Dune by Frank Herbert: An Impression

I don't write reviews for books that are considered classics by a remarkable group of the reading population. But there's so many books in the world, we can't always read them hot off the presses, and sometimes we get to them late. In my case, 50 years late.
Yes, I finally got around to reading the cult classic Dune. This isn't going to be a real review, obviously, because I'm not qualified. But does it stand up to the test of time? You know, I've always had pockets of friends who were a little bit, more or less, obsessed fanboys of this series. Suddenly, now that I've read the book and I'm so excited about it I can't seem to find any of them. Obviously the hype is gone, but jeebus. So that's the predicament I'm in right now. I'm overflowing with opinions and discussion questions about this book, but I can't seem to find anyone to talk about it with me! I expect if I reread this novel at another time, I'll notice more things than I had this time. This book is mammoth & daunting. I guess this is what they call a "space opera." A great deal of drama over friends and foes and secret friends being secret foes and foes being secretly friends. And some fictional politics - which kind of lost me because why do I want to talk about made-up politics that aren't going to effect me when the real deal is so depressing and not going to go away when I shut the book?
So it was a great, epic novel that was daunting at first, but I feel I breezed easily through to my own surprise. I'd always felt intimidated by it's length, but I read it fairly quickly. I'll eventually get around to reading the other books in the series, but I do want to put some breaks on reading digitally. It's all fine and dandy, but not as pleasurable and satisfying as reading real books.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Library Copy

Before I dive in, may I please rant a bit? It is 2015 and female writers of fantasy epics are still hiding behind gender-neutral pseudonyms to get recognition. Would A Darker Shade of Magic be the hit it is if her name would have been Victoria on the cover? Probably not, because I can almost promise that this book wouldn't even have such an evocative cover at all. This cover is absolutely what draws in many readers (It's very well designed, I have to say!) But if Victoria's name were on the cover, I'm pretty sure it would be a lot cheesier. That's just the tendency - but I'm no expert on it, so I'll end my rant here.

I was super stoked about reading this book! Yes, I was totally drawn to this fancy cover. Sometimes, like now, it doesn't lead me astray. I'd never even heard of Schwab before,
A Darker Shade of Magic is about a young man named Kell who has a unique ability in which he can traverse between, well, I guess 'dimensions.' Basically, there are four different versions of London, and because of his ability pretty much only he can go between them because Kell is an Antari. He's an Ambassador for "Red London" and travels between the other Londons - each one a snow flake - as a mediator. But he has a business on the side selling magical items to collectors that he's smuggled from the other Londons. His little hobby, as it were, accidentally gets him into a heap of trouble, in which Lila - a pick-pocket, cut-throat, cross-dresser, and aspiring pirate - helps him out of. Now the two are traveling between worlds somehow (very Doctor/Dr's Companion-esque) on an awfully big adventure.

I adored Kell from the start, but honestly I kind of hated Lila. I know, I should be supporting "Strong Female Characters" whenever I find them. But she just has zero chill. Still, I think there may be some interesting developments from her later in the series.

It was a lot of fun to read - my coworker might have had even more fun listening to my excited outbursts coming from my desk during our lunch breaks spent reading it. Though I thought this book wrapped up neatly, I am excited to see what happens in the next book on the series.

Prudence: The First Book of the Custard Protocol

Amazon Pre-Order

We know how excited I was about this book. I preordered it and I never preorder anything. I had a moral dilemma when it arrived because it clashed with my Lenten penance.

Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama, or Rue to friends, is all grown up! It's really touching to see all the old crew 20 years older, even the babies which we didn't get to know really well at the end of the Parasol Protectorate books.
Rue is gifted an entire dirigible of her own by her indulgent adopted father, Lord Akeldama. However, this isn't just for joy-riding and globe trotting in. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, is to visit India and procure some very rare, very new tea plants. Because, as we all know from personal experience, tea is very important. So, along with her homies Prim, Percy, and Quesnel, she sets off, but perhaps a little too hastily. Because fairly quickly the youths discover that maybe they should have stuck around a little longer so that Akeldama could debrief them more on what to expect. Things such as werecats and an abducted Englishwoman. This causes a great deal of confusion (and as the reader it felt a little off the cuff and sloppy).

