Blameless

Just finished Blameless the third in the Alexia Tarabotti series by Gali Carriger. This one has it all...drunken werewolves, Templars, a ride in an ornithopter, a reckless escape across the Alps, homicidal ladybugs, and a whole lot more. What more could you want? This installment returned the series to full force. Changeless left me a little disappointed at the end, but Blameless has everything back on track. There is plenty of action and adventure as well as the witty repartee that Alexia is well-known for. Armed with her trusty umbrella and supported by Floote (who is well-armed as well) and her friend Madame Lefoux, Alexia leaves England in search of answers about the new life she's carrying. Exactly how is this possible? The answers she finds are disturbing, not only for her, but for supernaturals and humans alike.

But as long as Alexia has her supply of real English tea and can have her new-found favorite, pesto, she is ready to take on Templars, evil scientists out to investigate her delicate state rather too closely, and the murderous hordes of vampires who dog her every step. A rollicking good read with a satisfying ending. And it was nice to see her husband, Lord Maccon come to his senses. Finally. At least for a little while--with Lord Maccon who knows how long that will last. Four stars out of five.

A few good quotes:

(a drunken Lord Maccon, being maneuvered back home by Professor Lyall)
"Went for a wee nightly run. Needed peace and quiet. Needed air in my fur. Needed fields under my paws. Needed, oh I canna--hic--explain...needed the company of hedgehogs."

"And did you find it?"

"Find what? No hedgehogs. Stupid hedgehogs." Lord Maccon tripped over a daphne bush, one of many that lined the pathway leading up to the side entrance to the house. "Who bloody well put that there?" (p. 25)

"That reminds me of an old saying of Mr. Tarabotti's" offered Floote, speaking for the first time. "Floote, he used to say to me, 'there's no such thing as fate--there's just werewolves, and there's no such thing as coincidence--there's only vampires. Everything else is open to interpretation." (p. 67)

"Shouldn't you be worrying about your own problems?" [Professor Lyall]
"What enjoyment is there in that? Other people's are always more entertaining." [Alexia] (p. 74)