A review by tmkuta
Competence, by Gail Carriger
5.0
As predicted, Gail doesn’t 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.
I’ve said it before and I’ll 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?), I’m 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 I’m 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 we’ve 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 there’s 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 Percy’s POV. Additionally, Percy was written fantastically and his sections have cemented my belief that he is firmly nueroatypical. Benedicito corde!
I’ve said it before and I’ll 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?), I’m 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 I’m 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 we’ve 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 there’s 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 Percy’s POV. Additionally, Percy was written fantastically and his sections have cemented my belief that he is firmly nueroatypical. Benedicito corde!