Changeless, by Gail Carriger
Changeless by Gail Carriger
The Parasol Protectorate series, Book 2
From the back cover:
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.
The fabulous Alexia Tarabotti returns in Gail Carriger’s Changeless, the second novel in “The Parasol Protectorate” series begun with Soulless. Changeless picks up basically where the first book left off: Alexia and Conall are married and enjoying as much domestic bliss as their lives will allow—which isn’t much. The honeymoon barely is over before the supernatural set in Britain begins to experience a new threat. Somehow the supernatural population is losing its ability to be, well, supernatural. Suspecting that the Hypocras Club is behind the “humanization” of Britain’s supernaturals, Conall and Alexia realize that something must be done.
Before Alexia knows it, however, Conall disappears and takes an impromptu trip to his ancestral home in Scotland—and the werewolf pack he abandoned years ago. What is left to do but board an airship and follow? Along the way Alexia avoids an assassination attempt and horrible dining experiences, all the while trying to disrupt a most improper romance between her clueless (and atrocious hat-loving) best friend and her husband’s valet.
But things are going from bad to worse in Scotland, as Alexia soon discovers upon landing in Glasgow. Werewolves are stuck in human form, no longer able to change into their lupine bodies due to whatever virus or weapon is being used against them, and Conall’s great-great-great granddaughter is carrying a serious grudge. One thing is certain, however: tea always saves the day.
My thoughts on the second book in the series? I LOVED IT. I have seen where a few people said that they felt this book was a bit slower than others, but the humor and characters more than make up for any decline of momentary excitement. There are some great new characters to contend with, including Madame Lefoux, an inventor of dubious background and an intriguing past with Alexia’s maid. Some of the best secondary characters are back. Lord Akeldama, though not present as much in this novel as he was in the last, makes for some of the best scenes with Alexia—when she is not with Conall, of course. The chemistry between husband and wife has not diminished at all—though you may be shocked at the ending of this installment. If you haven’t read the first in the series, by all means: get it!! Then, buy Changeless as fast as you can, because you aren’t going to want to leave Alexia Tarabotti and her crazy steampunk world any time soon.
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