Top Ten Tuesday: Endings that made you go "What?!?"

I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday for a while and have to admit I missed it. So here we go - thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for facilitating this great game!

Today's topic.... endings that left me open-mouthing going "What happened?!?!"

10) "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
So unexpected - and it makes it so much more than a love story!

9) "Changeless" by Gail Carriger
I was completely dumbfounded by the ending of this one and actually rather annoyed with the situation. As I remember it, my immediate reaction was "Men!!" in a very grumpy tone of voice

8) "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman
I am not even sure why but this ending really surprised me. In a good way. And if you haven't read this book, you must. It is really really good.

7) "The Collector" by John Fowles
I am not sure what I expected from this book in terms of ending but certainly not this. Loved it once I got over my initial surprise

6) "The Pearl of the Soul of the World" by Meredith Ann Pierce
I was quite young when I first read the Darkangel trilogy and I was really disappointed with the ending. Guess I was a bit of a romantic then - or at least more romantic than now. Because now I think it is the perfect ending - surprising but perfect.

5) "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
All I can say is that I was very very happy that I had already bought book three and could start on it immediately. Otherwise I might have gone crazy trying to figure it all out.

4) "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
I won't say anything other than: Things are not what they seem.

3) "A Handful of Dust" by Evelyn Waugh
Definitely not a feel-good ending. I was completely taken by surprise when I read it - hadn't seen it coming. Until the last page I was hoping for a happy ending...

2) "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Not only was I extremely surprised but I was also a little (tiny) bit angry at the author for letting this happen and very very sad. Think I even cried. One of the things I love about the Harry Potter series is that sometimes sad and bad things happen to good people and it affects not only the characters in the story but also the reader.

1) "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness
I didn't know that this was the first book in a trilogy and at first I was furious with the author for leaving such a cliff hanger. Then I googled the book to find out if others felt the same way and found out that there was more to come. So now I am waiting excitedly for the next book as I absolutely love "A Discovery..."

Review: "Changeless"

I was really entertained by my first steampunk read "Soulless" by Gail Carriger and so I looked forward to biting into the sequel "Changeless". Alexia Tarrabotti is now Lady Maccon after having married Lord Maccon, the formidable werewolf with a temper that is matched only by his wife's... Their marriage is a happy one and Alexia is loving the life as lady of the manor. However, suddenly her husband goes missing and a strange phenomenon is causing supernaturals to lose their abilities and turn into normal people. Something has to be done and Lord Maccon (forgetting to tell his wife... bad idea) goes to Scotland to his old pack as he feels certain that they are somehow involved.

Of course Lady Maccon does not want to be left at home in London, so she instantly books a dirigible float to Scotland. However, before she has time to throw a tantrum a veritable court of people have decided to go with her and Alexia has enough to do with keeping Ivy from falling in love, keeping her sister from teasing Ivy and keeping an eye on a suspicious French inventor who wears gentleman's attire... The scene is set for an adventure and a mystery!

However, here something goes wrong. Somehow Carriger doesn't manage to do anything with all this build-up energy and the ending was really disappointing for me... Unfortunately because I loved the first half of the book but then it just all seemed to come apart and the excitement just petered out. Too bad, it was so promising. Not sure I will read the third installment in the series "Blameless". Have any of you read it? Can you recommend it?

Review: "Soulless" - Steampunk with soul

Steampunk. What a cool word! Even before I knew what it meant, I knew that I loved the word. It sounds so full of energy, dynamic, cool, rock'n'roll. So of course I had to give the genre a go. Now for those of you (who like me a short while ago) do not know what steampunk is, I found this definition on Wikipedia:
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.[1] Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy.

My first attempt at the steampunk genre is "Soulless" by Gail Carrigan, the first book in a series about Alexia Tarrabotti, a parasol-loving old maid with tan skin and a slightly large nose. Alexia is a preternatural which means that she has no soul and therefore has a neutralizing effect on supernaturals such as vampires and werewolves. Now in this story, Victorian England is a country where vampires, werewolves and humans live side by side in an atmosphere of some tension and reluctant acceptance on both sides. Alexia is a spinster - she has turned 26 years without managing to catch a husband, something that she herself doesn't regard as a problem but which means that she is treated as a burden by her mother, stepfather and two stepsisters, all of whom seem to be exceedingly silly. Alexia is a practical girl with a lively temper and a thirst for knowledge. She has a mind of her own and when a vampire tries to feed on her, she kills him with her umbrella. Investigations into this episode is done by Lord Maccon, a very manly werewolf with whom Alexia is constantly fighting - and as you know love and hate does not lie far apart... So as werewolves and vampires begin to disappear mysteriously, Alexia and Lord Maccon's relationship begins to sizzle.
I have to say that this was an entertaining read. Alexia is a great heroine with lots of personality - she seems to be a sort of mix of Sookie Stackhouse and your average Georgette Heyer heroine which I have to say is a really interesting mix! Stubborn, courageous, headstrong, prickly, cake-lover who is not easily scared by society ladies' opinions or hives of vampires.
So if you like a bit of romance mixed with some paranormal creatures and lots of drama, this should be a book for you.

For other reviews of this delicious debut novel, please visit:
Pensieri Persi: http://greenyellowale.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-soulless-by-gail-carriger.html

Wondrous Reads: http://www.wondrousreads.com/2011/03/review-soulless-by-gail-carriger.html

Reading in a Single Sitting: http://www.readinasinglesitting.com/2010/05/27/review-soulless-by-gail-carriger/