting addition to the Parasol Protectorate series, if not a bit more dry and lengthy than needed. The ending promises that Blameless will pick up speed and continue in a new far more interesting direction.

*Contains Spoilers if you haven't read Soulless! {Im really proud that I was able to keep this review free of spoilers for Changeless and Blameless! YAY!} My name is Larissa and I am a Spoilerholic! I love spoilers but sometimes my addiction comes and bites me in the butt. Right around the time Changeless came out I made the mistake of reading the blurb for Blameless. That was it, I could NOT read Changeless and deal with the wait for the the next book, so I just waited for the release of Blameless to get close before I read Changeless. I brought my copy of Changeless on my NY trip and devoured it in hours. My first trip to Barnes & Noble had me getting a copy of Blameless, but before I could do that I ended up buying the kindle version as well, since I didn't know when I was gonna be able to go to a bookstore. YES, that's how much I needed to read Blameless. What I learned from my experience is how amazing the Parasol Protectorate series is and that Soulless was NOT the work of a one hit wonder. Gail Carriger is an amazing writer that has been able to convey the Victorian era beautifully and at the same time add all my favorite elements in the paranormal genre to it. Alexia and Connall go through the ringer in Changeless and Blameless, I laughed and I cried with them and mostly I just wanted to punch Connall until he came to his senses. Most of all, though, I felt a lot of different emotions while reading these books and in this day and age where you can find so many books and series in your favorite genres, that is the best you can ask for. A story and characters that make you feel strongly is what sets those books apart for me and Gail has delivered that in spades. I am a card carrying Gail Carriger fan now and I cannot wait for what she will come up with next and for Alexia and Connall's next adventures! If you haven't read this series yet, please do, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Originally Posted at Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life {[...]}

Changeless picks up a few months after Soulless leaves off, with Alexia now married to Conall Maccon. Of course, being the type of person she is, married life in no way means settled life, and she is caught up in mysterious happenings and life-threatening adventures once again. All the while hoping for a decent bit of tea and with her trusty parasol in hand. The world created in this series is rather fascinating, the abundance and lack of soul, the power balance between vampires and werewolves and how it impacts the governments around it. We learn a bit more about ghosts this time around as well as those without souls, such as Alexia, but it's a frustratingly little amount. I must admit, I share Alexia's frustration whenever teasing bits of her father are mentioned and then abandoned. Some of those snippets, such as the Templars, seem meant to be expanded upon in the next book, so maybe there will be more answers. A lot of this book seemed devoted to relationships (or attempts at them), which took away from the plot and led to some annoyance. I'm not sure if the author meant for me to be so fed up with Alexia's friend Ivy whenever she appeared, as well as a few others. It seemed as if there could have been a lot more plot advancement or answers if the whole 'oh, but I'm attracted to someone beneath my status' subplot could have been downsized greatly. It was a distraction. Also, in the previous book's reviews there was mention about the author's habit of having characters think of themselves by their family name and title. While reading this book, it seemed less jarring... but I suspect it's because of the change of Alexia's last name. I doubt it's a good sign when a day or two after finishing a book you have a problem remembering characters' first names because they keep referring to themselves as lord and lady Maccon. I felt a bit cheated that the meeting of two of my favorite characters, even if they are technically secondary characters, was largely off-page. Again, there was the feel of wasted scenes in this book. That's a bit of a shame, because on the whole, this series is usually witty, fun and inventive, not to mention a nice bit of heat between the two lead characters. There's a bit more of a technical bent to this book as well, for those steam-punks out there, another step into what makes this world so different from our own and establish it on its own ground. I enjoy all the world building that's gone on into this series, let's hope the next book focuses more on that and the machinations behind everything. Also, part of what made the first book and scenes in this book so fun to read were the interactions between Alexia and Conall. More of that would be nice as well. Changeless stumbles when the two characters are apart (and Lord Akeldama is nowhere to be found).

