Jul 29, 2011

Heartless



Heartless by Gail Carriger
(Parasol Protectorate #4)
Published: July 1, 2011 by Orbit

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?

       I love this series, something proven by the fact that I am still so into the story at the 4th book. Usually the 4th book is where I start thinking the story is gonna get dragged out forever and dump the series altogether. I just found out that Gail Carriger has planned for Timeless (coming March 2012) to be the last book in the series and I'm already reluctant to let go of these characters. This book is just as hilarious and absurd as the first 3 books. If you haven't read Soulless, go do so now! (There's a great deal over here if you need to catch up.)

Reasons I love this book:
  • Alexia- I love her so much! She's insane and hilarious in the way she interacts with everyone around her so calmly and considers humans like her sisters to be out of their minds. She's always held her own, but here she's 8 months pregnant and still not willing to sit still. In her eyes, if she has her parasol she's good.
  • backstory- we finally get some backstory on Lyall which is nice since he's always so calm and put together. Here we get to see the lengths he is willing to go to for those he cares for.
  • Akeldama's house- SPOILERS! An 8 months pregnant Alexia waddling back and forth between 2 houses on a drawbridge and living in Akeldama's closet? Hilarious! END SPOILERS!
  • Ivy- surprisingly, Ivy turns out to be quite useful and more competent than ever before
  • I love that I can never tell what's going to happen. These books are so off the wall crazy and I love it. I never see any of the plot twists coming!

Huh, what?:
  • Madame Lefoux's machine- I was shocked when the purpose of her machine was revealed! Has she lost her mind?
  • Countess Nadasy- she's a vampire queen so clearly she's already crazy but she steps it up in this book
  • Felicity- for a glimmer of a second she seems almost tolerable, but is quickly proven to be even more annoying than I'd thought possible
  • Lord Akeldama- usually a great characters, he reveals his selfish side near the end of this book and looks like a total jerk. He is always aware of what his actions will cause, making his move even more despicable. 

The boyfriend factor:
  • My boyfriend has always loved these books. He despises Felicity even more after reading this one.

Favorite quotes:
  • "We had to lock him somewhere, and that room has no windows."              "I understand. But claw marks are murder on wallpaper."       - Alexia + Professor Lyall  pg. 136
  • "Any child as difficult as this one has been from the start must, perforce, be male."     Alexia snorted. "As if my daughter would be calm and biddable."    - Alexia + Conall   pg. 231


5 Robots
I absolutely love this series and highly recommend it!


Acquired: Bought



1 comment:

  1. I love this book as well....and the whole series! It is soooo wonderful!

    Nice blog! I'm a new follower!

    Amber
    The Musings of ALMYBNENR

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