Welcome to the first post in an occasional series I’m calling Because I Said So, in which I will offer up novels for your reading consideration. I’m anticipating they will often be young adult titles, but I’m not ruling out other genres because, hey, I’m unpredictable like that. While I won’t provide a review of the books—I’m no critic, I just knows what I likes—trust that if I include it here it means I read and am fond of it.

For the inaugural post, I chose Timeless by Gail Carriger in honor of its publication a mere few days ago. And, as it so happens—I warned you—the novel is not actually young adult.

Timeless is the fifth installment of the hilarious Parasol Protectorate series, presided over by Alexia Tarrabotti, Lady Maccon, who is married to Lord Maccon, a bureaucratic-yet-dashing Scottish werewolf. They reside in the (admittedly glamorous) third-best closet of Alexia’s posh friend and vampire, Lord Akeldama. The setting is an alternate version of Victorian London that is as chock full of addlepated supernatural characters and odd steampunk machines (murderous mechanical ladybugs, anyone?) as the society papers are teeming with gossip about Lady Maccon and her escapades.

In all series-ousness, the Parasol Protectorate novels have one of the best examples of great “voice” I’ve come across. Alexia may get herself into situations unbecoming of her station in London society, but she is always diverting (and, of course, well-dressed.) Start with the first book, Soulless, and give her a try.