Bibliophile on Parade

Meet Alexia Tarabotti, spinster, daughter of an Italian, and lover of tea and treacle tarts.  She is your typical lady of good breeding in Victorian society, except for one little secret that few know, she is soulless.  Alexia is what the supernatural world refers to as a preternatural.  If she touches a supernatural being she temporally neutralizers their powers while they are in contact.  Vampires and werewolves become regular human beings and ghosts are exorcised (unfortunately for ghosts her touch is a permanent state).

Alexia has managed to keep her "condition" a secret from her friends and family, only agents of BUR, like the charming (sorry there is no sarcasm font) Lord Maccon, pack leader of the werewolves and a constant source of criticism where Alexia is concerned.  The story begins with book one, Soulless, Alexia is attending a party where she accidentally kills a rogue vampire who attacks her in the library.  Convinced that something is afoot she is determined to find out where this vampire came from and why he did not know who she was.  Attempting to keep her and his temper under control, Lord Maccon is tasked with solving this dilemma as well as the sudden disappearance of other vampires and werewolves across London.

What adds to the deliciousness of these stories is the entertaining and hilarious courtship of Alexia by Lord Maccon.  They have the same type of romance one would liken to old couples who have been married for years, but you are never sure why they got married in the first place because they act as if they despise each other.  Aided by their friends and collegues, Professor Lyall, Ivy Hisslepenny, and Lord Akeldama, this unlikely couple delve into a secret society that threatens every supernatural creature in England, and perhaps the world.

If you like steampunk, Victorian London, tea, adventure, supernatural beings, and bad hats, this is the series for you.  Each is better than the next and carriage rides will be the same again. :)