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Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1)
Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1)
Gail Carriger | 2009 | Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.4 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Excellent narration (on audible) (2 more)
Very funny
Brilliant characters
The series is only 5 books long... I wanted more! (0 more)
Steampunk vamp & werewolf fun
Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series is absolutely brilliant, and this is the first in the series, following the soulless protagonist Alexia Tarrabotti on her adventures with vampires and werewolves in Victorian Britain, with twists and turns aplenty.

I listened to this via Audible, and really enjoyed it... So I'd urge anyone to pick up these books (either physical, or audiobook), as it's extremely enjoyable.

The style of writing is excellent, and Carriger has a wicked sense of humour.

I now need to start the Finishing School series!
  
You Suck (A Love Story, #2)
You Suck (A Love Story, #2)
Christopher Moore | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
7
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Emperor of San Francisco (2 more)
easy read
witty
Abby can be a bit much for some people (0 more)
I enjoyed the second instalment of the love story series. Vampires aren't my favorite mythological being, that being said, this is a lot of fun. You do get a small introduction/cross over into A Dirty Job, An easy and fast read which I enjoy it's witty and there are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. I like most of the characters even Abby and I can see where people will hate her cause she's a bit much and if I tell you more I'd be spoiling things.
  
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Anarchy (Hive Trilogy, #2)
Jaymin Eve | 2016
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
181 of 235
Kindle
Anarchy ( Hove Trilogy 2)
By jaymin Eve and Leia Stone
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Did Charlie Bennett ever tell you that vampires are evil spawn? Well they are!
She's had just about enough of them and when the unthinkable happens, she decides it might just be time to use her blood as a weapon against them.
It's time for a little anarchy.

It was a decent read and we found out a lot more about Charlie. I was a little disappointed in parts and I can’t pinpoint what but something was annoying me about the whole situation. But still a few good reveals ready for book 3.
  
The Last American Vampire
The Last American Vampire
Seth Grahame-Smith | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Rare Case of The Sequel Being Better than the First Book
I loved this book. Honestly, I'm not certain that I didn't like it even more than "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." One of my favorite things about both of these books is that Smith writes them like history books (complete with footnotes and actual photographs of things like Teddy Roosevelt posing with an elephant he'd just killed and Jack Ruby with his gun jammed into Lee Harvey Oswald's stomach). The facts he uses in his book are so... FACTUAL! I mean, seriously, the only thing keeping a person from reading these books as absolute truth is the fact that s/he doesn't believe vampires actually exist. But if a person DID believe in vampires? Oh yes, everything in these books is absolutely plausible. I can honestly see some confused people who are on the fence about whether or not vampires are real reading this book, finishing it, slamming it down, and saying, "I KNEW IT! I -KNEW- THEY WERE REAL!" Ha. Seriously though, the realism in these books is what makes them so much fun and so wonderful.

The thing I like about this book so much -- the thing that very possibly makes me enjoy this one more than the original -- is all that cameos in the book -- Mark Twain, Howard Hughes, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Henry Irving, Eliot Ness.... I mean, HELLO?! What a stellar, badass cast of cameo characters. Although, honestly, "cameo" is not the most appropriate word because some of these characters played pretty major roles in the novel. It was fantastic. Viewing Howard Hughes' eccentricities and insanities through vampire-colored glasses is simply... perfect. It doesn't seemed forced at all. Wait, after a plane crash, Howard Hughes was turned into a vampire? ... Yeah, I can see that. That makes perfect sense. And it DOES! It is such an easy transition from mentally ill billionaire to crazy vampire. Not such a stretch. And Rasputin? OH yeah. That guy was TOTALLY a vampire. :-p

Anyway. Now I'm kind of rambling. But seriously, this book was fantastic, so much fun. There wasn't a single part of this book that I didn't love.
  
TC
The Casquette Girls
Alys Arden | 2013
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What an interesting read! The Casquette Girls is centered shortly after Hurricane Katrina, and of course, New Orleans, where the unexplainable happens.

