bookwormerica's review against another edition
5.0
So I devoured this book šš I love how forward thinking the whole series is. Tash is amazing and a favorite character!! I loved picturing the rolly Rue and the exasperated Primrose šš Gail writes books to make you feel good while you read them. No worries about gritty scenes you cringe through. Amazing!
Loooooooovvvvveeee
Loooooooovvvvveeee
rebeccadupont's review against another edition
4.0
This book is my favorite of the Custard Protocol series so far. I enjoyed the narration of Primrose and Percy. I found it different and refreshing in the series after two from Rue's view. I liked their very different and oddly overlapping behaviors and views on situations.
The overall plot did feel a bit thin with going to find South American vampires and that not happening until the last fourth of the book, instead it was more about ship life, family feel and relationships of all kinds. There was a lot of love and relationships as the focus which is not always my favorite but as those relationships most central were queer of some nature I was glad to see that and it made me far more interested. I was happy to see both Prim with Tasherit and Rodrigo with Anitra find happy endings, if the former did take a bit longer than I would have liked due to Prim's protests.
I have to say that I am sure some will be upset with Prim's waffling - do I want Tasherit or not - but thinking of society at the time and social constructs it is not surprising. She seems to know what she desires, as in women, but also wants the social expectations of family and children so watching her go through that struggle while frustrating from a 21st century POV it is not surprising for her time period. Just because Rue (or her mother) can jump into things does not mean that social etiquette Prim can. In fact the whole ship is full of social outcasts for that time and there is one point in the book where Prim acknowledges this to herself and it is what helps her take the leap and I thought that was well done.
I was surprised at also getting Percy's POV in this book but quite happy with it. Percy has no love interest and came off very asexual in this book, which I also appreciated as a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed seeing his more calculating view, the different science angles and felt it a good balance to all the love plot lines. I would have enjoyed a bit more action in the book overall but still found myself flowing through this book more readily than any other in this series so far.
The overall plot did feel a bit thin with going to find South American vampires and that not happening until the last fourth of the book, instead it was more about ship life, family feel and relationships of all kinds. There was a lot of love and relationships as the focus which is not always my favorite but as those relationships most central were queer of some nature I was glad to see that and it made me far more interested. I was happy to see both Prim with Tasherit and Rodrigo with Anitra find happy endings, if the former did take a bit longer than I would have liked due to Prim's protests.
I have to say that I am sure some will be upset with Prim's waffling - do I want Tasherit or not - but thinking of society at the time and social constructs it is not surprising. She seems to know what she desires, as in women, but also wants the social expectations of family and children so watching her go through that struggle while frustrating from a 21st century POV it is not surprising for her time period. Just because Rue (or her mother) can jump into things does not mean that social etiquette Prim can. In fact the whole ship is full of social outcasts for that time and there is one point in the book where Prim acknowledges this to herself and it is what helps her take the leap and I thought that was well done.
I was surprised at also getting Percy's POV in this book but quite happy with it. Percy has no love interest and came off very asexual in this book, which I also appreciated as a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed seeing his more calculating view, the different science angles and felt it a good balance to all the love plot lines. I would have enjoyed a bit more action in the book overall but still found myself flowing through this book more readily than any other in this series so far.
katereads2much's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this so much I'm starting it over immediately.
katereads2much's review against another edition
5.0
I like to say that Iāve been waiting on āCompetenceā for āyeeeaaarrrsss!ā The truth is Iāve been waiting for not quite two years, but I promise that it felt like five or six. Every day for six months I check NetGalley in hopes that an ARC copy would pop up. I entered every drawing to win a copy.
All of those things proved useless and I had to wait for 3 am EST on Tuesday July 17th for the Audible copy to drop.
Usually, Iām a reasonably patient person, but I loved āPrudenceā and āImprudenceā and I knew that āCompetenceā was going to be Primās book, and I was desperate to get to read her and Tashās story.
Gail Carriger is one of my favorite authors anyway, so I wouldāve been excited for her next book regardless, but The Custard Protocol books have been some of my favorites by her (The Supernatural Society books probably take that title, but itās a very close call) and that added an extra edge to my anxiousness over the release of the book.
It would be fair to say that I was desperate to read this book. It would, in fact, likely be an understatement to say that I was desperate as it doesnāt adequately express the depth of my breathless, heart wrenching desire to read this damned book.
I say all this to say, that I had built this book up to be something I knew was going to be one of my favorite things ever and honestly, how many things can really live up to that kind of expectation?
So did āCompetenceā live up to the incredibly high expectations I had for it?
No, it did not.
It blew them away.
