Scan barcode
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Fourth and last in The Custard Protocol historical fantasy steampunk series (a sequel series to The Finishing School and then The Parasol Protectorate) revolving around the misfit crew of The Spotted Custard. The couple focus is on Prof Percy Tunstell and Dr Arsenic Ruthven.
My Take
It's all about tolerance and acceptance, and I love this comment about that superiority too many people feel about themselves, their country:
And Reticence gets off to a fun start with Arsenic's nervous moments before her interview. More fun bursts out with Percy's being forced to wear old-fashioned clothing, which turns out to be Alessandro's!
Rue and Quesnel's wedding reception is a total crack-up and an "up yours" to English society as the sexes mix and match on the dance floor. Their guests certainly aren't the norm, lol.
And of course the older generation goes on about how this new generation is so bad, at which Arsenic spouts back that "...all our drama might be construed as your generation's fault".
More fun is watching Percy try to figure out why he reacts as he does to Arsenic, and then tries to figure out the rules of courtship. And don't forget...this is the Victorian age with all its worries about...nakedness, so you'll love those communal baths in Japan, lol.
It took me a bit to figure it all out, but there's a fascinating — and brief! — look at what caused the God-Breaker Plague with a bit of back history on Akeldama and Tash. Makes me want Carriger to do a prequel series!
As for point-of-view, Carriger combines third person dual and third person global subjective. The majority perspective is through Arsenic and Percy with the occasional thought/experience from a few of the other primary characters.
There's less drama and excitement in Reticence, although it's still a story driven by its characters whose nature creates all the action, as The Spotted Custard crew careens through Egypt to outlandish adventures in Japan with Carriger incorporating the past history of Commodore Perry forcing the xenophobic Japan to open up to the West.
There's an odd paragraph talking about pairings, with its last sentence the most confusing, about "...humans, they married humans". Well, yeah...? Carriger is perfectly fine with same sex pairings in the core characters as well. Yay for Carriger!
It's an unusual "family", and you can't help but love them for their eccentricity, loyalty, and love for each other. As a family, each unusual character has found a place to belong, to be wanted.
The epilogue ends in 1901 with a passage from Lord Akeldama's memoirs that include mention of that game played for love.
The Story
The Spotted Custard needs a doctor. Well, after the past excitements, a doctor is a necessity. And Dr Ruthven is hired the day of Rue and Quesnel's wedding with their honeymoon to follow in Egypt. Sort of.
It's in Egypt that Percy's inside information is confirmed: The Custard is going to Japan to rescue a spy and search out the elusive fox shifters!
The Characters
Dr Arsenic Ruthven is a woman doctor who received most of her training on the battlefield in South Africa. Preshea Ruthven is her notorious mother, a retired assassin who taught her children everything she knows (Finishing School). Prof Belladonna Ruthven, a botanist, is one of Arsenic's sisters.
The socially awkward Prof Percy "Sniffles" Tunstell is the ship's navigator with a passion for research and publishing papers. He's also brother to the Honorable Primrose "Tiddles" Tunstell who has a passion for crazy hats and is the ship's purser in charge of shipboard household and supply logistics. Footnote is Percy's cat. The slightly ruthless Virgil is Percy's very strict valet and the backup navigator.
The Spotted Custard is...
...a fantastical airship painted to look like a ladybug and gifted to Rue by her vampire father. Its mission appears to be that of finding new supernatural creatures. The Porcini is a smaller craft, a dropsy. The now-pregnant Rue, Lady Akeldama, a.k.a., Lady Captain, is about to marry Quesnel. The father who raised her is Lord Akeldama, a.k.a., Alexander whose spy name is Goldenrod, a gay vampire who is notorious for his flashy style of dress (The Parasol Protectorate). Quesnel Lefoux is Rue's fiancé and in charge of engineering with the sooties, greasers, and firemen reporting to him. Rodrigo Tarabotti is Rue's preternatural cousin and a reformed assassin who gained a soul and married Anitra, a Drifter. (S)he's also one of Akeldama's spies and was adopted by Floote as his granddaughter. Tasherit "Tash" Sekhmet is a werelioness who is first mate and in charge of military matters; she and Prim are a couple.
