"Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3)" by Gail Carriger

This review features a book that is the third in the Parasol Protectorate series, and has (inevitable) spoilers for those who have not read Soulless and Changeless. My review of the first book can be found here.

In this book, Alexia must learn to deal with her "infant-inconvenience", without the aid of her husband or Lord Akeldama. It appears she's been targeted for some reason, though exactly what no one is sure. What I like about this book is because Alexia is on her own, we get to see more of her independent streak and how she can manage well without help.

The Plot: (As Seen on Goodreads)
'Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.
'Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.
'While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.'

One of my other favorite parts about this book is that we get to see Lord Maccon at his lowest. Although he himself caused the inexcusable rift in the relationship, he doesn't exactly act like it, leaving poor Professor Lyall to pick up the pieces. While Alexia tries to move on, Conall is clearly unable to, at least in the beginning of the book.

There is another element to this book that stood out to me- there was a lot of playful coffee-bashing going on. With the characters of this book being pseudo-nineteenth-century English citizens, I'm hardly surprised they can't stand coffee, but I personally can't drink tea (stomach issues) so coffee is my go-to caffeine high. I am here to defend coffee's honor and say I love it more than tea, but it probably tastes better now than it did back in those days due to weighty additions of sugar and cream (also: the invention of Starbucks).

My favorite quote:

'"I have died and gone to the land of bad novels," was Squire Loontwill's response.'

    ~Blameless by Gail Carriger, Chapter One

Blameless is an improvement on the series, mainly because it tidies up Changeless's messy ending, which had left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Although this book was not significantly better than the first book, it did leave me smiling and reaching for the next book (as I am a known series devourer). I recommend Blameless to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first two of the Parasol Protectorate series, because you may as well see what happens next.

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars for an excellent third book in the Parasol Protectorate.

Content: Ages 18+ for violence (including mad scientists and crazier Templars), lovers' quarrels, and an infant-inconvenienced lady armed with a lethal parasol.

Page Count: 374 pages