Plot-wise, the story was imperfect. Many of Carriger's series start off feeling like that, but improve after she embellishes over time. Considering that there is only projected to be one book after this one in the series, I'm a little concerned here.
But the thing that really makes this book work beautifully is the humor and the characters. I loved the banter between Rue & Percy. And Quesnel is just...

...Oh My Lanta. Mother MAY I! Etc etc

As usual, Carriger follows a formula with her cast. There's the plucky female lead, much developed since the soulless and socially cold Alexia. There's the well dressed, vain-ish, but totally loyal best friend (Ivy, Prim, and Dimity), and even that has gotten stronger. And there's the nerdy idiot brother that somehow girls adore. As I say, a little formulaic, but I really love the dynamic and it keeps me coming back for more. 

Rebel Belle

Kindle

How anyone before a certain age can read this book without thinking of Billy Idol first is probably a disparity to my supposed age. As we might have noticed, lately my taste in books is more about feminine and bad-ass ladies, and while I'll start off by saying this book doesn't touch anything I've been reading by Gail Carriger, I did really have fun with it. And at first I was disappointed with it, but it grew on me like a fungus.

Rebel Belle is about Harper Price, a pretty, popular, and loaded Southern Belle. She's a perfectionist, she's on literally every student committee in her private school, she has the perfect boyfriend, now she's the home-coming queen, yadda-yadda, you know the type. The kind of character, I'm kind of guilty to admit, is usually villainized and "mean girl'd." Actually, I expected to hate her. Until I realized she was a lot like Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but if Cordelia was the slayer instead. Then she kind of grew on me.
So, anyway, back to where I was. Harper is an dauntingly perfect Southern Belle, and on the night she's crowned as the school's Home-Coming Queen, she's also gifted with mysterious and unlikely powers - essentially super strength. She's now a paladin and must protect a hipster boy named David Stark. She & David have been rivals since childhood and absolutely hate each other. And now that she has to spend more time with him, those feelings are getting more complicated.

Okay, so this book is silly and more appropriate for teenagers, but I had so much fun with it. I really appreciated the honesty and authenticity of all the characterization. Even the minor characters seemed like someone I might have met. Best of, I love that a lot of the gendered cliches were shot down really elegantly - actually, a lot of the cliches were handled very nicely. I may have been a little too old for this book, but I want my teenaged cousins to get their hands on this book!

Third Daughter: First book of the Dharian Affairs Trilogy

Kindle (free!)