I love this book. It is easily going on one of my "all-time favoritesā list. I donāt know that I could ever pick just one book to be my all-time favorite book because there are just too many that I passionately, ardently love, but this would have to be high up. Iāve had the audiobook in my possession for all of about ten days and Iām already halfway through my fourth listen.
I would love to give a real breakdown of the story and the character interactions and the growth, etcetera etcetera etcetera, but all Iāve been able to do thus far is squeal about how much I love it.
Here are a few things I would say about why I love it even if I canāt properly express any of my feelings:
Seeing things from Percyās perspective is amazing and makes him so much a better character. I already kind of loved him, but getting to see who he is in his own head is wonderful. Him and Tash are hilarious and fun together.
Primroseās exasperation over her feelings and then her eventual peace with them is heart-achingly wonderful.
The adventures are fun. The writing is sharp and funny, as always.
I feel like Iāve read the perfect fan fiction for the way I wanted the book to go in a way I never couldāve imagined, but that is precisely what I needed except itās actually the canon and I feel an inexpressible joy in listening to it over and over again.
So yeah, welcome to the all-time favorites list, āCompetence.ā
All of those things proved useless and I had to wait for 3 am EST on Tuesday July 17th for the Audible copy to drop.
Usually, Iām a reasonably patient person, but I loved āPrudenceā and āImprudenceā and I knew that āCompetenceā was going to be Primās book, and I was desperate to get to read her and Tashās story.
Gail Carriger is one of my favorite authors anyway, so I wouldāve been excited for her next book regardless, but The Custard Protocol books have been some of my favorites by her (The Supernatural Society books probably take that title, but itās a very close call) and that added an extra edge to my anxiousness over the release of the book.
It would be fair to say that I was desperate to read this book. It would, in fact, likely be an understatement to say that I was desperate as it doesnāt adequately express the depth of my breathless, heart wrenching desire to read this damned book.
I say all this to say, that I had built this book up to be something I knew was going to be one of my favorite things ever and honestly, how many things can really live up to that kind of expectation?
So did āCompetenceā live up to the incredibly high expectations I had for it?
No, it did not.
It blew them away.
I love this book. It is easily going on one of my "all-time favoritesā list. I donāt know that I could ever pick just one book to be my all-time favorite book because there are just too many that I passionately, ardently love, but this would have to be high up. Iāve had the audiobook in my possession for all of about ten days and Iām already halfway through my fourth listen.
I would love to give a real breakdown of the story and the character interactions and the growth, etcetera etcetera etcetera, but all Iāve been able to do thus far is squeal about how much I love it.
Here are a few things I would say about why I love it even if I canāt properly express any of my feelings:
Seeing things from Percyās perspective is amazing and makes him so much a better character. I already kind of loved him, but getting to see who he is in his own head is wonderful. Him and Tash are hilarious and fun together.
Primroseās exasperation over her feelings and then her eventual peace with them is heart-achingly wonderful.
The adventures are fun. The writing is sharp and funny, as always.
I feel like Iāve read the perfect fan fiction for the way I wanted the book to go in a way I never couldāve imagined, but that is precisely what I needed except itās actually the canon and I feel an inexpressible joy in listening to it over and over again.
So yeah, welcome to the all-time favorites list, āCompetence.ā
tmkuta's review against another edition
5.0
As predicted, Gail doesnāt disappoint with her newest Custard Protocol novel, Competence! This book was so, so good and, as usual, a riot. I hyped this book up and am happy I did because it delivered in spades.
Iāve said it before and Iāll say it again: Gail is best with her romance when it has a plot foreground. Between several new environs, new adversaries and revelations, and one morally absent soulless and a cage-y ghost now on board the Custard, it was all hands go. Mix in Tasherit attempting to seduce Prim the whole book (which provided in turn endlessly entertaining and frustrating) and it was a romp from start to finish!
For those of you who are a fan of queer characters (why else are you here?), Iām pretty sure this is the gayest thing Gail has written to date. Interracial lesbian romance leads, two other confirmed queer characters, a second interracial queer couple, and various mentions of other queer/LGBTQ characters floating throughout. All handled wonderfully, of course, and all historically accurate in their representation! :D The Custard is turning into a giant floating queer family and Iām so fucking happy about it.
Plot wise, Competence flowed very naturally and was a bit less pell-mell than Prudence and Imprudence, which I attribute to the fact weāve switched POV from Rue to Primrose. I really enjoyed it, as Rue occasionally stresses me out with her decision making. There were lots of fun Easter Eggs for longtime readers, and Gail finally kicked her over-explanation habit. Thank God. Also thereās a fun twist at the end that leads into book 4, which is set to end the series with a bang!
