REVIEW: CHANGELESS BY GAIL CARRIGER (BOOK 2 IN THE PARASOL PROTECTORATE SERIES)

Published by Orbit, 2010. Paperback, 374 pgs

     Carriger is wonderfully consistent! As with her first novel Soulless (review found here) , the writing is witty and snappy from page one. Tarabotti has climbed the social ladder with her marriage to Lord Maccon (an esteemed Werewolf), and her hobnobbing with Queen Victoria. In this installment, something or someone is making werewolves and vampires "Changeless" in certain territories, meaning they are unable to shift from their human to animal form, leaving them vulnerable to attacks that would otherwise not be fatal. Alexia's position as muhjah is meant to act as a legislative peacekeeper between the vampire and werewolf agenda, and provide opinions and guidance to the queen. As the back cover describes, this book takes her investigations to Scotland "the backwater of ugly waistcoats". She is trying to find out what this condition means for England, while also tracking down her husband who has hurried off with no explanation.

      Old characters are back in all their glory- particularly Ivy Hisselpenny with her ugly hats and a new love interest. The reader gets a few brief details on Tarabotti's deceased father, as well as some backstory on her husband Lord Maccon. I enjoyed this one just as much as the first, perhaps more because now I'm even further invested. This one also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so that will hopefully be enough prompting for me to swiftly move onto book three, Blameless.

REVIEW: SOULLESS BY GAIL CARRIGER

Published by Orbit, 2009. Mass Market Paperback, 373 pgs.

      I went into this with a bit of trepidation. I have a bad track record when it comes to vampire novels. The Sookie Stackhouse books and Twilight were a struggle for me. That, combined with the positive hype from YouTube, made me nervous. Quite pleased that this was a total blast! I love the character of Alexia Tarrabotti- an assertive spinster who is well-read, enjoys her tea and a good meal, carries a Parasol, demands proper manners from her male companions, and just happens to be Soulless. Being Soulless means she can neutralize those with an over-abundance of soul, namely werewolves and vampires. The relationship she develops with a werewolf was one of my favorite narratives throughout the story, and I usually don't like romantic elements in books. I appreciated how cheeky Carriger was with her supernatural creatures- infusing witty humor into most of the story. Tarrabotti's family was such a funny crew, and I loved the inclusion of Queen Victoria. Also, Gail Carriger's author blurb is fantastic and worth a look! Overall, this was super fun and there was a great setup for the other books in the series. I look forward to reading Changeless soon!

REVIEW: A PLACE WITHOUT SHADOWS (BOOK 2 OF THE DEADLOCK TRILOGY) BY P.T. HYLTON

Published by Six String Books, 2015. Paperback, 313 pgs
Book 1 Review- Regulation 19

First off, I give props to any author who provides a recap of the previous book in a series as a preface to the upcoming book. Hylton does this through a section titled "What We Know". Rook Mountain, Tennessee is adjusting to some tough changes. While a single day hasn't passed in other parts of the country, the residents in this town have experienced eight harrowing years. PT Hylton did not disappoint with book two!

I was excited for fresh material as the mission to eradicate the enemy continues. We are introduced to a new setting called The Sanctuary in this installment, as well as some creepy new creatures to join the eery ranks of the Unfeathered. The title meaning was revealed in the second half and alluded to the ominous forest setting. We are also reunited with some old favorite characters from book one. I particularly appreciated that Hylton continued to draw strong female characters, with Sophie taking a strong position similar to Christine in the previous novel.

I like how Hylton plays with the changing laws in this society. In this case, we have the former Regulated days, and now the Unregulated system. It illustrates how tenuous judicial systems can be, and how a slight imbalance can tip a society into general chaos and lawlessness. The resulting uncertainty and unease made for a suspenseful second book. Going hand in hand with the legal system is the question of morality. The younger generation only knows the rough, unfair system that was in place with Zed, and wants to uphold the prior laws at any cost...unaware of how life was before. Many older folks realize the destructive nature and are warring against the "Zed Heads". This is fun for the reader as we get to see a complex power struggle.

Also, about time travel....this novel has highlighted that it can be tricky and troubling- don't think I would care to engage in it. Writers must have an interesting time outlining these types of stories, I'd love to see all the charts and notes. This was another fast-paced, action filled ending with crazy twists and turns. Looking forward to The Broken Clock, but will be sad when the trilogy ends.

REVIEW: REGULATION 19 (BOOK 1 IN THE DEADLOCK TRILOGY) BY P.T. HYLTON

 Published by Six-String Books, 2015. Paperback, 312 pgs.
 PT Hylton's Booktube Channel
His Website
      We open on a prison. Prisons absolutely terrify me. One of my worst fears is being set up for a crime and ending up in jail a la Orange is the New Black style. It wouldn't stop there. I'd end up getting an infraction of some sort and be put in solitary. Before this thought process is allowed to go further, let's discuss this novel. Frank Hinkle has been in prison for nine years. One day, he is unexpectedly given a reprieve from his sentence on the condition that he perform a certain task. In agreement, he is released to a vastly different Rook Mountain, Tennessee to the one he left. His friends and family are unrecognizable in their behaviors and lifestyle, his brother has disappeared, regulations are in place to keep the citizens of the town from leaving, and mysterious objects are found that end up being of paramount importance. Other than the basics, the less you know the better. 