I have to admit, I read a review for this book on SBTB that simply raved about it. Those girls don't put up with much bull, so when they rave about something you know it's legit. It's a steampunk trilogy set in a proto-India - Not England or America? How refreshing! If I wasn't sold yet, I was when I learned that the first book is free on the Kindle (or any e-reader device, including smart phones.) You really can't say no to something like that!
Okay, it took me a good deal longer to read this than I'd have liked. (I guess I'm still adjusting to reading on my replacement Kindle) But you guys might not have ever known that if I hadn't said anything.
Third Daughter is about Princess Anari, who is as the title implys, the Queen's 3rd daughter which means that she isn't as special as the first or second daughter. But it does mean that, unlike her sisters, after she reaches a certain age she's allowed to marry whomever she chooses. But this is only after she reaches a certain age. Before that her mother could very easily make her marry whoever she chooses. Anari's birthday is in a few weeks and she knows exactly who she'll choose - a handsome courtesan. But, it just happens that her mom wants to introduce her to the prince of a foreign province which is known for it's supposed barbarism, a prince who her mother wants her to marry. There are conditions: Anari can say no outright, and she really wants to, but she shouldn't because her mother (who has often with-held a lot of affection for her daughter) promises that she can still marry who she chooses by her birthday, provided she says yes now and acts as a spy for their country. Rumor has it the prince has a secret flying machine that could be used as a weapon. Anari is a very head strong fire-brand. Maybe she doesn't always make the smart decisions - sometimes she let's her heart lead when she should really let her (actually, very sound) head do the talking. I don't always like characters like her, but then again she didn't make me want to throw things either. I like a character that knows when to shut up and butt out, which. Head strong fire-brands do not have a concept of this at all. I'm not saying it has to be a defining trait, just that, you know, sometimes it isn't always appropriate to jump down your body guard's throat for being straight up with you, even if he is unpleasant about it. That's all. But i'm getting ahead of myself.
Clearly, this is a good sci-fi with a tough female lead, romance, espionage and daring-do. It's smart and well versed. The world building is unique and really exciting, to me anyway. Anari is a bit exasperating, but she develops by the end of the book. It's a great start to the triology, which being that you're able to read the first book for free, it does entice me to pay for the next two books. Sometimes that kind of tactic doesn't always work, but it did this time. But if you'd rather not read any further it's okay too. The book has a satisfactory ending (with a small cliff-hanger). I have been advised, however, that the series does not end with "him putting a million babies inside her," which for a romance reader could be a problem.

Timeless: The Last Book of the Parasol Protectorate

Amazon Used

The last book in the Parasol Protectorate series, which I enjoyed so much as a whole, and I'm not really sure how I'm going to do this review. I'm kind of in a haze. Yes, Gail Carriger's new series, "The Custard Protocol," was released only this week - so it's not like I can't continue my journey with these characters absolutely immediately. But the series ended in such a way that... Well, I'm still dealing with Carriger making some decisions that I'm so totally on board with, and others that kind of crushed me. This being the last book in the series, understand that I will have to spoil the very important things. I will keep my review above a break for you, and the spoilers below it. If You Haven't Read This Book Do Not Read Past The Break. 

In this book, Alexia and company has had a few years to settle down until they receive a surprise invitation from an old as the literal hills (if you call pyramids "hills") Egyptian Vampire Queen. There's little choice, but many motives, for her to accept it. One of them being to find out something about her long lost father, and a little more about her preternatural condition. Naturally, new cases of intrigue spring up that must be dealt with.
So this book was a roller coaster ride. There were times where I felt euphoric and other times when I felt like my heart somehow lodged it's self in the back of my throat and I thought, panicking, "Is this real?! Is this real?!" I found out that some readers didn't share my enthusiasm, seeing as it was released around the same time as the last of the Sookie Stackhouse series - which was apparently disappointment (I wasn't a big fan of that series, Louisiana setting notwithstanding, so I can't imagine it ending any worse than the way it began, as I wouldn't read past the first book). Maybe it's because I allowed myself to become completely invested in these characters over the course of the last 3 months, but still couldn't allow myself to accept the bad luck of some of the characters. I'm still trying to digest it.
Rest thee assured that it ends happily, I guess. If you want any proof of that see The Custard Protocol - but do not see it if you haven't finished this series. It is a stand alone, but already it's made enough references to the events in this book to mess a sloppy reader up.
Speaking of, here comes the break! (Don't read if you don't want to be spoiled! You've been warned!)

Heartless: Book Four of the Parasol Protectorate Series

Amazon Used

At this point in the series, with only one book left, I almost can't write a review without spoiling some things for certain readers. That's why I'm going to change up my format out of consideration of anyone thinking about reading further into the series. I'm doing this because you might not be interested in starting a new series without knowing if it will end badly. We don't want another Lost.
Okay, Carriger has gotten into a really good stride at this point in the series. All of the characters are really interesting, the conflict is now more engaging - and if you have your wits about you, you actually have a chance at guessing the outcome (I hate books that deliberately with-hold information from the reader and toss out red herrings so that, even if you're paying very close attention, you'll never figure it out - cough, cough the Millennium trilogy)
I'm also excited that Carriger focused more on London this time around. I'm already a fan of Victorian novels on manners, and one of my favorite parts about this series is that - unlike a lot of Steampunk (unfortunately... ) - she's interested in it as well. Most Steampunk is really just a regular sci-fi novel but with steam & goggles. I get that a lot of fans think that's more interesting than Victorian manners, but this sets it apart.
The rest is under the spoiler-buffering jump -

