From New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger comes the delightful sequel to Imprudence. Accidentally abandoned! All alone in Singapore, proper Miss Primrose Tunstell must steal helium to save her airship, the Spotted Custard, in a scheme involving a lovesick werecat and a fake fish tail. When she uncovers rumors of a new kind of vampire, Prim and the Custard crew embark on a mission to … vampire, Prim and the Custard crew embark on a mission to Peru. There, they encounter airship pirates and strange atmospheric phenomena, and are mistaken for representatives of the Spanish Inquisition. Forced into extreme subterfuge (and some rather ridiculous outfits) Prim must also answer three of life’s most challenging questions: Can the perfect book club give a man back his soul? Will her brother ever stop wearing his idiotic velvet fez? And can the amount of lard in Christmas pudding save an entire species?
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A book in which Prim discovers her happiness. Prim’s story focuses around accepting oneself and not conforming to societal norms just because that is what you are supposed to do. I might be looking way too much into this but this story shows the importance of accepting who you are and that those who truly care about you will accept you for you.
I loved this book! There is just something about the life lessons in this series that just warms my heart. Prim spends so much time denying who she is just because she is worried about what society might say. Everyone around her is so patient and supportive and they “knew” before she accepted it.
This is a story of self-acceptance and love.
My favourite of this series so far! I really enjoyed Prudence/Rue as a protagonist, but I ADORE the combo of Primrose and Percy that we get here! Lovely mix of romance, friendship, adventure and delicious comestibles.
I love pretty much everything Gail writes and this is no exception. Like the Discworld novels, you can read these as stand alone but it’s better to read them all as you get a better understanding of the characters. Gail is fantastic as love has no bounds, tea is always served, and there is a delightful thumbing of the nose to polite society.
Rollicking Good Fun
For Mature Readers
-1 star for way more discussion and speculation about characters’ sexual orientation than I cared about. I kept thinking, “Okay, I get it. Let’s get on with the story.”
That being said, wonderful characters, swashbuckling action, and a clever plot make this installment of the series a delightful read.
Plot – no spoilers
Our unlikely crew aboard the Spotted Custard journey to South America to save an obscure hive of vampires from extinction overcoming personal and societal obstacles along the way.
No graphic or detailed sex
No memorable strong language
Plenty of amusing situations.
Tea and good manners prevail.
Carriger is getting more and more gay/bi/trans/etc characters in her books and I love it. As a rule I don’t like the Prudence series as much as the soulless series (it pushes right up against my “Too Damn Silly” line but doesn’t QUITE cross it) but this is an absolute favourite. I adore stories about different cultures who DON’T kill each other but instead think carefully about how to get along. This one is especially brilliant.
I enjoyed Prim and Percy’s POV more than I expected. Low on plot and heavy on character ramblings, but still a nice little addition to the series.
This was a very interesting expansion of the world that Carriger has created. The ensemble crew offers different points of view but this book focused much more on Primrose. Previously, she seemed more interested in appearances, but this showed a lot more depth of interests and how seriously she took her responsibilities for the ship and crew. From some of the descriptions, I was afraid that we wouldn’t hear much from Rue, but she and the rest of the crew definitely played their parts in the story. It ended on a good note and I’m really looking forward to the final installment with Percy taking the spotlight.
I love this series and this book was a lot of fun. The characters are growing up and learning about life. There are new vampires and new worlds which are very interesting. Can’t wait for the next book.
Fun book in the Custard Protocol series. While entertaining seemed like a filler for character development rather than a full book.
Competence was such an entertaining book; it didn’t feel like a 3rd book in a series at all. I simultaneously read and listened to the audiobook; the audiobook was fabulous! I loved learning more about Primrose and Tasherit’s story and getting to delve into the mind of Percy as well. I also love how Gail Carrier normalizes queer identity during that time period in a seamless way with so many different characters and their relationships. I think this is my favorite book of the series so far. Can’t wait to see what the last book, Reticence, has in store for the crew of the Spotted Custard!
Have read every book and short story from the very first parasol protectorate. I enjoyed this latest book and can`t wait for the next one. Not going to say why it would be a huge spoiler