First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
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A fun, lighthearted read that manages to make mortal danger and evil plots seem almost amusing. While the danger does indeed feel real, and one truly worries for the characters at times, the fact that they can still be concerned with things like whether or not a man's cravat it tied fashionably or not takes some of the tension out. Indeed, the constant detailed descriptions of what the characters are wearing and the oh-so-serious manner in which following the dictates of the current trends is regarded help to maintain an amusing tone throughout. It's as though the narrator is constantly poking fun at the characters, but at the same time is quite impressed by the dapper ones, as well as duly horrified by the unfashionable. It's almost a pity there weren't illustrations to go along with the descriptions of the couture.
