Changeless by Gail Carriger

5 out of 5 Robots!

 

My Review:

Changeless by Gail Carriger is breathtakingly brilliant. I am enamored with this series and this is only the second installment. Carriger had me drooling over book three, due out in September, with an excerpt from the next book. If you haven't read Soulless, the first in the series- do it. And warning- don't read the blurb for book three until after you have read the first two! Major spoilers.

So- the ending. THE ENDING. It has me in a fit- threw me into a whirlwind! It is heart wrenching. It left me heartbroken, sad and crazily anticipating the next book. I mean, I never could have predicted or even thought this ending was possible. What an excruciating way to end a book! All of this meant positively, of course... even though it's achingly painful waiting for book three. :) I'm still not over the cliff hanger, obviously.

Alright, back to Alexa Tarabotti, Conall and the crew. Their story starts off three months after Alexa marries Conall. There is a slew of humdrum problems to deal with. Ugh- The entire military regiment camping out on her front lawn and her irritating sister coming to stay with her... But Alexa is settling in just fine as a new wife and adviser to Queen Victoria. Uh oh, spoke too soon. Conall scurries off one evening without telling Alexa- and coincidentally a plague has over come London and left London about the same time as her hubby scampered off. Now Alexa must set out after her husband on a trip to Scotland, hopefully she can figure out why London was afflicted. What is going on here?! Why has all of London's supernatural residents become stricken with morality?

THIS is steampunk at its best! All the necessary elements are here- exquisite details, impeccable devices. Yes, devices. Dart guns. Glassicals. Air-Travel Dirigibles. Wireless Transmitters. Wait until you read about the parasol that was designed exclusively for Alexa- an inventors dream. Haha, it holds a bundle of secrets... a steampunk version of Inspector Gadget. Speaking of Inspector Gadget- we've been introduced to a woman who dresses like a (very fashionable) man. How scandalous. The new characters introduced here are strong and so easy to visualize. I'm smitten with the secondary characters- ah- the Professor and Lord Akeldama coming together to save the day? Icing on top of my cake.

I have not even come close to putting how amazing this book is into words, so just start this series! Move it up to spot #1 on your TBR pile! Brace yourself for the brilliance that is the ending of this book- it is astonishing, jaw dropping- ugh, is it September yet!?

Book Details:

Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (April 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316074144
ISBN-13: 978-0316074148

Books in this series in the order that they should be read:

1. Soulless
2. Changeless

3. Blameless (September 2010)