Alexia, Lady Maccon, is Rue's preternatural mother (Soulless, 1). Conall, Lord Maccon, the former alpha of the London Pack, is her birth father, and a werewolf going mad who must live in Egypt. And can never leave. Ossobuco is their cat. Mrs Loontwill, née Phingerlington, is Alexia's snooty mother. Aunt Evylin is Alexia's half-sister. Alessandro Tarabotti, a rogue of a preternatural, had been Alexia's father. Formerly Floote is the tethered ghost of Alexia's and her father's butler, a man with a mission. Spoo is a girl and the head deckhand. Bork and Willard are deckhands. Aggie Phinkerlington is the crabby head greaser.
The Kingair Pack is...
...based in Scotland and led by Sidheag Maccon, Lady Kingair, and Conall's great-great-great-granddaughter.
Madame Lefoux is Quesnel's mother, an inventor, and a teacher in The Finishing School series, so it's no surprise that Quesnel is so good at mechanicals. Miss Imogene is her life partner. Aunt Softy, a.k.a., Great-aunt Sophronia, Grandmother Petunia's younger sister, is an intelligencer, as is Sidheag, both from The Finishing School). It seems that this group of spies have been conspiring about The Spotted Custard's crew, hmmm... Wallflower, a.k.a., Agatha (The Finishing School), is an intelligencer of Goldenrod's who has gone missing in Japan.
The London Pack
Biffy, Lord Falmouth, is their Alpha now, London's first Alpha dandy. Professor Lyall is his Beta. Major Channing is his Gamma.
The Wimbledon Hive is...
...based in London and led by Percy and Prim's mother, the silly, fashion-obsessed Ivy, Baroness Tunstell (Hisselpenny was her maiden name), a vampire queen with her Egyptian vampires. Korpin is her vampire butler. The Tunstells' actor father is dead.
The Woolsey Hive is...
...based at Woolsey Castle outside London. Lord Ambrose is their representative to the wedding.
Vauxhall Bob is the steampunk version of Vauxhall Gardens. Avagadro's is a club for intellectuals. Zenobia is a metanatural, a queen, and Akeldama's daughter. The God-Breaker Plague fluctuates across Egypt and forces supernaturals into their human side. Kitsune power is the ability to befuddle.
Japan
I think the Paper City is based in Edo, a city floating above Tokyo. And the only place where foreigners are allowed. Lord Ryuunosuke has a great deal of authority. Lady Sakura is a geisha who is also a hostage and the mortal heart of her people.
Lady Manami, a huli jing (sometimes called ajinweihu) is at the temple.
The Cover and Title
The cover is mostly a background of oranges from the sky with an airship silhouetted against the clouds. Below it is a Japanese temple with its curved roofs with Percy in his centuries-past costume of a blue tailcoat, buff leather breeches, and a blue and red figured vest and navy cravat. He's standing in profile with his head turned to look behind him, holding a book. At the top right is an epigraph in white. The title is in a deep sky blue angled up from left to right and bordered top and bottom by a steampunk frame of gears and navigational lines. The author's name is in white, outlined in black. The info blurb is in blue below that.
The title is all Percy, for he is all Reticence when it comes to courtship.
My Take
It's all about tolerance and acceptance, and I love this comment about that superiority too many people feel about themselves, their country:
"We failed even to understand there might be others. Supernaturals are not the same the world over. Any more than countries, governments, or people are the same. Our failure as a nation is in thinking not only that our method is best, but that it is the 'only' option."All three series have been too funny with Carriger's unique take on steampunk and the paranormal, as she pokes fun at society's rules and expectations.
And Reticence gets off to a fun start with Arsenic's nervous moments before her interview. More fun bursts out with Percy's being forced to wear old-fashioned clothing, which turns out to be Alessandro's!
Rue and Quesnel's wedding reception is a total crack-up and an "up yours" to English society as the sexes mix and match on the dance floor. Their guests certainly aren't the norm, lol.
