#when you think about it a lot of vampire rules are just anti Italian

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Summary: Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations.

First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire–and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

*Opinions*

Soulless is the first novel in the parasol protectorate series that follows Alexia Tarabotti through London’s society as one of the few preternatural’s in the world and the only known of in England. As the condition of preternatural is rare, it is only known to the supernatural set, especially Lord Conall Maccon who is the Chief Minister in Charge of Supernatural-Natural Liaison for the Greater London Area for the Bureau of Unnatural Registration as she continues to aggravate him at every turn. However, when newly made vampires start appearing in London with no Hive association and Alexia seems to be of interest to unknown individuals and waxlike figures, she must work with Lord Maccoon if she is going to be able to continue her peaceful life as a spinster, though that might not be in the cards even if she does survive.

**Spoilers Ahead**

Now, this is my second read-through of this novel and I have to say that I remembered it much differently than what was on the actual page. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the novel, I enjoyed it a lot, but I forgot that the romance was so central to the plot of what was happening with the newly made vampires and missing supernaturals throughout England. Luckily, I enjoy romance and the relationship between Alexia and Lord Maccon is one of my favorite types of dynamics, but I was also so fascinated by the world that Carriger created that I also wanted to know more about how it all worked. Carriger did a good job at explaining what the reader needed to know, especially if they hadn’t read the Finishing School series, but I’m just one of those people who are extremely fascinated by world-building and the rules of everything in an Urban Fantasy setting.

As romance is one of the central features, we should focus on that first. One of my favorite dynamics is equally matched partners in intelligence, wit, and bullheadedness, which is what we have in Alexia and Lord Maccon. They remind me of another one of my favorite romantic pairings, Amelia and Emerson in the Amelia Peabody Series. While it was a little annoying as a reader to have Alexia continually doubt the Lord’s intentions and affections, that’s because we also get parts of the story from the werewolf’s point of view and therefore aware that he is being genuine. Alexia has been put down all her life for her looks, half Italian lineage, and intelligence and interest in science so for a peer of the realm, who sees herself as only an annoyance to Lord Maccon, so it isn’t too out of the realm that she would deny the Lord’s advances. Speaking of Alexia’s family, I really wanted someone to slap her mother after she attempted to do the same to Alexia on two separate occasions. However, as the reader, when they are in a cell together close to death and the Lord says he wants to marry her, you’d think she wouldn’t need it spelled out for her. Then again, what woman doesn’t want to hear the person that they love to say that they love them out loud?

The plot of the story, the appearance of rove vampires that are not part of a Hive, and the disappearance of all the other roves and lone werewolves in England is an interesting one. How the supernaturals have set up a kind of checks and balance system both within society and the government is a good bit of world-building and then throwing someone as rare as Alexia into the mix sets up an interesting dynamic that I’m excited to see play out. I am terribly interested in the scientific studies that the Hypocras Club, as completely barbaric as they are, and how the mortals are turning toward science to attempt to take some of the control away from the supernaturals. Humans have always feared what they didn’t understand and when what you don’t understand is immortals who could kill indiscriminately if they chose, the desire of a set of the general public to have a weapon against them is understandable if misguided. If there is one thing that humans are good at, it’s trying to kill what scares us and what we don’t understand, supernatural, mortal, flora, and/or fauna. Carriger really doesn’t bring up how religion plays into all this, which is fine, but as that is usually what stands against the supernatural and the Templars are mentioned, I wonder if they will play a part in future novels.

There are also times of real fear and suspense in the story, especially in regards to the waxed-faced man, who turns out to be an automaton. The scene that we see from Alexia’s bedroom window and then the battle in the Hyprcras Club between the creature and Lord Maccon in the laboratory. While the final solution to this problem was slightly anti-climatic in my opinion, there had already been so much excitement it didn’t ruin the pacing or story. As someone who has read the Finishing Series novels, I’m aware of why there aren’t mechanical creatures all over London high society as well as what the octopus means that are seen all over the Hypocras Club and I wonder how that is going to continue to be an issue throughout the series.

I really do enjoy this novel, it’s a fast-paced and entertaining read with witty writing. Alexia is an interesting character, she and Lord Maccon are a fun couple, and the mystery is compelling. If you are not a romance reader, you may approach this novel with a little hesitation, but I think that the story is enough to sway even those who are not interested in romance-heavy novels. I’m excited to see where Alexia’s new job and new social status take her in the next novel.

[heroroki]

BNHA OC: Lucien Alkar

Here’s my first BHNA OC, Lucien! Hope you all like him, if you have any questions about him or want to interact with him feel free to send in an ask!

General Info

Name: Lucien Alkar

Nicknames: Some jokingly call him Dracula because he drinks blood, but he mostly goes by Lucien. He’d let his s/o call him Luci but if anyone else calls him Luci they’re a dead man

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Sexuality: Bisexual though he tends to lean more towards guys

Birthdate: Halloween (Oct. 31st)

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Affiliation: Villain? Hero? Anti-hero? He just does what he wants to but won’t necessarily call himself a hero. A chaotic good, if you will. He's encountered the League of Villains before (they wanted to recruit him) but he's not a fan of the bunch and refuses to bind himself by rules other than his own.

