I finished Soulless by Gail Carriger on Saturday, and what a funny, quirky little read it was. I thought from the cover it'd be a fairly ordinary steampunk novel:
But was I wrong!
I'd been looking forward to reading this series for a while, having espied them in Waterstones once and immediately telling my friend Emily to read them, as they looked like her sort of thing. It's taken her a year or so (shock) to lend them to me (mostly because I forgot she had them) but the exchange finally took place, and I'm so glad it did.
Quite simply put, this book is unexpected. How could you expect an Austen-esque story to turn into such an Indiana Jones-style romp, with a lycan Mr Darcy and heavy-duty-kissing-scenes (including, not to spoil anything, some rather intimate details and nudity)? I spent most of Saturday afternoon sat on top of a washing machine in the college laundry room (don't judge - it's warm and people steal your washing) giggling uncontrollably at the whole concept - and reading out the most hilarious bits to poor Rachel, who was attempting to revise...
The steampunk elements are actually rather muted, the only real steampunkiness being rather lampooned in a bumbling scientist with a wonderfully modified carriage. Instead, this reads like a Kelly Armstrong urban fantasy, if she were a contemporary of Austen, with refinements as such - while there may be sex, it's greatly scandalous! Alexia is a very modern, headstrong girl; she was very easy to identify with. The character of Lord Maccon was just right, and Carriger succeeded in creating a good enough lycan love interest to intrigue even me, a hardcore vampire lover. Plus, it's nice to see a romance with some non-blood-drinking playful biting in it - especially when Alexia bites back!
Okay, so the writing's not the best in the world, and the story dragged in places, but it was so entertaining, I really don't care. Bring on the rest of the trilogy!
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