Schon die ersten Seiten von Changeless (Brennende Finsternis) lassen erkennen, hier wird es wieder genauso absurd komisch wie im ersten Teil Soulless (Glühende Dunkelheit). Angereichert mit der gewohnt charmanten Prise Steampunk kommt der spitze Humor in Form britischer Trockenheit wieder frühzeitig in Fahrt und treibt die Mundwinkel in die Höhe. Skandalöse Kleidungsstile sowie der obligatorische Sonnenschirm, in dem sich ein ganzes Arsenal an tödlichen Waffen verbirgt und der ein bisschen an James Bonds Kollegen Q denken lässt, lassen darüber hinaus keine Wünsche offen. Während die Handlung dieses Mal etwas löchrig geraten ist, wurden die Figuren deutlich besser ausgearbeitet als im Vorgänger. Sie haben mehr Tiefe, mehr Persönlichkeit und wirken kurzum solide. Diese Nähe zu den Charakteren macht es einem leicht, sich von der Geschichte und ihren urkomischen Wendungen mitreißen zu lassen. Manch nervtötender Persönlichkeit möchte man da trotz ihrer Zierlichkeit gerne auch mal den Damenschuh in das fein zurechtgemachte Hinterteil treten. Auch sprachlich ist Changeless wieder ein Highlight. Im Gegensatz zur deutschen Ausgabe kommt im Original natürlich auch der schottische Akzent in voller Pracht zum Vorschein und strapaziert gemeinsam mit den hitzigen Wortgefechten die Lachmuskeln zusätzlich. Schon allein deswegen macht das Original noch mal eine ganze Ecke mehr Spaß. Daneben fällt auch immer wieder auf, wie intensiv sich Gail Carriger mit den Details zu ihren Romanen befasst, seien es nun die Verhaltensregeln und Manieren, wissenschaftliche und technische Erfindungen oder die Beschaffenheit viktorianischer Mode. Mit einer sichtbaren Liebe für all diese Details schafft es die Autorin, wieder ein lebendiges Bild ihrer Welt zu zeichnen, ohne sich dabei in ermüdend langen Beschreibungen zu ergehen. Mit Changeless liefert Gail Carriger erneut eine paranormale romantische Komödie ab, in der Geister, Mumien, zeterndes Weibsvolk und schottische Werwölfe in Kilts ihren großen Auftritt haben. Besonders fies ist jedoch die letzte Wendung und der damit verbundene Cliffhänger zum Schluss. Da sollte man sich unbedingt den 3. Band, Blameless (Entflammte Nacht), frühzeitig zulegen und bereithalten.

I am positively addicted to this woman's writing, Gail Carriger is the Houdini writer, you will read her book and disappear into another world, praying that the audience never finds you again! I can't thank her enough for giving me an escape when I needed one the most. I have no idea of the news in the real world, my family feels I'm rude and my house is in neglect but la, they will survive without me whilst I escape to the next book and the next, I shall be holidaying for weeks in the world this wonderful Carriger has created and I shall feel no remorse, not a lick!

This book continues on from Soulless, I think that the books do need to be read in order to fully comprehend the situation and understand how all of the characters fit into Alexia's life. Alexia still has her parasol, but now an upgraded James Bond version. For those who have not read the first book, the series is set in the Nineteenth century where werewolves, ghosts and vampires are the norm. Alexia is the only preternatural in London, a person without a soul, who with her touch can take away supernatural powers. Alexia is highly intelligent, half-Italian and too brown, too curvy and too exotic to be considered attractive in society. Still Lord Maccon (a werewolf alpha) finds her very attractive. Alexia is now married to Lord Maccon, and the relationship is still as unique and physical as in the first book, not soppy and romantic, but funny and entertaining. In Changeless we see many of the characters travel to Scotland to visit Lord Maccon's old pack. They are there to investigate a strange moving phenomena, where all supernaturals in an area lose their powers and stay mortal. I found this book to be even better than the first, the writing is witty and sharp. The plot is interesting and the end of the book has a great new storyline set-up for the third book, Blameless - which I am now desperate to read!

La vie maritale offre à Alexia l'occasion de s'envoyer en l'air, par dirigeable, et de découvrir l'Ecosse et ses kilts, avec un aplomb tout à fait remarquable. Il faut dire que la paranaturelle a déjà frôlé la mort par deux fois, c'en est assez pour rouspéter et fourrer son nez dans les affaires de son mari, de plus en plus cachottier. Alors que tous deux affrontent son ancienne meute de Kingair, un phénomène d'humanisation frappe les créatures surnaturelles, sans raison valable. Comme c'est étrange ! De plus, la meute est rancunière et veut protéger ses secrets, mais Alexia n'en peut plus de faire semblant et brûle de mettre les pieds dans les plats. La connaissant, cela promet d'être virulent. Et de nouvelles rencontres, comme la modiste française, Mme Lefoux, aux allures excentriques, sèment le trouble dans l'esprit de notre héroïne, ça et les déboires sentimentaux de miss Ivy et la soudaine obsession lubrique de sa soeur Felicity, quel chantier ! Je ne sais plus si je suis amoureuse de l'univers de Gail Carriger, ou de ses personnages, ou de l'humour, ou même de l'intrigue bien fournie et mystérieuse, sans oublier le point final, crucial, mémorable, impitoyable. Tout ce que je sais, c'est qu'il ne faudrait pas attendre trop longtemps pour dévorer la suite. Miam !

I absolutely love this serie: the characters are funny and the book is well written. It is fresh and original.