Blameless: The Parasol Protectorate, Book 3

The Parasol Protectorate gets even better in the third book Blameless when Alexia is cast out of her home by her husband protesting that as a werewolf, he could not have fathered her child and demanding that she immediately provide the name of the man who got her pregnant. (Quite obviously, that man was her own husband!)So, Alexia and her companions are off to The Continent visiting France and Italy. Really cool change of scene.The vampires continue their near-constant efforts to kill Alexia, fearing her child and wanting to see Alexia dead as the quickest and easiest solution. (Really, attempts on Alexia's life have been made nonstop since book one and book three is no exception. The vampires appear utterly terrified.)More travel by steampunk dirigible and more long-distance communication by another cool steampunk device the "aethographor" (introduced by at least book two Changeless) which is like a long-distance wireless telegraph and also sends one character at a time.And, of course, another comedy of Victorian manners which should appeal to all Georgette Heyer fans especially for the "arranged marriages, murder, fashion, upper classes, sarcasm and humour" [Fantastic Fiction listing for Georgette Heyer] which applies to Gail Carriger as well!.Highly recommended to all urban fantasy fans, paranormal alternate history fans, Georgette Heyer fans, series fans, and Gail Carriger fans!

This is the third book in the Parasole Protectorate series by Carriger. The fourth book "Heartless" is supposed to be released in July of 2011. The fifth and final book "Timeless" is supposed to release some time in 2012. This book was a great addition to the series, not quite as fun as the two previous books, but more of a transition novel in which Alexia searches out the "why?" behind her pregnancy while fleeing both English hostility and vampires bent on her death.After the bombshell dropped on us poor readers at the end of  Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate) , this book picks up shortly after that book leaves off. Alexia is living with her family and scorned by English society. Things take a turn for the worse when she is thrown out of the family home, removed from the Shadow Council by the Queen, and attacked by homicidal ladybugs. She finds that for some reason all of London's vampires are out to kill her. With Floote and Madame Lefoux as traveling companions Alexia is forced to flee to Italy and try to find the why, how, and what behind her infant inconvenience. Meanwhile Lord Maccon spends the majority of the time sloshed as he realizes his mistake in tossing his wife out because of her supposedly impossible pregnancy; this leaves poor Professor Lyall with a huge mess to hold together.This was a fun book, but not quite as fun as the previous books in this series. I really missed some of my favorite characters; for example Lord Akeldama was absent most of the book and the insufferable Lord Maccon was sloshed. I missed the witty interplay between Lord Maccon and Alexia. I did enjoy spending more time with Floote, but although I find Madame Lefoux interesting, she is not one of my favorite characters in this book.I continue to vastly enjoy Carriger's writing style. I love all the crazy steampunk contraptions she comes up with to incorporate into the story, I love her witty dialogue, and how her characters try to achieve English dignity in the craziest of situations. The pace of this story was good, it was a page turner and kept me fully engaged. I liked how it wrapped up, without a horrible cliffhanger like  Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate)  had.You learn a lot about the background of many of the characters here. You learn a lot about Alexia's father and how Floote ties in to all that. You learn more about what it means for Alexia to be a Preternatural, and many crazy Victorian theories are discussed as to how her improbable pregnancy occurred. Alexia shows a venerability that she hasn't shown in previous books. Usually she is so practical and shrewd that you wonder at her emotional depth; this book explores that a bit more...it's not obnoxious about it but there are scenes where the whole pregnancy, abandonment, etc just becomes too much for her. Which is entirely reasonable under the circumstances.I continue to get a lot of joy out of reading this series. It is interesting, witty, funny, and thoughtful all at once. I am very excited to see what Heartless will bring us and find out the outcome of Alexia's pregnancy.

I have not ever been a steampunk fan but I do love a good romance and this series fits the bill. While its not your typical romance formula - boy meets girl - stuff happens - they live happily ever after - (and I do love this formula) it is a good romance wrapped up in some supernatural action and adventure.I do also love a good series and after three books I have not become bored with Alexia's misadventures or the other characters that the author has surrounded our heroine with. For some reason this whole series puts me in mind of the Stephanie Plum series which I also love.I think the characters are well developed - as she is developing the series she is also developing the cast of characters so that by the third book I am much more understanding of motivations, histories, ambitions and influences of some of the characters and I still like them very much.There seems to be alot of criticism regarding how Alexia's werewolf husband treated her and their subsequent reunion but in my opinion it was the perfect note for the two of them. They are both strong willed, intelligent, and not given to dramatic emotions and expressions of love but they are both very passionate in their beliefs and loyalties and quite frankly I found the breakup and the reunion to be true to character for both of them. The fact that Alexia cried at all is indicative of how much she was hurt and how relieved she was the her husband had come to his senses even in the face of all scientific data.I particularly love strong, smart heroines and Alexia is the epitome of that type of female but at the same time kind to others. The snappy dialogue is extremely witty and the descriptions of the steampunk inventions and how they work is outrageously believeable for me. I can just picture the aithographic transmitter!!!I would caution the new reader that the books are definitely meant to be a series and therefore might be unsatisfactory if you read this as a stand alone or out of order. I love the series and I highly recommend.