And of course the older generation goes on about how this new generation is so bad, at which Arsenic spouts back that "...all our drama might be construed as your generation's fault".
More fun is watching Percy try to figure out why he reacts as he does to Arsenic, and then tries to figure out the rules of courtship. And don't forget...this is the Victorian age with all its worries about...nakedness, so you'll love those communal baths in Japan, lol.
It took me a bit to figure it all out, but there's a fascinating — and brief! — look at what caused the God-Breaker Plague with a bit of back history on Akeldama and Tash. Makes me want Carriger to do a prequel series!
As for point-of-view, Carriger combines third person dual and third person global subjective. The majority perspective is through Arsenic and Percy with the occasional thought/experience from a few of the other primary characters.
There's less drama and excitement in Reticence, although it's still a story driven by its characters whose nature creates all the action, as The Spotted Custard crew careens through Egypt to outlandish adventures in Japan with Carriger incorporating the past history of Commodore Perry forcing the xenophobic Japan to open up to the West.
There's an odd paragraph talking about pairings, with its last sentence the most confusing, about "...humans, they married humans". Well, yeah...? Carriger is perfectly fine with same sex pairings in the core characters as well. Yay for Carriger!
It's an unusual "family", and you can't help but love them for their eccentricity, loyalty, and love for each other. As a family, each unusual character has found a place to belong, to be wanted.
The epilogue ends in 1901 with a passage from Lord Akeldama's memoirs that include mention of that game played for love.
The Story
The Spotted Custard needs a doctor. Well, after the past excitements, a doctor is a necessity. And Dr Ruthven is hired the day of Rue and Quesnel's wedding with their honeymoon to follow in Egypt. Sort of.
It's in Egypt that Percy's inside information is confirmed: The Custard is going to Japan to rescue a spy and search out the elusive fox shifters!
The Characters
Dr Arsenic Ruthven is a woman doctor who received most of her training on the battlefield in South Africa. Preshea Ruthven is her notorious mother, a retired assassin who taught her children everything she knows (Finishing School). Prof Belladonna Ruthven, a botanist, is one of Arsenic's sisters.
The socially awkward Prof Percy "Sniffles" Tunstell is the ship's navigator with a passion for research and publishing papers. He's also brother to the Honorable Primrose "Tiddles" Tunstell who has a passion for crazy hats and is the ship's purser in charge of shipboard household and supply logistics. Footnote is Percy's cat. The slightly ruthless Virgil is Percy's very strict valet and the backup navigator.
The Spotted Custard is...
...a fantastical airship painted to look like a ladybug and gifted to Rue by her vampire father. Its mission appears to be that of finding new supernatural creatures. The Porcini is a smaller craft, a dropsy. The now-pregnant Rue, Lady Akeldama, a.k.a., Lady Captain, is about to marry Quesnel. The father who raised her is Lord Akeldama, a.k.a., Alexander whose spy name is Goldenrod, a gay vampire who is notorious for his flashy style of dress (The Parasol Protectorate). Quesnel Lefoux is Rue's fiancé and in charge of engineering with the sooties, greasers, and firemen reporting to him. Rodrigo Tarabotti is Rue's preternatural cousin and a reformed assassin who gained a soul and married Anitra, a Drifter. (S)he's also one of Akeldama's spies and was adopted by Floote as his granddaughter. Tasherit "Tash" Sekhmet is a werelioness who is first mate and in charge of military matters; she and Prim are a couple.
Alexia, Lady Maccon, is Rue's preternatural mother (Soulless, 1). Conall, Lord Maccon, the former alpha of the London Pack, is her birth father, and a werewolf going mad who must live in Egypt. And can never leave. Ossobuco is their cat. Mrs Loontwill, née Phingerlington, is Alexia's snooty mother. Aunt Evylin is Alexia's half-sister. Alessandro Tarabotti, a rogue of a preternatural, had been Alexia's father. Formerly Floote is the tethered ghost of Alexia's and her father's butler, a man with a mission. Spoo is a girl and the head deckhand. Bork and Willard are deckhands. Aggie Phinkerlington is the crabby head greaser.
The Kingair Pack is...
