Changeless

Summary: Alexia Maccon, née Tarabotti, has had to get used to a lot of changes very quickly. She's learning how to be a wife, the female in charge of a pack of werewolves, and the preternatural advisor to Queen Victoria. Just as she thinks she's getting settled, though, a major crisis rears its head: there appears to be a plague of humanization in London. Within the affected area, werewolves are unable to shift, vampires lose their fangs, and ghosts are immediately exorcised. Since those are effects that are normally associated with a preternatural's touch, and since Alexia is the only preternatural in England, she's determined to get to the bottom of things... but to do so, she'll have to head to Scotland, where her husband has show more traveled to deal with "family business" of his former pack.

Review: This book was every bit as much fun as Soulless, and has left me dying to dive into Blameless. The tone has shifted a little bit from the first book, and while I missed some of the elements that were downplayed, I enjoyed the new parts just as much. Changeless had less romance - or at least fewer overtly romance-y bits, although I still find that watching Alexia and Lord Maccon flirt with each other is thoroughly charming - but I thought the increased focus on the mystery led to a more complex story than in Soulless. The mystery overall was handled really well: some things I figured out as the story progressed, some I didn't see coming but made sense once they were explained. The ending was similarly unexpected, but fit with the story and characters as established thus far, and is a hell of a cliffhanger; it took all my willpower to keep from tearing into the third book long enough to write this review.

The writing is just as good as in the first book, too; all Victorian and proper in feel while simultaneously being filled with absurdity and snark. (I laughed out loud more than once, and was quietly giggling to myself for most of it.) The only issue I had was that the steampunk-y-ness (steampunkitude?) of the story was really heavily dialed up in this book as compared to the first one. I like steampunk as a genre well enough, but I prefer it when it's used as a flavor rather than a focus. There are a few places in Changeless where I felt like Carriger got carried away describing the aetheromagnetic whatsits and it started to distract me from the story. Travel by dirigibles is sufficient for setting; I don't need every gear and lever described. But that's a pretty minor quibble; overall, this book is silly and fun and I enjoyed it to (small, cog-shaped) pieces. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: There's a lot of world-building in Soulless that's only lightly (or not at all) recapped in Changeless, so read them in order. But the series as a whole is hilarious, fast-paced, and good fun for anyone who likes historical fantasy and steampunk and needs a little brain candy. show less

Alexia Tarabotti has moved from the social wilderness her spinsterhood, unfortunately dark complexion (courtesy of her Italian father), her overly-endowed figure and her status as a preternatural (also know as curse-breaker or soul-sucker) had condemned her, to the centre of society by her transformation into Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, wife to the most powerful werewolf in England.

Gail Carriger uses this transformation to continue to twist steampunk Victorian tropes into something new and wryly amusing while still fundamentally human and engaging (even if the "humans" are, for the most part, werewolves and vampires).

There is rumbustious, satisfying and frequent marital sex, above and beyond the call of duty. There is an ancient show more curse that afflicts only the supernatural. There are big, hairy Scottish men in pretty tartan skirts. There is a hatshop that is more than it seems and a cross-dressing French milliner who makes Alexia's skin tingle in the most surprising way. There are parties to unwrap Egyptian mummies and long-standing werewolf feuds up the Highlands of Scotland. There are dirigibles, bizzar communication devices and weaponised parasols.

"Changeless" charges along like Alexia Maccon herself, powered by good-humoured confidence, buoyed by a loving, sexually satisfying marriage and focused on sorting out the whole curse thing with the minimum amount of fuss.

The whole thing is great fun, right up to the final chapters, when facts emerge, the reaction to which sweeps away the very foundation of Lady Maccon's world.

"Changeless" is a remarkable achievement in sustaining a humorous tone despite dealing with serious matters, while delivering a plot that continues to surprise and characters that grow more vivid by the page. show less

Let me count the ways that I loved this book and this series! Changeless picks up right where Soulless left off so if you haven't read the first book yet be warned of spoilers. And I'll put my bottom line right at the beginning of the review and say that this book is even better than the first. I loved it!

Alexia Tarabotti is back and better than ever in this sequel to Soulless. In this installment Alexia is investigating the mysterious phenemonen that is affecting parts of the supernatural sect in the city and causing them to apparently turn "human" for unknown reasons. Of course Alexia is caught up in the midst of everything and her investigation leads her to follow her husband to Scotland and the werewolf pack he left behind. But as show more always trouble follows her and Alexia is in more danger than she knows.