Blameless: Book Three of the Parasol Protectorate Series

Local Used Bookstore

After reading the Finishing School series in such a whirlwind, I felt a little bad about never having finished up the Parasol Protectorate when I easily could have. The first book had been entertaining, but the second book was a little bit of a pot boiler, and so I nearly fell off because of it. But after enjoying Finishing School so much, I decided I'd wasted enough time not reading the rest and dove right in. During my extended weekend brought on by that surprise dental visit, I had enough time to catch up on some reading - which is always something I'm trying to squirrel out more of. I still managed to take longer than I needed to read this, mainly because the volume before it didn't exactly leave me thrilled, even though it ended in an exciting cliff hanger. In fact, it feels like it has been so long since I've last picked up this series that I barely can remember any of the minor characters. If it hadn't been for my closest friends being in the throes of Carriger Mania, I might not have picked it up again at all. But I'm glad that I did. As for forgetting characters names, I found it was a bit like riding a bike - it all comes back to you pretty quickly.
Now, where we last left off Alexia found herself in a delicate predicament. Cast out by her husband, family, The Queen, and embarrassed by society, you'd be tempted to worry about her. However, Alexia has always managed to take care of herself, though she gets by with a little help from her friends. The always dependable Lord Akeldama has suddenly left London, leaving Alexia to be pursued by all the remaining Vampires of London who now want her dead. She has no choice but to leave town herself, making a break for Italy (along with a few of her dependable friends) to seek out the care (????) of the Knights Templar - a collection of highly trained warrior monks. While there, Alexia learns more about her predicament and herself.
I'm really glad I decided to finally read further than the 2nd book. The characters are developing further and it's so much more interesting as a whole. I only have two books left of the series and I'm a little worried about what I'll do after it's all done (It isn't like I don't have 3 bookcases literally overflowing with unread books, bless my heart) but the good news is that I have Gail's new book preordered!

Sleep Donation

Kindle

Sleep Donation - A novella by Karen Russel (who wrote the amazing, goose-bumping Swamplandia! and St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised by Wolves) is only available in ebook form as far as I know. I've always been a fan fan of hers, so I swept this up as soon as I saw it on the New Releases page on my Kindle. If you've never experienced a Karen Russel story yet, you should know what you're in for. One word - Surreal. Her literary fiction is so not for everyone. I really enjoy her style and crafting of plot, but I know it might well be disturbing and unsettling to some people. Take Swamplandia! for example. It was magical - like a children's birthday magic show - campy and fun make-believe at first, until suddenly Russel pulls back the curtain, shows us her bag of tricks, reveals the ugly and brutal truth. This to me speaks volumes about her ability as a writer. She's picked the right business to go into.
I enjoy Russel's stories because I can understand why they were born. I can see how, in this story for instance, wondering about what it might be like if you physically couldn't sleep. (Though, I suppose if you're an actual insomniac you might know something about this - I, most resoundingly, am not.) I can understand being curious about it's extended toll on your health. (It reminded me of something I read as a child about Napoleon having refused to sleep a full night for a long stretch of time - only to succumb after resulting poor health.) I can definitely see how insomnia seems to be more common now, one might wonder what it might be like if it had reached epidemic status. So yes. I can understand the underlying structure of thought. It does make for an enticing fictional back-drop.

