Tag: Vampire Lit

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Review: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger

by The Lit Bitch8 Comments on Review: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger

Well everyone I am sad to say I just finished my last Alexia Tarabotti novel until July 2011.

Blameless by Gail Carriger is the third book in the Parasol Protectorate series. I don’t know that I am going to be able to wait that long!

I have become so enthralled with the series over the last week that I have managed to devour the entire series in a matter of eight days…that’s how you know a series is good, when you think of nothing else but getting home and reading that next book!

I love all the characters in this series–Alexia is a kick. She is witty, smart, independent, and it seems like she just can’t manage to stay out of trouble. I love Professor Lyall, he reminds me of the typical Englishman–slightly stiff but yet horribly dry and witty which makes him all the more likable. And I simply love the arrogant bastard Major Channing Channing Of the Chesterfield Channings simply because his name is the most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard LOL.

I read this book as part of the 2011 Steampunk Reading Challenge hosted by Bookish Ardour. My review of Blameless will be fairly brief partly because most of the series groundwork/background I discussed in my previous postings for Soulless and Changeless.If you haven’t read the other books, beware there are some spoilers ahead in this review.

Continue reading “Review: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger” →

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Review: Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger

by The Lit Bitch8 Comments on Review: Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger

I am happy to report that I am making good progress with the 2011 Steampunk Reading Challenge.

I just completed the second book for the challenge last night and yes it was another sleepless night–well late anyway–I just couldn’t unwind!

I finished reading Changeless by Gail Carriger, most of my time at my ‘day job’ was spent longing to go home and keep reading Changeless so I of course picked it up the minute I walked in the door.

As I mentioned review of Soulless,  I was hooked before you could say ‘Parasol Protectorate’! The first book was a great mixture of humor, supernaturalism, romance, and mystery. Besides the aesthetically pleasing cover, the story itself is equally as fun to read. The only thing that made me sad was the ending–I just HAD to start reading the third book, I couldn’t stand it if I had to wait months for the next book but more on that in a minute!

As I noted in some other posts, the challenge caught my attention because I love all things Victorian/Gothic and this looked like a fun sub-genre that I didn’t know much about and had not read a lot of, I also realized I didn’t really explain what Steampunk is. The Steampunk Age website gives a much more detailed background and worth checking out–but in short the genre includes things like mad scientists, blimps, innovative technology, flying machines, futuristic ideas, but all set in a turn of the century/Victorian setting. So think–The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Golden Compass. Those two examples are more or less ‘all encompassing’ of the genre but the book, file, or culture doesn’t have to have ALL these things to be considered ‘Steampunk’. Continue reading “Review: Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger” →

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

Review: Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger

by The Lit Bitch26 Comments on Review: Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger

I am pleased to say that I have finished my first book for one of my reading challenges and the first day of 2011 is barely over!

The 2011 Steampunk Reading Challenge hosted by Bookish Ardour kicked off 1/1/11 and I started reading Soulless by Gail Carriger in the wee hours of 2011 simply because I was not tired and thought there is no time like the present when it comes to New Years resolutions!

The 2011 Steampunk Challenge intrigued me because of course I am a huge fan of all things Victorian and Gothic but had never really gotten into the other sub-genres such as Steampunk. For those of you who don’t know what Steampunk is check out The Steampunk Age website, they have lots of useful info about the genre. I like that the genre has many of the same elements that Gothic Literature does so when I saw one of my fav blogs, Bookish Ardour, was hosting this challenge I could’t resist!

The first thing that drew my to Soulless was the cover, I’m not gonna lie I think a well designed cover makes books more eye catching and this cover style is right up my alley. I wasn’t sure what to expect as this book is generally considered pararomance not just steampunk, but I was so caught up in the book I could hardly put it down! In short, it was AMAZING!

The story is set in early 19th century London and the protagonist is a 26 year old spinster named Alexia Tarabotti. Here is a description from Shelfari: Continue reading “Review: Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger” →

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Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

I finally finished reading the PadWorx interactive e-book (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) and can I just say, it was amazing. I have read Dracula before so I love the story but the interactive book added a whole new element.

Lately bloggers and the media have been talking about e-readers and e-books, some have suggested that e-books and readers will soon dominate the market. When I got my iPad I knew that I could download books for it but I never dreamed that I would have a hard time going back to a paperback book. Having books at my fingertips is wonderful, and when there are books like this one by PadWorx it’s hard to go back to a regular book.

When I first saw the App for Dracula I thought it was going to be a little cheesy and for $5.00 I thought it was on the ‘expensive’ side specially when I can download just the text version for free…..however the App quickly changed my mind.

For those of you who have read Dracula know that it is a long book though it reads quickly because it is an epistolary novel (a book written in letter or journal form). However, there are times that the novel itself drags a bit and sometimes it can be difficult to follow. When I first read Dracula I had a hard time figuring out what was going on until about 100 pages in, then it finally made sense. With the interactive version, it does help the reader follow a long better. Continue reading “Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker” →