Prudence by Gail Carriger – Review

Published: March 17, 2015

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: The Custard Protocol #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 357 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3.5/5.0

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger comes a new novel in the world of the Parasol Protectorate starring Prudence, the daughter of Alexia Tarabotti.

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances – names it the Spotted Custard and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier’s wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone’s secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?

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Gail Carriger’s books are some of the best light reads out there and I had the opportunity to check out the first book in The Custard Protocol series (which I’m woefully behind on). This series follows the daughter of Lady Alexia Maccon (the antithesis to all things supernatural)l. Lady Prudence Maccon Akeldama has an unusual ability herself – she can steal powers from supernaturals and use them herself, though only temporarily. This makes for dramatic party exits and the constant need for a robe.

This was a really fun story, though with the usual serious plot underlying all the ridiculousness. Prudence (Rue) has been bequeathed a dirigible, which she paints like a ladybug and names The Spotted Custard. Hardly surprising, really, with her being raised by the most fashionable of vampires. Said vampire sends her (and her crew) on a mission to India to track down some tea, but it all turns out to be much more complicated than that. 

I rather liked the characters. Rue and her dearest friend Primrose Tunstell (daughter of Ivy Tunstell), were reminiscent of their mothers in the Parasol Protectorate series. Rue is daring and Ivy somewhat less so, though Ivy is far more concerned about being at the height of fashion and catching the eye of handsome men. Ivy’s brother, Percy, is of a scholarly nature and manages to fill the role of unpleasant brother. Quesnell Lefoux is rakish and a genius engineer and he and Rue seem to be well on their way to one of Carriger’s wild Victorian romances. 

This was a fun read, though it does spoil the Parasol Protectorate books – be aware! I haven’t finished that series and the spoilers didn’t hurt my feelings any and actually make me want to go back and finish that series up. I’m missing out on some exciting things! I plan to continue on with this series as well, though it will be at a sedate pace since my reading schedule is constantly filling up with new and exciting books.