As excited as I was to read this novella, it didn't have the same spark that my beloved Swamplandia! had, but honestly I'm okay with that. What can you expect from a straight-to-ebook novella, after-all? But it wasn't bad. No, nothing that sends me straight to my dictionary is bad. She had verses that had me swooning - the concept was so interesting. But the personal drama of Trish Edgewater I found less than engaging. She wasn't a very interesting lead, though her development towards the end may have resolved those issues.
I guess in conclusion, while an interesting concept, I can't help but compare it to Swamplandia! (which is one of my all time favorite books) and it doesn't compare story wise. Or if so, it's too subtle for me to see it.

Books Into Movies: Ender's Game

So, this Sunday night I convinced my bud Jenee to see Ender's Game with me. I've been waiting for this movie to be made for years. I remember reading it for the first time in middle school, then again in college. This was around the time when huge movies were being made for YA series like it was going out of style: Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. I thought for a long time how peculiar it was that though Ender's Game had been just as popular, had just as devoted a fan-base, and had been out much longer that it somehow hadn't gotten it's own movie - until now. (I'm still not even sure I understand why it's taken so long - and I usually don't really care all that much about movie adaptations, unless it's a book I really loved.)
Okay - Ender's Game was never a book I looooved. Both times I've read it, it was to impress boys, but I still enjoyed it (and never once got the boy).

One of the reasons I wanted to see the movie for such a long time (and why I had such a hard time loving the book) was because Card puts a lot of effort into describing the training battles, and I had a difficult time visualizing them. At least with a movie, that issue gets resolved. Maybe this isn't such a huge deal to the male readers. I initially thought Ender's Game was somehow based off of the MegaMan video games (and if you look at that cover, I don't think you could really blame me) and though I was off the mark, it's still a great book for gamers and I assume many men who love this story are gamers. With that said, if they're reading this, they're most likely scoffing with disgust because I had a hard time picturing the training scenes without the help of the movie. And that is a lot of the story.

Ender is a, as Jenee put it, total Gary Sue. Training Ender up and watching him go through the ranks and be perfect and amazing and never fail at anything (because failure implies that he is becoming his worst fear - his brother, Peter. By the way, where was Peter for the entirety of this movie except for a single scene?) is a little tiresome and excruciating to watch. I seem to remember more vulnerability and self-doubt with Ender's character in the novel - hard to translate into a movie, but it gave his climb up the latter more depth and interest. The movie did get more interesting and watchable very quickly towards the end, though.

An extra plus is that there were prominent, strong female characters and a lot people of color. Petra, for example, is Ender's friend - but check this shit out - THEY AREN'T A COUPLE! Whaaaat? Yeah, turns out it's possible to be a cute, smart, kick-ass, an never-the-less important girl that plays a role besides love interest. I haven't necessarily read any of the other books in the series, so I don't know if this changes. But if left as it is, I think it's an encouraging thing to note.

I'm glad they finally got around towards making this movie. It was beautifully made movie, though it wasn't perfect (it's imperfections were a slow start.) As always, I hope that this movie draws in some new readers in the wide-world. I've never been able to convince my teenaged cousins to read these books myself, but maybe this movie will light a fire under their butts (and the butts of others life them)

Ready Player One

This book was lent to me by a fabulous little waitress at a restaurant I visit very frequently. It was extraordinarily kind of her to do so!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a decidedly different novel, and a testament to all of you video game nerds out there, both young and old. Wade Owen Watts is a teenager who grew up in a dystopian America where the real world isn't worth living in, so an alternate reality in the form of an advanced MMORPG called OASIS is used for people to live with abandonment, away from the real world. Sort of like the way we use the internet today.
The creator of OASIS, an eccentric multi-billionaire who was obsessed with the 1980's (the decade he spent his teenaged years), has died and sets the world on fire when he sends everyone on a hunt for an Easter Egg he personally programmed into the game. The hunt is more or less forgotten (though always in the back of everyone's minds) when Wade finds the first clue after years.
Ready Player One is unlike anything I've ever read - that part is very true. The entire novel is one big writhing basket of fan-service. In fact, while I appreciate that as a nerd, it was often too much for my tastes. Other reviewers referred to it as an "info-dump," and that's pretty accurate. The beginning half of the novel stalled to a halt while we were flooded with information on video games, movies, and music circa the 1980's, as well as trying to get a feel for the two settings the novel occupies.
You see, while I enjoy sci-fi novels, they all invent their own unique worlds and rules, and so I think it takes a reader some time to acquaint themselves. Or maybe that's just me. Ernest Cline used a good chunk of that time to barrage us with 80's cult classic trivia. Clearly he was just super excited to be able to write a novel like this, like the true nerd he is. How do I know? Besides the fact that he's written this book, as well as the movie Fan Boys, just look at his author photo -

