Title: Changeless
Author: Gail Carriger
No. of Pages: 388
First Released: 2010
Synopsis (Courtesy of Powell’s Books): “Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears – leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.
But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.
She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.”
Comments and Critique: (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 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!
I did not spend a dime of my money because I checked this book out from the library!
