Tag: YA

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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” →

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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: How it Ends by Laura Wiess

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: How it Ends by Laura Wiess

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, How it Ends by Laura Weiss. It is one of those that just captures you right away. It is a quick read and Weiss does a great job making interesting characters that readers can relate to.

I would classify the novel as having a split personality disorder meaning it could be classified as a Young Adult (YA) and adult book as one main character is a high school student and the other is an older woman.

Hanna (the high school character) is really engaging and captures the essence of a young teen struggling with the heart break of her first love. Every girl goes through that rude awaking moment when they realize their life isn’t going to turn out like a Walt Disney movie and Hanna does a great job of conveying those feelings of disappointment.

Her boyfriend, Seth, is such an asshole though that it’s hard to understand Hanna’s ‘love’ for him at some points, it made it more difficult to like him but at the same time, Hanna did a great job reminding the reader what attracts girls to guys like Seth in the first place at that age–at any rate Seth as a total loser and Hanna just can’t stay away from him.

One of the things Seth points out to Hanna is that she reads too much and lives her life in fiction. Everyone has a story (in most cases STRANGER than fiction) and some times it’s so easy to get lost in someone else’s reality. Being an avid reader I can sympathize with Hanna, it is sometimes hard to see the line between fiction and reality. Continue reading “Review: How it Ends by Laura Wiess” →