Part One is a bit slow, with Adele coming back from Paris, reconstruction in the city after the hurricane, and the occasional unexplainable situation happening (aka dead people on the rise, and I don't mean zombies) but Part Two is when things really pick up.

Part Two and a bit of Part Three actually goes back to the past as Adele is reading her ancestor's diary, trying to figure out what happened in the early 1700s after being lead to a completely shut – and by completely shut, I mean nailed in – attic of the local convent. Of course, she's not lead to the diary until she accidentally "breaks" open a shutter of said convent and unleashes a threat to her entire town.

(I was sort of disappointed when the end of the diary was reached. *sigh*)

What's really neat is said threat is confined within a specific part of the city based on a curse from centuries ago – it's usually either vampires or witches. If they are together, chances are there's a pack of werewolves running around or they're with others. Plus, everyone hates vampires by then, not that it isn't the case here.

The Casquette Girls was a neat read based on a hurricane, centering around vampires and witchcraft, although Alys really could have added in a translation of the many French words used (Italian was no problem for me). I wouldn't have felt as though I'm reading fragments by then, and I'm sure the translation guide would help other non-French speaking readers too!
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mvEgVOM_JGs/U3FfeZceS7I/AAAAAAAADQc/Omh5mPoZ6Gc/s1600/Translation_Please_.jpg"; height="320" width="301">
----------------------
Review copy provided by the author via Xpresso Book Tours
Original Rating: 4.5
This review and more can be found over at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-the-casquette-girls-by-alys-arden.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; /></a>
  
Kiss of Steel
Kiss of Steel
Bec McMaster | 2012 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well paced plot and action (3 more)
Great dialogue
Fleshed out characters
Amazing world-building
Victorian Steampunk with vampires, mechs, and werewolves. AND AWESOME.
Holy crap. I have only read the first two of this series – I have three more to read. (My Lady Quicksilver, Forged By Desire, and Of Silk and Steam, with a second series in the same universe called The Blue Blood Conspiracy.) (Edit: I have now read three and four, and they are also excellent!)

THESE ARE SO GOOD.

Victorian Steampunk in London with vampires, mechs, and werewolves (sort of) with romance, a political conspiracy plot, and plenty of action? YES PLEASE. These books are excellently written, with a hefty plot that moves at a perfect pace. Both romances have been very believable and intertwined seamlessly with the larger world’s plot. Each book is a hefty length, enough to really get absorbed in and flesh out everything that needs to be covered, without dragging on and getting old. The characters are fascinating – even the side characters are interesting enough that I really hope future books focus on them.

I don’t have a single bad thing to say about this series, and I can’t wait to read the next books. I am forcing myself to take a break from the series, even though I have the next two books, because I have library books that are due sooner that I need to read!

See all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
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Andrea (28 KP) rated Vampire Academy in Books

Aug 18, 2017  
Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy
Richelle Mead | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (48 Ratings)
Book Rating
Passes the Bechdel test on the first page. (2 more)
Primary relationship is a friendship
Strong female protagonist
Other books in the series are stronger, so keep reading (1 more)
Don't judge a book by its movie
Not about vampires, and that's a good thing.
This series represents some of Mead's strongest writing. While this isn't the best book in the series (I save that distinction for #2, #3, and especially #6) it does give the necessary set up for everything.

The primary relationship with the friendship and devotion between Rose and Lissa. Both women have their own stories through the series and the book easily passes the bechdel test and many others. That isn't to say that the male lead isn't worthwhile; he will most likely become one of your fav "book boyfriends" but his role become bigger later in the books.


While the series contains vampires and is set in a vampiric world (practically no humans in the series) I wouldn't call it a typical vampire book. The vampire setting serves more as a way to introduce a discussion on class structure and politics. We seem more and more of this later in the series.


One thing of note: the primary romantics relationship in this book is between a student and her mentor/instructor. Also, while she is above the age of consent in Montana (where this is set) she is under 18 for half the series.