       This book is a nice blend of elements. We have a Dystopian Tennessee setting nine years in the future, as well as flashback sections to the time before "Unregulated". We also have mystery/thriller/fantasy components with time travel thrown in for good measure. Regulation 19 is distinct and doesn't fit into any one specific genre. Due to the gritty style and excellent writing on a mystery in a small town, I'd liken Hylton's style to Stephen King if I had to think of the closest author comparison.  My favorite settings are rustic so this added to my overall enjoyment. Woods, cabins, and mountains simultaneously give the story a comforting feel, but a sinister one as well due to isolation and the event that keeps it walled off from the rest of the world. The juxtaposition makes for an intriguing story.

     I enjoy creepy small town stories, and this one delivered. I felt for all the characters and was interested in their relationships with each other. There are lots of twists and turns in this book, and, as some fellow reviewers have said (and I wholeheartedly agree) I never knew where the story was going and enjoyed the continuous surprises. There are a couple devices near the end that helped provide explanation and set the reader up for the second installment in the trilogy. This could easily have felt contrived, but it was done seamlessly and that impressed me even more. 

      I would also like to promote P.T. Hylton as a fellow Booktuber and a very nice, articulate person. Thrilled to say that I can wholeheartedly recommend his book as well. I was lucky to receive a signed copy with annotations throughout highlighting PT's thoughts/feelings on the scene or experience while writing. If you go here, you can get signed copies and also buy all three books in the trilogy for $32.95 (includes shipping-US only.) All three can be shipped to the UK for $59.95. I recommend buying directly from him for the great personalization! I'm very excited to see how A Place Without Shadows deals with the changes presented in book one. Highly recommend!   

REVIEW: Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss

Published by Melville House, 2015. Hardcover, 156 pgs.

SUMMARY:  I must give my husband credit for discovering a book that is perfect for my feline loving heart, and also one that had flown under my radar. It was appropriately a Mother's Day present. The inside of the dust jacket trumpets "For people who both love and hate cats." So...the first sentence immediately grabbed my attention in a "How is this possible? I NEED TO READ NOW" kind of way. The story focuses on Alec Charlesworth, who is a librarian grieving the recent loss of his wife. He meets Roger, a talking cat who begins to tell him a great tale filled with secret societies, travel, and dark forces. Truss is most well-known for her punctuation novel Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. Cat Out of Hell is a foray into fiction and dark comedy, confirming some of our worst fears that cats do think they're smarter than us, and are using humans as pawns to achieve their goals.

WRITING: The writing is dark, often dry, British humor, with some flourish-y sentences. The format was strange in that some of it told from Alec's perspective as he's listening to audio of a man named Wiggy and Roger, and also looking at pictures that have been sent to him. Also, there is a lot of email correspondence woven into the narrative. I also found it a bit confusing in general...the story was trying to be too many things and I ultimately found it a tad disappointing. Some scenes were funny, others quite serious or graphic, then it would get almost philosophical and overly intellectual when Roger and fellow cat "The Captain" were reminiscing. Lots of things are forgivable when cats are part of the story, I just wish the tale had been told in a more orderly way for me to more appreciate the nuances of these animals. I did like "Through domestication and time only one cat in a million can fulfill the nine lives destiny."

PACING: This is almost novella length, and it's a good thing. The story didn't have enough structure and direction to be much longer. Truss even makes a small joke about the book being a bit here, there, and all over through her main character, Alec. "I'd like to finish my account with an apology. Reading it all back, I realise that at times I have been a tad flippant in the way I have written this, and I have also told the story with what appears to be a lamentable lack of narrative organisation." I know this is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it didn't feel as cute to me as the author meant it to be. I felt the story could have been so much more and thus was a little let down.

PLOT: Kind of meandering. The idea of exploring enigmatic cat behavior is a promising idea, but the story didn't live up to its potential. Instead of being cute, entertaining, and a bit dark, it felt mostly odd and unsure of itself. However, I suppose one can argue cats are odd as well.

CHARACTERS: The humans were delightfully quirky and had some killer names...Beezlebub and Wiggy for starters. Roger the cat was obviously the driving force of the story and often amusing. He wished for Daniel Craig to play him in a movie because he has "underestimated elegance."

FINAL RATING: 3 Stars
Roger is condescending, intelligent, and impatient with human behavior. This is funny and will amuse all cat owners. Many fellow owners' assumptions will prove true in this story- namely that purring is often a way for them to lull us into complacency before a future attack. This is a quick read that has fun elements and great cat observations. However, most of the narrative and structure fell flat for this reader. I was hoping for more. Still an interesting book for all cat lovers, if you don't expect it to be one of your favorite novels of the year. Definitely just "okay".