Speaking of POV, I normally hate POV swap, and I was very nervous when Gail announced Competence would do that. However, my fears were unfounded; she handled it really well and at no point did I find myself skipping over Percyās POV. Additionally, Percy was written fantastically and his sections have cemented my belief that he is firmly nueroatypical. Benedicito corde!
Iāve said it before and Iāll say it again: Gail is best with her romance when it has a plot foreground. Between several new environs, new adversaries and revelations, and one morally absent soulless and a cage-y ghost now on board the Custard, it was all hands go. Mix in Tasherit attempting to seduce Prim the whole book (which provided in turn endlessly entertaining and frustrating) and it was a romp from start to finish!
For those of you who are a fan of queer characters (why else are you here?), Iām pretty sure this is the gayest thing Gail has written to date. Interracial lesbian romance leads, two other confirmed queer characters, a second interracial queer couple, and various mentions of other queer/LGBTQ characters floating throughout. All handled wonderfully, of course, and all historically accurate in their representation! :D The Custard is turning into a giant floating queer family and Iām so fucking happy about it.
Plot wise, Competence flowed very naturally and was a bit less pell-mell than Prudence and Imprudence, which I attribute to the fact weāve switched POV from Rue to Primrose. I really enjoyed it, as Rue occasionally stresses me out with her decision making. There were lots of fun Easter Eggs for longtime readers, and Gail finally kicked her over-explanation habit. Thank God. Also thereās a fun twist at the end that leads into book 4, which is set to end the series with a bang!
Speaking of POV, I normally hate POV swap, and I was very nervous when Gail announced Competence would do that. However, my fears were unfounded; she handled it really well and at no point did I find myself skipping over Percyās POV. Additionally, Percy was written fantastically and his sections have cemented my belief that he is firmly nueroatypical. Benedicito corde!
dovegloss's review against another edition
3.0
- the plot was intricate and mildly enjoyable. A good tidied up.
- a lot of worldly airship action and battles as usual
- I enjoyed Prim (particularly Prim's struggle with her sexuality) and Percy's arc and how their different idiosyncrasies are extrapolated
- I do wish there is a better balance of action and romance in general it all seem a bit scattered and hurried, again way too much plot way too little action
- too much banter less thoughtful conversations
- what is driving the PLOT???
- a lot of worldly airship action and battles as usual
- I enjoyed Prim (particularly Prim's struggle with her sexuality) and Percy's arc and how their different idiosyncrasies are extrapolated
- I do wish there is a better balance of action and romance in general it all seem a bit scattered and hurried, again way too much plot way too little action
- too much banter less thoughtful conversations
- what is driving the PLOT???
jennhillmeow's review against another edition
5.0
Finally we get more of Prim and Tash. I love this expanded world with extra characters and QUITE different love lives!
rachelini's review against another edition
3.0
This series is so much fun. I enjoyed the focus on Prim, although the story ended up feeling more romance than fantasy/adventure.
mkaber's review against another edition
2.0
*Audio Version*
As always, wonderfully ready by Moira Quirk but this time it just wasn't enough. I was bored. I feel like the author had a lot to say about love and relationships and social pressures, but also had a lot of adventure to write. Unfortunately, there was about 70% love and relationships (and endless conversations about them), 20% etiquette/ fashion and 10% story. There were so many interesting things presented and then dropped. Or presented and then wrapped up off stage. While I love all the characters, it is likely because I fell in love in either the preceding series or in the first book in this series. If I had come in here, I'd have had no idea what type of person anyone was, why they were floating, or why they spent so much time yelling their intentions to each other when bag guys are within hearing range.
If your preference is for romance over story, then you may well still enjoy this installment. I give much support to the author for presenting a varied mix of loves, preferences and feelings, but I came here for the adventure and was left wanting.
As always, wonderfully ready by Moira Quirk but this time it just wasn't enough. I was bored. I feel like the author had a lot to say about love and relationships and social pressures, but also had a lot of adventure to write. Unfortunately, there was about 70% love and relationships (and endless conversations about them), 20% etiquette/ fashion and 10% story. There were so many interesting things presented and then dropped. Or presented and then wrapped up off stage. While I love all the characters, it is likely because I fell in love in either the preceding series or in the first book in this series. If I had come in here, I'd have had no idea what type of person anyone was, why they were floating, or why they spent so much time yelling their intentions to each other when bag guys are within hearing range.
If your preference is for romance over story, then you may well still enjoy this installment. I give much support to the author for presenting a varied mix of loves, preferences and feelings, but I came here for the adventure and was left wanting.
leftylucyprivateeye's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful as always - now with a queer lead character! Miss Carriger's world holds many treasures and this books adds a few more and hints at more to come. New supernatural creatures! Lesbian romance! Curmudgeonly librarians!