Blameless by Gail Carriger

Parasol Protectorate

Soulless * Changeless * Blameless * Heartless * Timeless

Publish Date: September 1st, 2010
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback
Series: Parasol Protectorate
Author: Gail Carriger
Author’s Goodreads
Wikia (has spoilers!)
My Review on Goodreads

Disclaimer

This book is not typically found in the YA section of a library as the characters are older (MC is 26). It has some sexual content. Not as much as Soulless, but it is there. I do contend that teens can enjoy the story and world, but some people may be upset about the sexual content. Totally fair. I usually only review content that is clearly marketed to teens, and this is not. I'm reviewing this because it is in the same universe as the YA Prudence and is the pre-story to that. So...

If you don't like some steamy content, please skip this review/book!

Introduction

Cast out from Woolsey Castle after her husband accuses her of infidelity, Alexia returns to her parents' home. She is desperate for answers to her pregnancy, and when she seeks her friend Lord Akeldama, she discovers that he is missing. Thus she turns to her last remaining allies to seek the truth of her "infant inconvenience" to prove to her husband that he is wrong (and an idiot). Together they travel to new territory with murder constantly on their heels.

Biffy

The best thing this book did was with Biffy. Not with the main characters, the setting, or the explanation of the pregnancy. It's Lord Akeldama's favourite drone. I hated that the book had so many POVs, because I just wanted to know about Biffy and how it would be worked out with Lord Akeldama. Best couple: Biffy and Lord Akeldama.       

Ivy

Alright, so the second-best thing that this novel did was redeeming Ivy. She isn't nearly as annoying. I stand by that this is the life that she was always supposed to have, but she was confined by her station at birth. I'm happy that she's happy. Perhaps the author realized making her absurdly stupid in the second book was a mistake. 

Romance Genre?

No romance here, unless you count the cringy steamy scene at the end. I was hoping someone else would come along to test/hit on/be with Alexia, but it didn't happen. I'll admit though, I don't need romance in every book I read, I just want Alexia to be with ANYONE else (alas, I know what happens because I've read Prudence). She has a beautiful French inventor who is into her, is totally cool with the pregnancy/raising kids, and STANDING RIGHT BESIDE HER. But no, let's be boring.

Final Verdict

I'm extremely impressed that maternal instincts just don't magically spring up on Alexia. She was resigned to never having children, probably before she ever met with Lord Maccon. I don't see this in fiction nearly as often as I ought to. In this one there's tonnes of fighting and fleeing, near escapes, and fantastical gadgetry. It's adventurous (fun) fluff, that's all, and if that's what you're looking for, you may have a good time. 

SPOILER RANT

If you don't want to read any spoilers, please don't read anything beyond this point. Three things in this book really bothered me.

Piping hot, loose-leaf tea.

1. Connal

He just shows up at the end and they...just make up? Making up implies that she did something wrong, which she didn't. And he didn't do much to convince her to take him back, she was just willing to do so. If he could have dashed in during one of the fights that were taking place just minutes before, it would have been a tad bit more convincing.

2. The Little Dog

So why did the little white dog have to die? He was doing what dogs do and that's reason enough to murder it? Ok, psychopaths. How did beta readers/agents/the publisher let that slide?

3. The Vampires

Ok...why are the vampires trying to kill her too? The werewolves don't seem to give a hoot...but the vampires do. Did I miss something? I feel like this wasn't explained.