Title: Soulless
Author: Gail Carriger
Category: Fiction
Page Count: 314
Rating: 3.5/5
I had mixed feelings about this book, and I’m not convinced that I would have made it to the end if I hadn’t been reading it for a YouTube video I’m shooting with Suzie where we swap TBRS.
Soulless is fairly generic for a YA book with most of the clichés that readers have come to expect, but it does have a few unique selling points. I think that the world building and the complex politics are the most notable things here, although I was a little disappointed because I’d been expecting it to be a lot more steampunk than it was. If it wasn’t for the societal norms that it highlighted and challenged, you’d barely notice that it was Victorian.
There were good bits here and there, but there was also a lot of generic stuff that just felt as though it could have been any other YA novel and nobody would notice a difference. I hear that it potentially changes later on in the series, but I’m not going to keep reading and so it doesn’t really matter.
I think this is for you if you’re a fan of Cassandra Clare, particularly her series that’s set in Victorian England. If you’re actually looking for something with steampunky, Victorian vibes, you might not really find it here, because there’s a lingering feeling of being just on the edge of it but in a separate world. Calling this a Victorian steampunk novel is a bit like calling Harry Potter a book that’s set in the Scottish highlands. Technically correct perhaps, but you’re not going to see many haggises.
So would I recommend it? Not really, unless you like the sound of it. You also need to remember that it’s not necessarily a die-hard fantasy book. It’s a romance.
