Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate) Paperback – April 1, 2014

The GoodCharm and wit abound, as usual. Ms. Carriger’s storytelling style is great. I adore Alexia, and the way her relationship with Conall grows ….and grows complicated (more on that later). I love all the characters, including the introduction of Madame Lefoux and the Kingair clan. The story kept me riveted. So much so that I kept telling myself “just one more chapter.” There’s intrigue afoot and while parts of the mystery are pretty obvious, there are some good twists to be had. I was coasting right along, enjoying my read. And then...The Bad and Everything in BetweenHoly frijoles that damn ending!! Even when I knew the direction of that final conflict, the reaction threw me for a loop. Now y’all know I hate cliffhangers with the heat of a thousand suns. And yet ...sigh. I love these characters enough that I want and need to know what happens next. Speaking of loving, I am missing Lord Akeldama the most. So, that ending was bad and good because it was a genuine surprise and I had to start the next book immediately. Yes, I’m running on fumes because sleep is sacrificed on the altar of reading, but I don’t regret it.The Bottom Line 4.5 starsI loved it even with that damn ending. Still enjoying myself and I would recommend this. Onto Blameless, because I must know what happens next.

Overall Rating 4 Stars-Book Description: 5-Cover: 3-Plot: 4-Creativity: 4-Grammar: 5-Simile Use: 4 (minimal usage)-Description: 3 (at times overwhelming)-Show And Tell Balance: 3Changless is the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series and has within its pages humor, mystery, intrigue and a whole lot of supernaturals. I'm not stranger to Ms. Carriger's style, being as I have read the entire Finishing School series and am following up with this series. Granted, it would seem I took to things a bit backward, as this series was written before the latter. That being said is probably the reason I enjoyed this book slightly less than Soulless. At this point, I'm very accustom to the world that is within this series and the Finishing School series and found that some of the description became a bit overwrought and tedious. Carriger is good at description, but I do believe it could have been minimized and kept the novel to a more reasonable length. Further, in Changless, we begin to run into characters from the Finishing School series but the stories don't exactly line up. Several of the characters are far older than they ought to be in comparison, and facts don't align such as Sidheag and Naill becoming alpha. There were several of these points that stuck out to me, and having fully fallen in love with Naill during Finising School, I was slightly devasted to find in this novel he's not present because of his demise. All things considered, Changless is an interesting addition to the Parasol Protectorate series, if not a bit more dry and lengthy than needed. The ending promises that Blameless will pick up speed and continue in a new far more interesting direction.

Stars-Book Description: 5-Cover: 3-Plot: 5-Creativity: 4-Grammar: 5-Simile Use: 4 (minimal usage)-Description: 4 (well balanced)-Show And Tell Balance: 4After recovering from my disappointment in the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series I dove straight into Blameless, hoping for more action and a better balance of show and tell. That is exactly what Blameless delivered. Alexia is always getting into trouble, but this time trouble seems to have found her. She's pregnant and her husband doesn't believe it could possibly be him. Her friends band together to prove him wrong, and we get to learn more about Alexia's soulless state and what it means. It's an interesting journey with twists and turns involving the vampires and exactly why they are so against the whole idea of Alexia being pregnant. In addition, we have the Templars thrown in who are shown in such a despicable light that you get a bad taste in your mouth at the name. Carriger once again has woven a story with non-stop action, her signature dry humor and a touch of romance, all perfectly balanced.

** spoiler alert ** This is my favorite Parasol Protectorate book thus far. I felt that in the last book too much time was being spent on Alexia and her husband. The content involved in their relationship was simply relegated to romantic encounters. Even when the plot required that the two of them sit down and have a conversation about important mystery solving problems. It managed to take Lord Maccon's character established in book one from a reasonably competent sleuth to a big blubbering sex machine. It got to the point where as a reader I got bored every time he and Alexia got into a room together because I knew all it would be was a smattering of tete a tete followed by sex.This is why at the end of Changeless I was so pleasantly surprised at Alexia's casting out. It was an unexpected turn of events and got me super psyched for Blameless. In this book Alexia manages to get a relative moment to herself without too many romantic entanglements. Her focus is on exoneration, though at the end turns into just wanting to get back with her husband (a bit of let down). We further get to learn more about Madame Lafoux, my favorite character, and the mysteries of the Templars and Alexia's father. The plot around kidnapping Biffy was interesting and I love how it ended with him as a werewolf instead of a vampire. All in all this one manages to expand the world building and some of the characters. One star off because it ended up leaving Madame Lafoux, Alexia, and Lord Maccon back where they started at the beginning of the book. None of them seemed to have gained anything in the course of the novel. Alexia is back with Maccon. And the entire casting out incident is forgiven with a series of presents. Madame Lafoux gets nothing for her troubles. Lesigh.

Fun story, fun characters. Ending caught me and came suddenly, but app did say I was at only 90% done reading...

Delightful character and good fun!

Had to get the next one immediately! This is quite the nail biter. Highly recommended!! Combines all the favorites. Romance, suspense, mystery & super natural.

the whole series is can't-put-down chick lit at its best.

And ghosts! And werewolves! And Scottsmen! And female characters with spine!

Skipped 1/2 way thru to book 3, bought the set b/c it's way cheaper. This book wasn't really necessary to enjoy the 3rd.

Great book. Great series.

Love the dialog between the characters. Fast read and fun to read. Unique storyline. Vampire werewolves and premature mixed in a timeline of queen Victoria.

a clever, intriguing, witty read with a strong lead character who i adore. i heart alexia maccon to the moon and back.

excellent product.