Soulless: the manga by Gail Carriger and REM

Miss Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster living with her family in Victorian London, a situation that creates a strained relationship between Alexia and the rest of her family.  Her status as a spinster is nothing compared to her status as a preternatural - she is soulless.  Her preternatural state has not really been an issue in the past, but when she is attached by a rove vampire her life suddenly takes a sharp and complicated turn.

Soulless is one of those series where I was really attracted to the idea of the story, but for some reason struggled to really get into the novel and I gave up after a few chapters.  I really liked the idea of the story though so I was really excited to see a manga version of the story - the manga makes it so much easier to get into the story and stay in the story (so much so that I read the entire graphic novel in one sprint).  The manga rendering of Soulless makes it instantly accessible and appealing, and there are some really classic made more charming by the shear nature of manga.

I can not comment on how closely the manga version follows the novel version, but it is unusual for series like these to deviate greatly from the novel - though some things are changed slightly to meet the unique requirements of manga.  This was a great read and I have already ordered the second manga in the series to see what happens next for Alexia.

If you like this book then try:

• Alpha and Omega: Cry wolf by Patricia Briggs and David Lawrence
• Moon called by Patricia Briggs and David Lawrence
• Midnight secretary by Tomu Ohmi
• Infernal devices one: Clockwork angel by Cassandra Clare and Hyekyung Baek
• Maximum ride by James Patterson and NaRae Lee
• Zoo the graphic novel by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge, and Andy MacDonald
• Bloodwork by Kim Harrison, Pedro Maia, and Gemma Magno
• Circus of the damned by Laurell K. Hamilton and Jeff Ruffner-Booth

Reviewed by Brilla