Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger: Book Review

Soulless is a pleasant blend of paranormal, romance, Steampunk, and mystery...with a bit of humor for good measure. I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Alexia Tarabotti is a self-proclaimed spinster living in Victorian London society. She is very intelligent, loves to read and debate, and is happy being unmarried. Oh yes, and she was born without a soul. That fact makes her the antidote to vampires and werewolves, both of which are a mainstreamed part of society in her world. As soon as Alexia makes physical contact with a vampire, his fangs retract and he's human again...until the contact is broken. At the very beginning of the story, Alexia is at a ball and is awaiting her tea when a rogue vampire attacks her in the library (the nerve of him!). She is forced to defend herself and ends up killing him with her wooden hair pin. This self-defense murder catapults Alexia into an investigation of the missing rogue vampires and werewolves in the area.

The plot is a bit thin in this one, but the witty banter and dry humor more than make up for it. It feels a bit like a 21st-century independent woman was dropped in the middle of Jane Austen's time, with civilized vampires and werewolves mixed in...and I loved it! I am definitely interested in reading Parasol Protectorate #2.

Get a copy of Soulless from Amazon. 

Read about the author, Gail Carriger, on Goodreads.

Marvel's Thor The Dark World: Movie Review

Mr. Maven and I got a babysitter (woo hoo!) last weekend and went to see Thor: The Dark World at the local theater. I really wasn't that excited about seeing it, though I certainly didn't mind watching Chris Hemsworth in action. I honestly thought it wasn't going to be that great (what movie sequel really is?), and I cannot stand watching Natalie Portman try to act. Ugh. But I was pleasantly surprised. This movie was fun and funny and I actually enjoyed myself.

But I have to say that the actor who stole the show was Tom Hiddleston. Man, was he awesome! Loki totally stole every scene he was in, and I just couldn't tear my eyes from him. He is the deliciously tempting bad-guy-you-love-to-love. He's not evil, as I thought in the first movie. He's just corrupted by his desire for power and control. And why not? He's had to live in his big brother's shadow all his life! So it's difficult to hate him. Especially when just about everything that comes out of his mouth is witty and snarky. I want a Loki-only spin-off movie!

Okay, so the plot...umm...I'm not really sure what it was. There were some bad guys, dark elves, led by the big head evil dark elf called Malekith (which I think is a very cool name), and they were mad about...something. I think because Thor's father killed a bunch of them a long time ago? Anyway, they're not all dead and they're coming back to annihilate everyone in their path. And there is some sort of dark gooey stuff that has been hidden for a long time and somehow our dumb "heroine," Jane (Natalie Portman - ugh) has found it. The dark gooey evil stuff has
infiltrated her bloodstream and so she is a living weapon of mass destruction. So Malekith wants her, or the black gooey stuff IN her, and of course Thor cant let him have it. But Thor can't fight Malekith and his elves all by himself so he busts Loki out of prison and they team up.

Just don't think about it too much. The plot doesn't really matter in this one. It's just fun. Oh, and the snarky assistant, Darcy (played by Kat Dennings) is back and she's really fun again. So I recommend you see this film. Maybe if you're not crazy about the Marvel superhero world wait for it on DVD. But if you're a Loki fan, don't miss this one. And just wait until you see the Captain America cameo - brilliant! Four stars from me, for entertainment and eye candy.

Even More Dumb Signs

I get that not everyone is a grammar geek like me. Most people don't get excited about editing and correcting grammar mistakes (although I just don't understand why not). But if you're a company, with a public image, and your main focus is to promote your business, gain customers, and MAKE MONEY, wouldn't it make sense that you'd make a concerted effort to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation in your signs? The following photos just make me shake my head....and seriously consider NOT shopping there.

I found this one on the front doors of a Belk department store in GA, right around Mother's Day (and anyway, shouldn't it be Mothers' Day? More than one mother celebrates on that special Sunday every May, right?). But I digress....Selfs? Really? No. The plural form of the word self is not selfs. That's NOT EVEN A WORD. Even my built-in spell check tells me so, with its angry, red squiggly line underneath. But my inner first grader told me so first, which is why I snapped the photo on my way into the store. I'm not going to tell you what the word should be. If you've made it past first grade too, you should already know it.

I'm disappointed in you, Target. We had such a great relationship for so long. But I just don't know if I can take this kind of thing. It's not me; it's you. The word women is already plural. You don't add an s to make it...more plural. Maybe they were going for possessive here? As in Women's Section? If so, then the apostrophe is missing. Either way, it's still WRONG.

I didn't take a very good photo of this one; the flash ended up putting a glare right where the problem is. No, people; apostrophes don't make things plural. (You will hear/read me say this many times.) Sheesh. By the way, I found this beauty in one of those junk touristy shops in downtown Gatlinburg, TN. You know the ones. I won't even comment on the significance of getting a tattoo "just like in the movies." Makes me shudder.

I'm not sure what rosted strips are, but they're cheap! Now, I would give The Colonel the benefit of the doubt if there was a space between the o and the s in rosted, indicating that high winds or some other act of God had blown away the missing a. But no, this was not God's fault. We just have stupid people at this KFC. This one was in Nashville, TN, right near the international airport. Great. So we can prove to the world they were right about us Southerners all along.

So tell me this...if an apostrophe and an s make a video, cassette, or a CD plural, why aren't they also needed for returns and exchanges? If video's, cassette's and CD's (oh, excuse me--C.D.'S), then why not return's and exchange's too? Apostrophes don't make things plural, folks!! (There it is again!) I don't even remember where I took this photo. By the date stamped on it though, you can tell I've been collecting these for a long time. It's, like, one of my favorite hobbies...next to riding roller coasters.

I know you're just dying to see more of these gems, aren't you? Don't worry, I have plenty more to share. Stay tuned....