- the man has a Delorian. I'm sorry, but no one else on Earth could have been better qualified to write this book. 

As cool as the idea for this book was, I was sorry to have given in 2 stars on Goodreads. It was hard for me to keep myself interested in this book. Not only because of the info-dumping, but also because I didn't care for Wade's character. I have a personal issue with arrogant, nerdy boys (who are usually fedora wearing chubs) that expect no one to live up to their glorious, shining standards. I have had enough interactions with real life Wade Watts to find the fictional one a big enough jackfruit. Of course, Wade is a teenager, and that's pretty universally true for most teenaged boys. It still doesn't mean I have to fall in love with this annoying little Holden Caulfield.

I'm going to go ahead and say that if you're a male reader and you love any amount of video games, sci-fi, comic books, anime, etc, you will enjoy this book (and you may already be a fan of Cline's career). As for me, I found it "meh." And that's from a girl who once broke her bedroom ceiling fan pretending to be Aries from Final Fantasy 7.

Changeless: Book Two of the Parasol Protectorate Series

   As it so happens, the review I wrote of Book One, Soulless, is one of my most popular posts so far. That being the case, I can't let my readers down! Here's my review of the 2nd book - Changeless.
   It would be difficult to review this without spoiling it if you intend to read the first book, so I'll just try to avoid mentioning anything, you know, important. This book didn't initially heat up the series. You basically had to read on until the end of the book, the very last chapter, the very last few pages for that. And it ended on a cliff hanger. I'm not going to say that the rest of it was unbearable to read, but it was nothing really all that special, either. It was fun and entertaining to read and revisit the old characters, plus there are a few new characters, too. A mysterious French woman who ends up becoming Alexia's intellectual side-kick, and a Scottish werewolf pack. A good deal of the story takes place in an old Scottish castle.
The basic plot is that some mysterious, presumed bio-weapon that only affects supernatural beings (and only in the London area) is causing Vampire and Werewolf alike to return to their mortal states, as well as exorcizing ghosts. Without warning, Alexia's new husband (whoops! Is that a spoiler?) high tails it out of town, though not necessarily in pursuit of the cause of the blight.

As I've said... it didn't really add much interest to the series. My verdict is still out on if I liked it or not. I'll still continue to read the others in the series, because I really appreciate the author's style and sense of humor. It's refreshing to read anything Steam Punk that isn't awful, and while this is a little better than mediocre, it still isn't.... you know... awful...

