Book Review: God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire #1)

Title: God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire #1)
Author: Kate Locke
Genre: SciFi/Fantasy (Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal), Alternante History, Romance
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 354 (Hardcover)
Publication Date: July 5th, 2012

Plot: (from Goodreads)
The start of a thrillingly original new urban fantasy series—set in a dark alternate world where the Victorian age never ended...

The Year is 2012—and Queen Victoria still rules with an immortal fist.

She's the undead matriarch of a Britain, where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground, and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where technology lives side by side with magic, where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath) and Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it's her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But things get complicated when her sister goes missing. Xandra will not only realise she's the prize in a dangerous power struggle—but she'll also uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire itself.

Review:
I read this book when it first came out in 2012 and then never ended up continuing the series. When I picked it up, randomly during the 24 hour read-a-thon, I couldn't remember anything that'd actually happened in it for some reason. And I still don't really remember that first read through of it two years ago, but anyway, onto the actual review.

I really enjoyed this book, overall. I loved the world that was created, that they lived in, it was gritty and fun and had a mixture of more modern and Victorian things. And the Victorian time periods is one of my favorites that to read about, it's interesting to see authors write ways around certain conflicts. This books is much more modern, of course, it doesn't take place in the late 1800's, but still in the Victorian time period - just in 2012. And I haven't read much alternate history, not nearly enough, but I always tend to love it - it's just interesting and this was no exception to that rule, the world building in this was so interesting.

My favorite part of this book, besides the setting, was the characters. Xandra is a kick-ass and just kind of awesome all around main character, and I loved her siblings as well. How they all had the same aristocrat father, but different mothers, and were so different at points. And I like reading about siblings, as an only child it's interesting to me, and all of the Vardan's were just fun to read about in general.

To wrap it up, I'd definitely recommend this book. It was fun and Steampunk, and I'd also highly suggest, if you can read and listen to music, to have Emilie Autumn playing in the background. I had totally forgotten that the author was a fan, until I read the Acknowledgements and Locke mentions her, but it fits the setting so well, almost perfectly.

Favorite quotes:

"Bitch," Penny said slowly, "You are my fucking hero." 

"I assume you've introduced yourselves," I commented.
"Of course," Avery retorted, expression slightly affronted. "His lordship helped me and Em carry in groceries this morning." 

Book Review: Changeless

Book: Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)
Author: Gail Carriger
Genre: Romance (Paranormal Romance, Alternate History, Steampunk)
Rating: 5/5
Page count: 388
Favorite character: Besides Alexia and Lord Maccon, I adore Professor Lyall because, as Beta, he puts up with a lot of stuff and I love that he's almost always completely calm, at least, on the outside.

Plot: (From Goodreads)

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.


Review:

Let me just say if you haven't read the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series you should go do that, now. Also, there will be spoilers for that book here so you might not want to look. On with the review, then, I love these characters. Gail Carriger writes some amazing characters, even the ones I didn't really want to like or found annoying, I still loved. The pack mentality is fun to read about, especially in this kind of society. And all of the characters are diverse and believable and interesting.

It was fun to read about Scotland and how all of that was handled. Miss Hisselpenny, Ivy, probably gets one of the best lines. While in Scotland, where men wear kilts, she says this: "Alexia," she hissed to her friend, "there are knees positively everywhere!  What do I do?" I was laughing so hard as I read that, poor thing, too many knees for her.

However, I suggest having the third book close on hand, because this one ends with you wants to throttle some characters. I did yell at my book when I finished it. I'm really glad, though, in a round-a-bout way that it ended like that. That there wasn't an instant fix or whatever, even if it was kind of painful to read. No spoilers, I promise, just go read it and enjoy.

I want to add that I'd really love a Parasol like Alexia's, it's sound so pretty and deadly. I love all of the clothes in these books, though, that might just be my obsession with the time, though.