...based in Scotland and led by Sidheag Maccon, Lady Kingair, and Conall's great-great-great-granddaughter.
Madame Lefoux is Quesnel's mother, an inventor, and a teacher in The Finishing School series, so it's no surprise that Quesnel is so good at mechanicals. Miss Imogene is her life partner. Aunt Softy, a.k.a., Great-aunt Sophronia, Grandmother Petunia's younger sister, is an intelligencer, as is Sidheag, both from The Finishing School). It seems that this group of spies have been conspiring about The Spotted Custard's crew, hmmm... Wallflower, a.k.a., Agatha (The Finishing School), is an intelligencer of Goldenrod's who has gone missing in Japan.
The London Pack
Biffy, Lord Falmouth, is their Alpha now, London's first Alpha dandy. Professor Lyall is his Beta. Major Channing is his Gamma.
The Wimbledon Hive is...
...based in London and led by Percy and Prim's mother, the silly, fashion-obsessed Ivy, Baroness Tunstell (Hisselpenny was her maiden name), a vampire queen with her Egyptian vampires. Korpin is her vampire butler. The Tunstells' actor father is dead.
The Woolsey Hive is...
...based at Woolsey Castle outside London. Lord Ambrose is their representative to the wedding.
Vauxhall Bob is the steampunk version of Vauxhall Gardens. Avagadro's is a club for intellectuals. Zenobia is a metanatural, a queen, and Akeldama's daughter. The God-Breaker Plague fluctuates across Egypt and forces supernaturals into their human side. Kitsune power is the ability to befuddle.
Japan
I think the Paper City is based in Edo, a city floating above Tokyo. And the only place where foreigners are allowed. Lord Ryuunosuke has a great deal of authority. Lady Sakura is a geisha who is also a hostage and the mortal heart of her people.
Lady Manami, a huli jing (sometimes called a
The Cover and Title
The cover is mostly a background of oranges from the sky with an airship silhouetted against the clouds. Below it is a Japanese temple with its curved roofs with Percy in his centuries-past costume of a blue tailcoat, buff leather breeches, and a blue and red figured vest and navy cravat. He's standing in profile with his head turned to look behind him, holding a book. At the top right is an epigraph in white. The title is in a deep sky blue angled up from left to right and bordered top and bottom by a steampunk frame of gears and navigational lines. The author's name is in white, outlined in black. The info blurb is in blue below that.
The title is all Percy, for he is all Reticence when it comes to courtship.
ridiculousamanda's review against another edition
5.0
What a delightful ending to this story! I have never failed to love a Gail Carriger book, so it is not a surprise that I love this one as well. The audio, voiced by Moira Quirk, was perfect. I hope that there will be another series in this world one day, but anything by Gail Carriger is automatically one of my favorites either way.
nonesensed's review against another edition
5.0
Arsenic is many controversial things: female doctor, daughter to an assassin, prone to wear comfortable rather than fashionable clothes. But even she has to blink when encountering the crew of The Spotted Custard. Still, this does not deter her from applying to be their ship's doctor, rather the opposite. There being a bonnie professor aboard and an adorable cat only sweetens the deal. Now it seems they're off to Japan on a rather confusing mission. Hopefully it'll be less chaotic than the captain's wedding.
My favorite book in this series. It rewards the reader with fun call-backs to previous books through the eyes of a new character, who is herself a fun addition to the crew and a great love interest for Percy. Such a good ride and while I'm a little sad it's come to an end, I think this is a good place to stop, for this crew. I know they'll sail on and have many adventures. I wish them good luck, good tea, and good chaos.
My favorite book in this series. It rewards the reader with fun call-backs to previous books through the eyes of a new character, who is herself a fun addition to the crew and a great love interest for Percy. Such a good ride and while I'm a little sad it's come to an end, I think this is a good place to stop, for this crew. I know they'll sail on and have many adventures. I wish them good luck, good tea, and good chaos.
poetkoala's review against another edition
5.0
I love these characters. There’s so much to love in this book but the picture of a romantic future with books and cats is probably my favorite.
dinnureads's review against another edition
5.0
Finished my 3rd series by Gail Carriger set in the same world with related characters. It has been a long road and the previous two series converge in this one with the original cast's descendants forging new relationships and alliances in a world full of different shapeshifters and dirigibles and scientific magic!
nikshelby's review against another edition
5.0
I adore any literary adventure written by the effervescent Gail Carriger.
