Prudence

Prudence "Rue" Akeldama doesn't have much to do in England. Lord Akeldama gives her a dirigible, which she paints like a ladybug and names the Spotted Custard, and charges her with the very important task of bringing new strain of tea from India back to England. Rue assembles a crew including her best friend and fashionista Prim, Prim's academic twin brother Percy, and rakish French engineer Quesnel to aid her in her quest. They encounter a wide variety of unforeseen problems and complications on the way that includes whole new races of shapeshifters, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, culture shock, an ages old rivalry, and, of course, tea.Prudence is the first novel in the Custard Protocal series that leaps forward years after the last Parasol Protectorate book. The world looks a bit different with frivolous Ivy Tunstell as a vampire queen (and whose hideous preference in fashion actually matters) and the younger generation making their own trouble. The first quarter of the book describes the world and how it stands since the end of the previous series. At first, I thought the old characters seemed to be cartoony caricatures of themselves, but they are being viewed by Prudence who may very well see them that way. When Alexia and Maccon share a private moment seeing Prudence off when she leaves unexpectedly (to everyone else) early, it feels like the real characters again. The novel really takes off after Prudence and her crew leave for India. It's a new setting for the world and I thought the culture, flavor, and sights were well written.Rue and her best friend Primrose Tunstell couldn't be more different. Rue is a firecracker as she has been since she was a child. She never really grew out of seeing the rules of polite society as frivolous and unnecessary, but she reigns herself in a bit more than as a child. Besides Rue's ability to borrow other supernaturals' abilities, she can also morph her personality to suit any given situation by taking traits from those she knows. I liked this because it's not supernatural; it's just a product of being observant and knowing what attitude is needed for the situation. Rue just has an infection exuberance for adventure and she's fun to read. As much as she seems to dismiss her mother, they have more in common than she's willing to admit. Primrose is easily dismissed as being as frivolous and annoying as her mother, but she is different. She has actually good taste in fashion and ensures everyone around her isn't a fashion disaster. She also is deft at manipulating situations within the bounds of polite society and resolving everything in a civilized fashion. Neither character is exactly like past characters or their parents and provide a breath of fresh air in this new series.Prudence is a fun steampunk adventure with new characters. Some people thought the resolution of the book was problematic due to imperialism, which it is, but Prudence alone can't fix the problems of one country occupying another. I think she resolved the situation the best way she could have. Overall, Prudence is a worthy successor to Alexia and I can't wait to read more of her adventures.

The premise of the series is quite delightfully silly: two young London society girls float around the world in a private zeppelin which they painted bright red with black spots and dubbed The Spotted Custard. The adventures themselves, however, are in the best Jules Verne tradition for exotic lands and daring heroes. I already read the series from the library, but I enjoyed it so much that I bought a set for my bookshelves to read again later.

This is a cute, quick read. Probably 3.5 stars really, but I don't think it'll stick with me so I chose to round down. While it's the beginning of its own series (The Custard Protocol) it's really a spinoff of the original Parasol Protectorate series. I'd suggest starting with the Parasol Protectorate (first book of that series is Soulless.This book, Prudence, stars the next generation of the characters introduced in the Parasol Protectorate. Prudence (Rue) is the daughter of Alexia and Prim, her best friend and Prim's twin brother, are Ivy's children. Rue's special power lets her "borrow" the supernatural abilities of any supernatural she touches. Rue and company are young-ish adults by the time this story gets going. Rue is given a new airship by her adopted father and entrusted to go negotiate some tea-related trade deals in India.Rue and her merry band decide to leave a bit early for... reasons.. and so run off missing some vital information. Coded messages, contacts they weren't expecting, and magical discoveries await amid a lot of tea drinking. It's fun and light reading - perfect for a summer read.

Lady Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama, known as Rue, comes across as not really a character who should be in this setting. True the setting is a Victorian-Steampunk setting with vampires, ghosts, and werewolves, so that might sound strange.But the setting still had Victorian morals and ethics which she seems to have no interest in. Now, you can say it is her interesting background having three parents, all of them supernatural, which makes her different. But she truly comes across as a little too different. A couple of times I felt she was acting out of place. Even she should not be that comfortable about being nude. Come on now!I did enjoy the change of location. It was nice to see India in this world. And I enjoy the unfolding of the somewhat complex plot.Still I would say this first book in The Custard Protocol was not as good as Soulless but still better than Etiquette & Espionage.

At last, after the end of the Parasol and Alexia's adventures, the children carry on the adventures .Dama, Prudence or Rue's vampire father sends her and friends off on a journey involving missing tea in India, which is so much more.Along for the ride are Ivy's adult twins Prim and Percy, and Lefoux's son Quesnel who is older, dashing and very cheeky.Lyall and the Kingair pack get involved and lots of discoveries are made amidst dangers.Just like the first series, there's lots of diverse characters, tea, dirigibles, witty humour and surprises.And Rue is as formidable as her mother.

The multiple glaring errors of word substitution in every chapter grate wildly when reading a story, especially one based around etiquette and politeness. I expected more from books which are priced equally to professionally published ones. That said the story follows on from the Parasol Protectorate further building on the steampunk theme with the next generation of characters, I am hoping the next book brings back some of the humanity and niaivity of the original cast back into the story telling, but overall a jolly good read.

Great to be back in this world. I wasn't sure at first having celebrated the fact that Ms Carriger knew how to end a series, something other authors could do well to think about.Thus one of the best things about Prudence for me is that this story doesn't feel like a sequel. Yes, it features older characters from the Parasol Protectorate series, but it's definitely a new story. There are new challenges and the world has certainly moved on a bit since Timeless. Having said that, one of my favorite scenes is Alexia and Conall watching Rue. It's great that she isn't just a younger version of Alexia or even some mashed up version of her parents. I read Timeless again in preparation and the character of Prudence feels like a true development from that toddler. I like that Rue doesn't know everything, that she hasn't it all figured out and although it can be painful to watch, she's growing right through the story. There's also a great cast with her, some better developed than others, but with promise. My one worry is that Ms Carriger has expanded her world-build significantly and so one would have to wait and see if she can manage to keep the narrative as tight as the previous have been. But all in all, it was a great read and large plumed hat duly doffed.

More like 2.5 stars, I'm sad to say.I loved all of the characters but unfortunately the plot was just terrible. Ridiculous, and not in a good way.Also, the Kindle version has many mistakes in it (spelling etc. Did anyone proof read this!?). There's even a part where one line Rue calls Lady Kingair "neice" and a few lines later calls her "auntie". What!?!?I will be reading the next in the series though, as I did enjoy the new characters and reading more about old characters from the Parasol Protectorate books.

I was incredibly excited when I discovered that Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate universe was not being retired, and instead was being continued in this series, focusing on her daughter's adventures as an adult. I loved the mix of old and new characters this series brought, and the combination of silliness and proper plot which characterises Gail Carriger's work. My only (minor) complaint is the relationship between Rue and Quesnel, which I feel is a little forced, but which may develop over the course of the series, so I'm not put off enough for it to detract from my view of this book.