Changless

 

Changeless is the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series. Like most series I read the second book left something to be desired then ended on a cliffhanger forcing the reader to want to know what happens.

Alexia is awoke to a commotion in the early hours of the morning by her obviously angry husband however  before she can figure out what is wrong Lord Maccon exits in a huff. Determined to find out what is going on Alexia begins to investigate and learns that something is afflicting the local supernatural all of them have been turned mortal. With their afflictions gone tensions run high as Alexia decides to investigate what is occurring. 

The writing was once again a bit off putting for my taste. I do not enjoy how the persons given name and last name are switched between all time, it throws off the flow of writing for me. I read the first half of the story much faster then the second half since I got bored about half way through. If not for the obvious cliff hanger ending I would stop with the series. 

The Boy in the Cellar

 

The Boy in the Cellar was given to me by a friend. She knows Mr. Smith and is trying to help get his story heard so it does not happen to other children. 

Warning the story has a lot of triggers and it is an emotionally exhausting tale to read. I kept hoping against hope that someone anyone would rescue poor Stephen from his own private hell. Sadly that was not the case Stephen kept going from bad to worse as the system failed him over and over. 

The writing was smooth but repetitive at times. I do understand why though Mr. Smith was doing all her could to convey the horrors of what happened to him all through his childhood. I just wanted to shake the people who were doing nothing to help Stephen but despite the trials of Stephens young life he grew to overcome them and became a better person then anyone who failed him. 

The Courtesan

 

Another free library find. The lovely cover is what drew me to read the description of the story and I knew it would be sad but I was interested. Jinhua's story is a story of myth and legend yet Alexandra Curry does a lovely job sorting through the rocky history to tell a stunning tale in The Courtesan. 

Jinua has a lovely life as the daughter of a concubine her father dotes upon her providing her with her whims and refusing to bind her feet. Sadly his father displeases the emperor and his punishment is death. With no protector his first wife decides to sell Jinua to a go between for seven silver coins, one coin for each year of her life. Terrified and unsure of what will be her fate Jinua is taken from the only place she knows and sold to a local brothel. Determined to make Jinua a money tree the mistress of the brothel orders her feet to be bound. Barely surviving Jinua endures learning the language of love until she is twelve years old and able to entertain customers. 

Later on in the story Jinua describes her being as different lives and considering how drastically things change for her throughout her years it makes sense. At times I was really confused due to the writing, random foreign language was thrown in that threw off my pace. Time skips did occur and they were not really smooth nor did I really understand what was going since characters points of view jumped around a good deal. Since this is Curry's first novel the writing and transitions show room to improve. 

Dance Upon the Air

 

I got Dance Upon the Air out of the local free library, I did not realize it was a series when I started reading it.

Nell is running and terrified that her abusive husband will find her. Somehow fate draws her to a small island where she quickly finds a job and housing. Determined to settle into her new life Nell slowly begins to relax and focuses on making the island home. That is until the local sheriff decides he want to get know more about Nell and not just in a professional manner. Unsure of how to trust anymore Nell slowly works on becoming her own person. 

The story was alright, it drug in parts and had more intimate scenes then I care for. Even though it is a series I do not feel like I have to keep reading to figure out what happens. I most likely will not seek out the second book unless I happen to see it in the free library as well. 

Soulless

 

I could not sleep so I took a shot and browsed my to read list that I have saved on the library website. I saw that Soulless was available so I checked it out. It is about time I finally found a book I enjoyed.

Alexia has no soul and thus she is an extreme oddity. Lacking a soul she is able to change supernatural beings back to human as long as she is able to touch them. It has been a good while since I found a character I like as much as Alexia, she seems real and had lovely character development. Despite being considered a spinster and lacking beauty Alexia is determined to find her own place in society. All this is well and good until supernatural beings start to disappear and soon Alexia is caught up in the middle of the mystery. 

All that said I did struggle with parts of the story, I do not typically read books that have vampires or werewolves since I spook easily. This caused me issues in the terminology used and I had to stop and look up words at random times to figure out what was going on with certain supernatural aspects. 

The writing was lovely but I wish it had a bit more steampunk to is since I love steampunk. Even the side characters were fully fleshed out with distinct personalities. I cannot wait to start Changeless.