The author captivates you in her story and brings you into victorian era. The story will keep you interested for quite a while.The book quality was good. You could see that it was a second hands book that had been kept in good condition. Arrived on time.

It took me a little while to get into the first book of this series after having recently read and enjoyed The Magnificent Devices series by Shelley Adina, but I have to say once I got into the swing of the different writing style and slightly more adult content I have enjoyed this series immensely and am ready to start on Book 4. In this book Blameless, we are taken on a wild and reckless ride featuring of course fabulous inventions and devices, but also larger than life characters of both the human and supernatural varieties, Templars, mechanical ladybugs and all manner of adventure and mayhem. Revolving around our heroine Alexis Maccon (formerly Tarabotti) it is an adventure from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

Great book!Fast shipping and reception.I recommand this series for all bit-lit fans!Great seller, I recommand.+ +

Während die ersten beiden Bücher (#1 Soulless, #2 Changeless) sehr gut waren, war es bei diesem Buch nahezu unmöglich es aus der Hand zu legen.-Spoileralarm-Nachdem der zweite Band damit endete als herauskam, dass Alexia schwanger ist. Lord Maccon glaubt, ebenso wie der Rest Londons, dass es unmöglich ist, dass sie von ihm, einem Werwolf, schwanger sei und bezichtigt sie der Untreu und wirft sie hinaus. Der dritte Band beginnt nun damit, dass London von Alexias Zustand erfährt und sie zum sozialen Außenseiter ohne Zufluchtsmöglichtkeit wird, während ihr werter Gatte sich mit Formaldehyd betrinkt, da er ihre Abwesenheit nicht erträgt.Dummerweise glauben die Vampire, im Gegensatz zu Conall Maccon, dass es tatsächlich sein Kind ist. Sie wollen es nicht zur Welt kommen lassen - daher soll Alexia sterben. So macht sie sich nachdem sie von mechanischen Marienkäfern attackiert wurde mit dem treuen Flotte und der Hutmacherin Madame Lefoux auf den Weg nach Italien. Denn wenn jemand etwas über das Baby wissen könnte, dann sind es die Templer, die schon seit Jahrhunderten Krieg gegen alles Übernatürliche führen. Auf dem Weg dorthin begegnen sie alten Freunden, mordlustigen Vampurire, gestörten Wissenschaftlern und schließlich den Templern. Blöd bloß, dass diese Alexia zwar als Waffe anerkennen, aber sie zugleich für einen Dämon halten. Als sie herausfinden, dass sie schwanger ist, sind sie nicht begeistert ...Währenddessen versucht Professor Lyall, der Beta des Woolseyrudels, Lord Maccon lange genug trocken zu bekommen, um ihn davon zu überzeugen, dass er tatsächlich Vater wird und sich (öffentlich!) bei Lady Maccon entschuldigen muss. Doch bevor Conall sich auf den Weg zu seiner Frau machen kann, muss noch eine Situation in London unter Kontrolle gebracht werden. Um Lord Akeldamas Einmischung zu verhindern wurde nämlich seine Lieblingsdrone Biffy entführt - und das von einem anderen Vampir!Fazit:Dieser Teil war spannend, was nur zum Teil an den wiederholten Mordversuchen auf Alexia und das "ungeborene Ungemach" lag. Es war darüber hinaus sehr interessant zu sehen, wie Professor Lyall in Abwesenheit Lord Maccons das Rudel geleitet hat, Lord Maccon betrunken zu sehen und Alexia ganz ungewohnt auch mal gefühlvoll, auch wenn diese Gefühle zum Großteil Traurigkeit und Wut auf ihren Mann waren. Darüber hinaus erfährt man etwas mehr über die Lebensumstände von Alexias Vater. Auch ist die Dynamik der Figuren wieder schön beschrieben und einige von ihnen (Ivy!) zeigen ganz neue Seiten. Was meinen Lesefluss sehr beschleunigt hat war natürlich der Wunsch zu wissen, ob/wie Lord und Lady Maccon sich doch noch aussöhnen.

Alexia is back with an 'infant inconvenience', an inebriated absent husband, some murderous vampires and a group of mechanical ladybird assassins. This novel continues straight after its prequel Changeless and launches itself straight into the action. Alexia has become exiled from her husband due to his doubts over the paternity of her unborn child, while he proceeds to beome the drunkest werewolf in England she immediately becomes the most scandalous woman in London. Turned out of the family home, unable to return to Lord Maccon, Alexia finds herself in the company of her remaining friends, the ever faithful valet Floote and hat shop inventor Madame Lefoux. With their help our heroine travels to Italy in search of information as to how her pregnant state is possible, sadly that knowledge must be extracted from the Templar Knights - and they aren't too keen on soulless women.This is the third novel in Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series and her characters have all hit their stride. Alexia is as feisty, stubborn, endangered and resourceful as ever. An excellent all round heroine. Her supporting characters are always a main source of comedy, wit and extreme etiquette; in particular Floote and Professor Lyall are my favourites. Both valet and werewolf Beta have the perfect combination of put upon servant and smart know it all.Carriger's novels are perfect for those readers looking for something a little different in their fantasy genre. Their mixture of adventure, steampunk, alternative history, romance and action makes them unputdownable (if such a term exists). Im already looking forward to the next novel Heartless.