CBR18 Bingo: And – This book’s got a mashup of genres – historical AND fantasy AND mystery AND steampunk AND romance.
Alexia Tarabotti, who has a big nose, a dead Italian father, and no soul, finds herself embroiled in supernatural intrigues when werewolves and vampires start disappearing from London.
I read this book (and practically all of Carriger’s Parasolverse) years and years ago, though my memory is pretty vague on almost all of it, so I got to enjoy the twists and turns in this book while still be somewhat familiar with the world-building.
There’s a lot going on – supernatural elements, historical elements, steampunk elements. But it’s easy enough to work out what’s going on, and then you can get all in on the plot. Alexia is a very enjoyable heroine – practical and willful, but a good friend too. I fear she occasionally does go in a ‘not like other girls’ direction, though, and you get a little tired of the constantly harping on her lack of beauty (though she is of course still rather beautiful).
I enjoyed the romance between her and Conall – and they certainly have a lot of chemistry, especially sexual – though the more emotional aspects are a bit clumsier compared to those in some of Carriger’s later books. Maybe I’m just prejudiced by what happens later on in the series. Lord Akeldama is a bit over the top in this book too – he gains subtlety later on.
