Gail Carriger – Blameless

The third book in the Alexia Tarabotti series, published September 2010.



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.


I stayed up way to late last night to finish the book. But I just had to know how it would end. And I am happy that I have the fourth book in the series lying on my shelf, but I am in dubio: read on, or wait until the next book is almost here?

After the way her husband treated her in Scotland, Alexia has cleared out of Woolsey Castle, and moved back in with her “loving” family. Her family is not happy to have her living with them again. Her stepfather is ignoring her, as usual. Her mother is glad she is not eating that much anymore, but her stepsisters want her out of the house, as she is ruining their chances at marriage by being such a scandal. Her sister Felicity has finally let the cat out of the bag, it is all over the London papers that Alexia is pregnant, and that it cannot possibly be her husbands child, as he is a werewolf, and partly dead, or undead. Alexia decides to move out, and go to Lord Akeldama, who has invited her. But she finds the house empty, apparently they moved out in a big hurry? What has happened?
Losing the protection of the pack could not have been worse, as the vampires are determined to kill her. For being pregnant? Why? What will the nature of her Infant Inconvenience be? Will he be a preternatural like Alexia herself, or a werewolf like its father, or something else? Something bad?
Of course Alexia is used to being the target of a murder attempt, but this is getting ridiculous! Luckily she has her trusty parasol with her. Perhaps it would be better though, if she went to the continent to escape all the gossip and find out more about her own nature and that of her child. Madame Lefoux and Floote will accompany her, and Ivy, the new Mrs Tunstell, will take over the hatshop for Madame Lefoux while they are away, something Genevieve is dreading.

And so, through Paris and Nice they arrive in Italy, barely escaping some drones chasing and attacking them, to end up in the tender care of the Templars! From the frying pan into the fire, or not?
And all that time, Alexia is mad at Conall and almost crying about what happened. How can he believe those horrible things he has said to her? Doesn’t he know her character by now? Doesn’t he love her after all? She will find evidence though, and rub his nose in it, and make him grovel!

And back in England, Professor Lyall is left behind to hold the fort. His Alpha is useless, as he is doing his best to stay drunk. As a werewolf cannot get drunk on alcohol, he is using formaldehyde… So it is up to Professor Lyall to defend the pack against challengers, to look after BUR, and everything else. Where did Lord Akeldama go? What happened? What is the potentate up to?


A book I read in one evening (okay and part of the night) and I highly enjoyed it. The fantastic inventions used in this book are marvellous, I really am in awe of Gail Carriger’s imagination. She has a very fluent writing style, characters you just have to love (or hate) and such an engaging storyline, I just have to keep reading. Never, ever could I predict what would happen next. The scientific explanations and theories are total gibberish to me, but do not detract from the story at all.
A book filled with werewolves and vampires and steampunk devices, and just a lot of fun and action. I love it, and recommend it if you have not yet read the series.

9 stars