The send time through: I listened to the audiobook, read by Moira Quirk. I did not think a Carriger novel could be improved upon - then I listened. Quirk’s rendition is delightful. Her tones and inflections, accents, and individuality between characters...I didn’t think I liked Audiobooks all that much. Then, listening to the Custard Protocol series? My mind has been completely altered.
The send time through: I listened to the audiobook, read by Moira Quirk. I did not think a Carriger novel could be improved upon - then I listened. Quirk’s rendition is delightful. Her tones and inflections, accents, and individuality between characters...I didn’t think I liked Audiobooks all that much. Then, listening to the Custard Protocol series? My mind has been completely altered.
jerricarae's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
missbryden's review against another edition
5.0
All the fan service (bringing back or referring back to old characters and events mostly from other series) was great, and it just kept going. That alone would’ve been so fun, but also a new introduction really brought some things together and added a lot of fun. Arsenic is a new main character, which I thought might be tricky introduced in a final book, but I loved her, and what she did for/how she interacted with Percy. Also she wasn’t what I expected, she was much better, and seeing who would be the lady for Percy was better than expected. Frankly, I expected someone rather brash, but while she leads Percy (and he wants and accepts it when he recognises that she’s the expert in the area), she’s not loud about it, she’s straightforward and kind and funny. Plus I love that she’s another Scottish character.
I heard or read the author herself refer to this pairing as a geek romance, and fine with me if that's what it is, but it also felt like the more realistic romance compared to the other pairings throughout the Parasolverse.
Yet another point of view introduced in the latter part of the book, rather than going back to Rue or Prim, was unexpected and fun, and gave it a feel more like the Finishing School books, especially later scenes with the setting of airship deck and combination of certain characters.
I enjoyed the scientific and philosophical discussions the characters had, especially in chapter 13, though I didn't follow it all (as is often the case).
Bittersweet ending, well ended for the book, the series and all the main series of Parasolverse.
I loved Reticence, possibly more than the first 3 Custard Protocol books put together.
my Pinterest board of references
I heard or read the author herself refer to this pairing as a geek romance, and fine with me if that's what it is, but it also felt like the more realistic romance compared to the other pairings throughout the Parasolverse.
Yet another point of view introduced in the latter part of the book, rather than going back to Rue or Prim, was unexpected and fun, and gave it a feel more like the Finishing School books, especially later scenes with the setting of airship deck and combination of certain characters.
I enjoyed the scientific and philosophical discussions the characters had, especially in chapter 13, though I didn't follow it all (as is often the case).
Bittersweet ending, well ended for the book, the series and all the main series of Parasolverse.
I loved Reticence, possibly more than the first 3 Custard Protocol books put together.
my Pinterest board of references
rikerandom's review against another edition
4.0
This was like one big reunion of almost everyone who ever played any even somewhat relevant role in the Parasolverse. It was fun and interesting, though the ending was somewhat … I'm not sure how to put it. The ending just wasn't that great. everything was just over there was only a minimal amount of conclusion. And I really didn't like the epilogue.
Spoiler
I would have wished for a prequel story about the vampire, the lioness, the soulstealer and their daughter aka Dama, Tash (?), the first Tarabotti and instead of that weird Goldenrod note.jmitschke's review against another edition
5.0
So delightful; a charming and satisfying addition to one of my favorite series/universes.
Reread via the audiobook. The reader does a wonderful job of representing all the different characters. And listening to it gave me a second chance to catch all the humor and the Parasol-verse references that I didn’t fully notice/appreciate the first time through.
Reread June 2020
Reread via the audiobook. The reader does a wonderful job of representing all the different characters. And listening to it gave me a second chance to catch all the humor and the Parasol-verse references that I didn’t fully notice/appreciate the first time through.
Reread June 2020