Wishful Drinking

   Oh, Carrie Fisher... if you are too young to recognize (and I ought to be) she is the actress best known for her role in Star Wars as Princess Leia... and if you're also a woman, she played Meg Ryan's sassy sidekick bestie in When Harry Met Sally.
   I have a confession to make. I'm a closeted fan of celebrity memoirs - but only if it is a humorous memoir. This, as I've recently explained to a friend, is because I feel like I know these famous people better. I know their lives more intimately, I've heard their funny antidotes, I know about their origins... It feels more like they're telling me stories about their lives over coffee. It feels like we're friends. I love that. It's best when it's humorous because no one wants to have coffee with a wallowing and sad stranger.
   Carrie Fisher is sort of an idol for me, and I'm sure she is for many other Nerdy Girls. Not only because she's an iconic woman in the Nerd industry, but because she's got a smart mouth. I've never met a nerdy girl who isn't as snarky as the day is long. (Have you?) This is all the reason in the world that we need to look up to her. But she's also had a rather interesting, rocky life - I, personally, love and respect women who have lead difficult lives. Her parents (Debbie Reynolds and "Crooner" Eddie Fisher) were the sweethearts of Hollywood in their time. They were also dear friends of Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Michael Todd - even walked in their wedding. Then when Todd died suddenly in a plane crash, Eddie Fisher went to console Elizabeth ... "with his penis." He never went back to his family, but Elizabeth did dump him not long after during the filming of Cleopatra for Richard Burton. (When news of these developments caught up with Debbie, quote: "I Laughed.")
   Marriage and dating in Hollywood, as we all know, is a very slippery slope. Carrie herself wedded and bedded a few men herself, one of which being Paul Simon - she even says she's the inspiration for his song Graceland.
   But, of course, we all know and love her for her role as Princess Leia. Can you imagine being this woman? Can you imagine being "Graceland," every geek's wet dream, and having famous parents? She has such a great sense of humor. But what she's learned is that she needed to. She was also manic depressive, alcoholic, and addicted to drugs. Carrie Fisher's life wasn't exactly a stroll through the park. All the more reason why I desperately want to be her coffee buddy.

   I realize, of course, that this memoir (released in 2008) coincided with a HBO special of the same name, which I also have not seen but have heard something of. All the same, this book was a fun romp.

Soulless: Book One of The Parasol Protectorate Series

I hope you're all having a Spooktacular Valentines! This year we had kind of a wonky calendar, what with Lent starting exactly one day before Valentines. So if you're Catholic, like me, and gave up sweets for Lent, like me, I hope you're still able to go about enjoying Valentines day. (My advice - don't be weak! Yes, that temptation makes it very, very, very hard, but that's exactly what it's all about. Don't try to squirrel out of it.)
Mardi Gras was a very quiet, rainy affair for us. It's only natural that I camped out all week in my bed, reading and gorging myself on candy (while I still could). And the book I picked to read? Perfect for Valentine's Day. I couldn't have planned it better if I tried, and honestly I didn't.
Now, to know me is to know that I like to celebrate Valentine's Day with Buffy marathons and red velvet cake (if possible), and that "bad" Steampunk Sci-Fi is a special guilty pleasure of mine. Soulless isn't quiet Buffy, but it's in the same vein, and if the book reviews on GoodReads are to be trusted, this book is indeed bad.

Wise words of wisdom.

But since this sort of thing is my Honey Boo-Boo Child, I really enjoyed this book. A lot. I mean, since I'm a paranormal romance/steampunk loving fool, and all. And really, I wasn't too far off the mark before when I mentioned Buffy. Soulless is about a half Italian, smart-ass spinster named Alexia who lives in an alternate-past London. In this version of London, werewolves and vampires live-in with the rest of society. It's all very proper and dignified. And while werewolves and vampires are still considered dangerous, they are accepted and normal. What isn't considered normal, however, is to be preternatural like Alexia. In other words, she has no soul. In other words, she is neither human, nor supernatural, and can't be turned as you would have to have a soul first.
That's pretty cool. But most importantly, she's entertaining as hell. We here at Feast of Poetry love a strong female lead. We also do not believe that that necessarily has to take away from the fact that any romance intended for this strong, independent lady has to be dry and lacking of luster. Because there is a certain Scottish alpha werewolf (Cliche? Perhaps. Do we mind? Not really.) who has set his cap towards our little Alexia. And while the resulting trysts are only PG-13, if even that, they certainly still had me, as the expression goes, "clutching at my pearls."
I really liked the tone of this book. I loved the idea for an a-typical paranormal romance that's refreshed a little bit by adding steampunk elements, Victorian manners, and sassy mouthed heroines. It's not perfect, but it's a fun, light-hearted way to spend a rainy pre-Valentine's week.