Audiobook Review – Competence (Custard Protocol, Book 3) by Gail Carriger, Narrated by Moira Quick (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 11 hours and 52 minutes (320 pages)
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Release Date: July 17, 2018
ASIN: B07D9V3YSD
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Custard Protocol series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Accidentally abandoned!

All alone in Singapore, proper Miss Primrose Tunstell must steal helium to save her airship, the Spotted Custard, in a scheme involving a lovesick werecat and a fake fish tail.

When she uncovers rumors of a new kind of vampire, Prim and the Custard crew embark on a mission to Peru. There, they encounter airship pirates and strange atmospheric phenomena, and are mistaken for representatives of the Spanish Inquisition. Forced into extreme subterfuge (and some rather ridiculous outfits) Prim must also answer three of life’s most challenging questions:

Can the perfect book club give a man back his soul?

Will her brother ever stop wearing his idiotic velvet fez?

And can the amount of lard in Christmas pudding save an entire species?”

This is the 3rd book in the Custard Protocol series and was well done. This book focused more on the relationships between the characters than the actual adventure to find new vampires in new lands. However, the story does get to that point eventually. I enjoyed the humor, adventure, and characters. I do wish that the story and plot had made a bit more progress though.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was well done. Moira Quick always does an excellent job narrating this series and I would highly recommend listening to on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

The majority of this book is told from Primrose’s POV; although we do hear some from our werecat, Percy, and Rue. For the most part though this is Primrose’s story and we watch as she tries to resist falling in love with our resident werecat.

I enjoyed the journey to foreign lands and the discovery of a new type of vampire; however the main adventure and storyline definitely takes a backseat to Primrose’s romance in this book. The story is generally well done but I couldn’t help but wish the story and romance had been better balanced.

Overall a decent book in the Custard Protocol series. I always enjoy the witty banter, adventure, and clever humor in these books. This installment was very romance heavy and I wish the romance and adventure had been better balanced (could have used more plot and adventure). I plan on continuing the series because these books are just so much fun to read!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge