Soulless by Gail Carriger, review by K. Bird Lincoln
Please, please, please write more like this! (Kirsten's plea to the author.)
If you take a pinch of Jane Austen, a smidgen of paranormal, and add a twist of fashion sense with an overwhelming dollop of droll humor, you would get this book.
In a Victorian England where the werewolves and vampires are the reason behind the power of the English empire, somebody or something is kidnapping vampires and werewolves.
Alexia was born "soulless", or with the ability to nuetralize werewolves and vampires (return them to their human state) with a touch. She's drawn into the mystery when a clueless vampire (they should all know about her status) attacks her and she is saved by the head of the paranormal bureau, Lord Macon (Scottish and a werewolf).
Their courtship and unraveling of the mystery is funny and intriguing in all the best ways. The romance is satisfying, the dialogue hilarious, and the world itself a kind of steampunk/urban fantasy set in Victorian England.
I've already pre-ordered the next in the series.
