Hi readers,
Today, I'm reviewing the fifth and final book in The Parasol Protectorate series. I'm please to say it didn't disappoint! The plot of this one feels very different to the others, which is great because it feels fresh. Alexia and her family have been summoned to Egypt to meet the queen vampire there because she is interested in meeting Alexia's daughter Prudence. In order to get there under some reasoning and disguise to protect themselves, Alexia arranges her best friend, Ivy's acting group to preform their new play for the queen.
Of course, the trip goes with many funny hitches and that is something I really enjoyed about all the books is that the humor in them is light and very 'Victorian' styled as it were. To make things even harder Ivy had twins and so there's three babies to also deal with, though there has been a move forward in time and Prudence is about two years old. And as we know from the end of the last book, Prudence is no normal child! And she does spent time as both a werewolf and vampire baby in this story, which I think is so cute.
When the group finally arrive in Egypt it is wonderfully described and I do like the change of setting from London because it gives the reader a feel of a greater world. Also, the Victorians were very interested in Egypt, so having this as a setting is realistic for the time period, even if it is an alternative history.
The rest of the plot is that the Queen meets Prudence and it seems she wants more from the toddler then it first appears. Alexia starts to solve the curse-breaker plague that seems to have been spreading across Egypt and finds that her father was involved in it's growth. It seems no surprise there though because that has been a running theme throughout the series. However, to me it doesn't seem to become stale and I think uncovering her father's past is important for Alexia to discover who she is.
The mystery is of course solved when they arrive at a temple and find that someone has been collecting the bodies of the soulless and using their still lingering powers to create the plague. Which then brings back in Alexia's father and the vampire queen, because as it turns out the queen wants to die. Now though, the queen can use Prudence's powers to pass on, which she does and this leading into the other reason why Ivy is needed. I'm not going to spoil it though!
There is one heart retching moment close to the end, which works as part of the climax of the novel. And I don't really want to spoil that either, but I'm just so glad that actually it didn't happen! I was a bit shocked that the writer decided to do that, but I get it was all part of heightening the drama to the max. It also gives a good turning point to the story, which is needed to push things forward.
Finally, the ending of the book is really good and everything feels tied up at the end. I actually feel sad that it has ended now, but in away I'm glad that it's not going to drag on and the quality of the writing falling as I have seen in other series. Though I do feel I am going to miss reading Alexia's adventures.
So how do the characters far up in this final book? I love Prudence! she is such a good character and I like her development, even though she is a toddler, due to her being a supernatural she progresses quickly and it turns out at the end that actually she doesn't like her name. Which is so cute. I do feel that she is a good a character and does fit in well with the other characters.
Alexia and Conall's characters do show further signs of progression, including when Conall finds out that Alexia has been keeping a secret from him and they have an argument. I liked how they fixed things like a married couple and were able to move on. I do love the relationship between them because it is so strong and they seem perfectly matched.
Once again, the other characters do have all their parts to play and I do like the feeling of them actually trying to up stage the main characters, especially Ivy. Though, I'm not 100% with 'the butler did it' cliche, but I do understand it and it does work, but I I guess I didn't slot all the pieces into place quick enough to work it out before it happened. Beside from that though, I'm still happy with the other characters.
Overall, I'm happy with this last book. I really enjoyed reading the series and am sad to see it now finished. I liked the changing in settings and meeting some new characters. I would so recommend this series to people who like supernatural romance stories and also people who are interested in steampunk. This to me is a great first introduction to the genre because it uses it lightly. The main characters are very likable and easy to understand, which means you can deeply connect with them.
Happily, it looks like the story isn't actually ending here! I found out there is more just in a different form!
Of course, the trip goes with many funny hitches and that is something I really enjoyed about all the books is that the humor in them is light and very 'Victorian' styled as it were. To make things even harder Ivy had twins and so there's three babies to also deal with, though there has been a move forward in time and Prudence is about two years old. And as we know from the end of the last book, Prudence is no normal child! And she does spent time as both a werewolf and vampire baby in this story, which I think is so cute.
When the group finally arrive in Egypt it is wonderfully described and I do like the change of setting from London because it gives the reader a feel of a greater world. Also, the Victorians were very interested in Egypt, so having this as a setting is realistic for the time period, even if it is an alternative history.
The rest of the plot is that the Queen meets Prudence and it seems she wants more from the toddler then it first appears. Alexia starts to solve the curse-breaker plague that seems to have been spreading across Egypt and finds that her father was involved in it's growth. It seems no surprise there though because that has been a running theme throughout the series. However, to me it doesn't seem to become stale and I think uncovering her father's past is important for Alexia to discover who she is.
The mystery is of course solved when they arrive at a temple and find that someone has been collecting the bodies of the soulless and using their still lingering powers to create the plague. Which then brings back in Alexia's father and the vampire queen, because as it turns out the queen wants to die. Now though, the queen can use Prudence's powers to pass on, which she does and this leading into the other reason why Ivy is needed. I'm not going to spoil it though!
There is one heart retching moment close to the end, which works as part of the climax of the novel. And I don't really want to spoil that either, but I'm just so glad that actually it didn't happen! I was a bit shocked that the writer decided to do that, but I get it was all part of heightening the drama to the max. It also gives a good turning point to the story, which is needed to push things forward.
Finally, the ending of the book is really good and everything feels tied up at the end. I actually feel sad that it has ended now, but in away I'm glad that it's not going to drag on and the quality of the writing falling as I have seen in other series. Though I do feel I am going to miss reading Alexia's adventures.
So how do the characters far up in this final book? I love Prudence! she is such a good character and I like her development, even though she is a toddler, due to her being a supernatural she progresses quickly and it turns out at the end that actually she doesn't like her name. Which is so cute. I do feel that she is a good a character and does fit in well with the other characters.
Alexia and Conall's characters do show further signs of progression, including when Conall finds out that Alexia has been keeping a secret from him and they have an argument. I liked how they fixed things like a married couple and were able to move on. I do love the relationship between them because it is so strong and they seem perfectly matched.
Once again, the other characters do have all their parts to play and I do like the feeling of them actually trying to up stage the main characters, especially Ivy. Though, I'm not 100% with 'the butler did it' cliche, but I do understand it and it does work, but I I guess I didn't slot all the pieces into place quick enough to work it out before it happened. Beside from that though, I'm still happy with the other characters.
Overall, I'm happy with this last book. I really enjoyed reading the series and am sad to see it now finished. I liked the changing in settings and meeting some new characters. I would so recommend this series to people who like supernatural romance stories and also people who are interested in steampunk. This to me is a great first introduction to the genre because it uses it lightly. The main characters are very likable and easy to understand, which means you can deeply connect with them.
Happily, it looks like the story isn't actually ending here! I found out there is more just in a different form!
The first is that a Manga trilogy of the first three books was made and I of course ordered these when I found out and I'm going to review them next week or the week after because I need to do a life update post. I might do them as one review, because I believe there's nothing new about the plot and characters and it's just a Manga retelling of the first three books. Have to see.
The second is that there is a sequel to The Parasol Protectorate called The Custard Protocol, which follows Alexia's daughter. I really like this idea and can't wait to started reading them. The first book is out now and the second should be out soon.
The third link is that Carriger has written another series of books called Finishing School of which there is four books. I read that this isn't a pre-sequel to the other two series but does speak of events and characters that appear. They are on my wish list and I'd love to get them but I have too many others books on my to-read shelf and even more listed first on my wish list. Hopefully, I'll get around to them though.
Image from: Amazon.uk
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