I found this book to be even better than the first which is really saying something as I thought Soulless was very good. This book provided the reader with a different side to Alexia as her marriage to Lord Maccon shows a slightly softer but just as stubborn Alexia. I loved the banter between these two and love how their relationship has evolved. There is just a chemistry between these characters that really works for me and helps to make the books even better in my opinion. I was also glad to see that this book included more of Ivy Hisselpenny as well as some new characters that we were introduced to. The humor in this book was more apparent to me this time and I caught myself laughing aloud on a couple of occasions. This was a fast paced read that kept me enthralled until the very end. And the end. Well, don't get me started other than to say that I was left wanting more. Right now. If I were you I would have a copy of Blameless nearby to open up as soon as you finish this book. All in all, a great addition to this series and I can't wait to see what kind of adventures/trouble Alexia gets herself into next!

Bottom line: Must read in my opinion! Great series! show less

I only had one major complaint with this book and that was the moderate amount of time Alexia and Conall spent together. One of the major factors that made me fall in love with this series was Alexia and Conall's relationship. When she's with Conall it's like I'm watching a fantastic tennis match with the battle of witty, snappy and sarcastic remarks. The couple is highly entertaining to read and their chemistry is so cute, funny and totally romantic. I just also happened to miss Lord Maccon's big, loud and gruff presence.

Once again I found myself laughing, giggling and totally engrossed in Carriger's peculiar fantasy world, up until the very end, at which I was brought back down a couple notches and left utterly shocked and show more speechless. Gail Carriger ends Changeless with such a great cliffhanger that made me so glad I'd decided to purchase the rest of the series the night before because there was no way I would stand a whole night before starting the third book of the series, Blameless. show less

(Because this is a sequel, there is a potential for spoilers. Reader, be warned.) In Soulless, Ms. Carriger introduces us to Alexia, a no-nonsense, Victorian-era female with a scientific mind and a unique relationship to the supernatural community. In Changeless, Alexia remains as lovable, and hilarious, as ever. She continues to thwart convention and insists on maintaining her "masculine" opinions and interests. This time, her marriage to Maccon provides plenty of laughable, and yet tender, scenes. They make a wonderful couple, as theirs is truly a partnership in life and in love.

Like Soulless, Changeless remains a satire of the Victorian era, masking the story of women trying to make it in a male-dominated society. The use of science show more and the "modern" gadgets is a slap in the face to society values and the importance of appearance.

The ending - my goodness, the ending. It is horrifying and heartbreaking. I had no idea I was so emotionally invested in Maccon and Alexia until the final chapter. I found the cliffhanger ending so upsetting, I could not sleep and was forced to get a happier book to help me settle down. Ms. Carriger is not afraid of taking chances with her novels, and nowhere is this more apparent than in how Changeless ends. I will be waiting on tenterhooks until the third in the series, Blameless, is released.

If you have not yet had the pleasure of reading the Parasol Protectorate series, enjoy steampunk, satire, or a good old-fashioned romance, I highly suggest picking up the series. Alexia is a character that everyone needs to experience! show less

Picking up a number of months after book one in the series, Soulless, left off, we find good old feisty Alexia once again involved in a case of supernatural weirdness. This time, through unknown means, the supernatural of London are suddenly stripped of their 'supernaturalness' - vampires and werewolves find themselves trapped in their human forms and the ghostly elements of the affected region of London have 'disappeared'. When Lord Maccon takes off to Scotland on sudden urgent business, Alexia decides to involve herself in investigating the matter.

Happily, this story continues to showcase the entertaining cast of characters I enjoyed from book one: Alexia's love interest Lord Maccon Earl of Woolsey, the intelligent and dependable show more Professor Lyall, the ever delightful Lord Akeldama and Alexia's rather vacant and not overly observant friend Ivy. Armed with a new parasol filled with 007-style gadgetry, traveling by dirigible and communicating across distances using an aethographic transmitter, book two in Carriger's Parasol Protectorate continues to amuse me. Not as good as book one - this one has some slow bits that made the story drag, the mystery really wasn't much of a mystery, I still had troubles visualizing the aethographic transmitter (even with all the description provided) and yes, some of the dialogue and antics were just roll the eyes 'over the top' silliness - but it was a fun story to unwind with.

Overall, another entertaining romp through Carriger's alternate history Victorian England and a good bit of fun escapism reading. show less

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, preternatural and recently wed to the Alpha Werewolf of the London Pack is trying to figure out all the ins and outs of her new life when her husband suddenly takes off on urgent business. When she herself gets to London for her own business affairs she finds that the urgent problem for all the supernaturals is their inability to change. All are stuck in their human form and vulnerable to aging and death. She immediately sets out to discover the source. The byplay between characters is hilarious. There are subplots involving Lord Maccon's original Pack and death attempts on Alexia. Secondary characters with propensities for silly hats, theatricals, and inventions interplay with vampires, ghosts and show more werewolves in a steampunk Victorian society. What fun! My only negative is the cliffhanger ending. Fortunately I have the next volume. show less