Appearance

Hair color: Silky black

Hair style: Wavy sideswept hair that falls over his left eye and goes to a bit above his chin. He’s also got an undercut. (An example of this I guess would be Julian Devorak from The Arcana but with an undercut and wavier hair)

Eye color: Gold (but turns red in the presence of blood)

Eye shape: More on the narrow side

Height: 6’0 (roughly 183 cm)

Build: Tall and lean tall boi

Complexion: Olive

Blood type: O

Handedness: Right  

Distinguishing features: He has a dragon tattoo that snakes up his arm with the tail starting mid forearm and continuing upwards wrapping around his  arm and then neck before finishing off with the head on his shoulder. He’s got fangs and smirks a lot because he likes showing them off. Also has a scar through his right eyebrow.

Voice: smooth deep voice, but with a playful tone to it. Has a slight accent. Basically what I’m getting at here is that he’s very attractive and he knows it

Clothes: Black shirts and V-necks for days (he’s got the tiddies out look and likes to show off his dragon tattoo) Is also a fan of coats if its cold.

Personality

Huge flirt and an even bigger tease, though he knows his boundaries and wont push too far if he finds the person he's flirting with is uncomfortable. He smirks a lot and his grins are wide and show off his teeth. He loves to flirt with people to see their reactions and will sometimes use it as a distraction tactic to get closer to people to get to their blood if needed. He’s also a lil shit, as in he does what he wants and doesn’t care what others think. Lucien is an absolute drama queen and lives for cheesy vampire jokes/puns. He knows he's not one, but not everyone else does. Will absolutely go on about how awful a life he's living without garlic bread then be seen eating it an hour later. He’s very free spirited and playful, and he lives by his own rules. In truth, he’d probably have been a hero if they allowed him to do whatever he wanted. He’s not often mean, as he is more laid back, but he can be incredibly serious if needed. It’s not often he shows his serious side though- he mostly just likes to have fun. As much as he flirts and teases, there’s a part of him that’d love to one day find a lover to settle down with, however, with his quirk and how he currently is, he has many doubts he’ll find someone. If he did, he would be kind and gentle despite his outward personality. He has a soft emotional side that’s hard to uncover, but once someone makes it into his heart, he’d become the most devoted gentleman. He would absolutely pamper his s/o and make sure they feel loved.

Quirk- King Crimson Drake

Explanation of Quirk: His dragon tattoo can animate into a red crystal dragon, the “crystal” actually being blood based using his own blood. To strengthen the dragon, he can consume the blood of another quirk user to give the dragon an affinity from that quirk (for example if he bit Bakugou, the dragon could breathe fire or if he bit Midoriya the dragon would be a whole lot stronger. Todoroki would be his favorite because the dragon becomes a two headed hydra with one head controlling ice and the other fire). The dragon can shoot daggers and attack on his command, however, ranged attacks are limited since they consume some of his blood. If he drinks someone else’s blood, that blood is used instead and his own is saved. He cant use too much of his own blood or else he passes out. Since ranged attacks use up blood the most, the dragon can be used defensively, hovering around him and attacking at close range.

More info below if you’re interested!

Characteristics

Strengths: He’s confident and will flaunt what he has. He can fire back at insults so fast and roast people who try to bring him down, he doesn’t let himself be put down that easy. He’s also very observant of his surroundings and sometimes notices things others would overlook.

Weaknesses: As smooth as he is if someone he’s crushing on flirts back he’s dead and gone. Lucian.exe has stopped working. He has no idea how to approach his crush he just becomes an emotional mess

Likes: Italian food, vampire/gothic aesthetic, red black and gold

Dislikes: Really bright lights, mornings

Fears: Spiders (yes the man who controls a huge blood dragon is scared of spiders)

Hobbies: He likes to sing, though as flamboyant as he can be that’s the one thing he won’t show off to just anyone

Quirks: Besides the whole ‘smirk-to-show-off-teeth’ thing he also occasionally swipes his tongue over his fangs if he notices someone staring. He’s not above sending winks towards people whose eyes tend to wander. He lives for Italian food and will absolutely joke about the garlic. He's also the most likely to walk around with a cup of something red and pretend its blood he’s drinking

Health

Physical Health: With all the blood he drinks it's a wonder he doesn’t contract a billion diseases but his body has an immunity to contracting things through blood. Otherwise, he’s pretty healthy.

Mental health: He’s fine, but when left alone to really get lost in thought he often thinks himself lonely

Sleep habits: Night owl. He’s not an actual vampire but he stays up late and sleeps in

Misc.

Though he flaunts his looks a lot, he becomes uncomfortable if the situation becomes too sexual. Yes he will absolutely flirt, but if someone gets too close and starts feeling him up he doesn't like it. He doesn't do that to people, his teasing is all words and he respects people's boundaries. He simply asks that others do the same

In the same sense, he's also the first to stand up and get in between two people if he sees one of them is pushing too far and the other is uncomfortable. He's not afraid to defend people anywhere and everywhere he can