Title: Timeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Parasol Protectorate, #5
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Previously:
With Timeless, the Parasol Protectorate books come to an end. (It is not, however, and end to the world...) Unfortunately, I think it kind of overstayed its welcome. The series went good, better, better, good, and now just okay. Maybe it's that I'm not a big fan of neatly wrapped up Happily Ever After endings. Or pretty much any of the last third of the book. Spoilers in the review.
Things are getting a lot more comfortable for Alexia and Conall (despite their child being a bit of a nightmare, as children -- and my puppy -- are wont to do), but then a vampire in Egypt summons them and she's so old and ancient there's no way they can refuse her.
Then plots and stuff are uncovered and of course they have to handle them. There are some cute scenes with Biffy that are nice, but in the overallness of that plot arc I wanted to roll my eyes. (Biffy didn't want to be a werewolf but suddenly we find that despite his personality he's actually going to be an Alpha! 'Course it doesn't help that I hate those stupid unrealistic stereotypes being used for werewolves...)
There's also that annoying things I hate in every form of media -- "OH LOOK I KILLED THIS CHARACTER." And then I roll my eyes and go "I'm sure they'll be fine." And guess what? They were. This happens to not one, but two characters in this book. Honestly, I think it would have been a much more interesting ending if they had remained dead.
I think part of the problem is that the books got better the further Gail Carriger strayed from the supernatural romance genre. And one of the general requirements for a romance novel is to have a Happily Ever After (or For Now) ending, regardless if that even makes sense.
So we get Conall retiring from the role of Alpha in his pack so he can grow old with Alexia, a metric load of questions unanswered (I guess to give Custard Protocol something to work with?), and not a lot of satisfied me.
But the side characters are still wonderful. And honestly one of the major reasons I'll continue. That, and my hold on Prudence just went through at the library. And hey, let's be honest: it wasn't terrible and she's written some great stuff. A shaky end isn't going to be the end of me reading her works.
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