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A review by lizziestudieshistory
Competence: Custard Protocol by Gail Carriger
4.0
3.75 / 5
This is a difficult one for me to rate, unlike a lot of Carriger's books Competence has much less plot and really focuses on exploring and developing the characters aboard The Spotted Custard - particularly Prim and Percy.
However, I do think this was the point for Competence. We've spent two books following Rue and we've gotten to know her (and through her Quesnel) very well, but the other members of The Spotted Custard's staff were underdeveloped for Carriger's usual style. This is where Competence shines as it really explored who these other characters are who we've gotten to know a little bit through their interactions with Rue.
We particularly get to know Prim and Percy - naturally as they're the focus characters for Competence and Reticence - however, we also come to appreciate Tash, Rodrigo, and Antira. All of whom are wonderful characters! I loved seeing the twins more, Percy in particular, and developing an understanding of the other two main protagonists who felt very one dimensional in the first two books.
So while I think the book suffered a little bit because the balance between plot and character development was a bit off, I did absolutely love seeing these other characters in the limelight. I can't wait to pick up Reticence for Percy's book, who has quickly become one of my favourite characters in the Parasolverse!
This is a difficult one for me to rate, unlike a lot of Carriger's books Competence has much less plot and really focuses on exploring and developing the characters aboard The Spotted Custard - particularly Prim and Percy.
However, I do think this was the point for Competence. We've spent two books following Rue and we've gotten to know her (and through her Quesnel) very well, but the other members of The Spotted Custard's staff were underdeveloped for Carriger's usual style. This is where Competence shines as it really explored who these other characters are who we've gotten to know a little bit through their interactions with Rue.
We particularly get to know Prim and Percy - naturally as they're the focus characters for Competence and Reticence - however, we also come to appreciate Tash, Rodrigo, and Antira. All of whom are wonderful characters! I loved seeing the twins more, Percy in particular, and developing an understanding of the other two main protagonists who felt very one dimensional in the first two books.
So while I think the book suffered a little bit because the balance between plot and character development was a bit off, I did absolutely love seeing these other characters in the limelight. I can't wait to pick up Reticence for Percy's book, who has quickly become one of my favourite characters in the Parasolverse!