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czfries's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
randanopterix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I have so much to say about this book it’s honesty impossible to say it all. As far as I’m concerned, it’s perfect. No book has made me laugh as often and few books have made me cry as hard. I have BIG FEELINGS about this book.
It’s heists are genius in their construction, the characters are insanely loveable, the dialogue is realistic and hilarious, and the relationships built between the cast are surprisingly heartwarming. Now, if you think the stakes are high 100 pages in, friend, I hope you’re ready to be stressed as FUCK because the stakes only get higher and higher.
I’m obsessed with this book, not much more to say past that.
Tagging the rest of this review as spoilers as it’s pretty much going to include notes from my annotations:
• Jean Tannen is a murderous, sensitive, smart, fat king and I hope he lives to be 200 and the rest of his life full of happiness and joy.
• Locke is a terrible little rat of a man who I desperately want to be happy. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, king.
• Calo and Galdo, real ones. Y’all didn’t deserve any of that.
• Bug absolutely fucking broke me. Heartbroken. The worst part was that I read up to Calo and Galdo’s death when I had to clock out from work. I had the whole ride home to be shattered about them and scheme about how Bug, Jean, and Locke were gonna take revenge before I finally got home to read the rest of the chapter….
• WHERE. IS. SABETHA.
• Bondsmagi OP, plz nerf /s
• Doña Vorchenza keeps taking those L’s.
• Let me preface this by saying that I LOVED the way women were written and portrayed in this book. Absolutely none of it was patronizing or unrealistic and they were all distinct characters capable of the same level of cunning and brutality as any of their male counterparts. THAT BEING SAID: Was a little disappointed that the two women characters who had potential to be a part of the main crew as it were (Nazca and Sabetha) were neatly folded up and put away for the majority of the novel. Hoping I get to know what the deal is w Sabetha in the next book because she didn’t even show up in the flashback portions of this one and it made her feel like she wasn’t even a part of the Bastards…
• The bank scene is genuinely one of the most insane, most clever, and most hilarious things I’ve ever read. POOR BENJAVIER.
• I was on the toilet during the scene where Locke speaks Bug’s true name and let me tell you, crying heartily about that while pooping was not my most dignified moment.
It’s heists are genius in their construction, the characters are insanely loveable, the dialogue is realistic and hilarious, and the relationships built between the cast are surprisingly heartwarming. Now, if you think the stakes are high 100 pages in, friend, I hope you’re ready to be stressed as FUCK because the stakes only get higher and higher.
I’m obsessed with this book, not much more to say past that.
Tagging the rest of this review as spoilers as it’s pretty much going to include notes from my annotations:
• Jean Tannen is a murderous, sensitive, smart, fat king and I hope he lives to be 200 and the rest of his life full of happiness and joy.
• Locke is a terrible little rat of a man who I desperately want to be happy. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, king.
• Calo and Galdo, real ones. Y’all didn’t deserve any of that.
• Bug absolutely fucking broke me. Heartbroken. The worst part was that I read up to Calo and Galdo’s death when I had to clock out from work. I had the whole ride home to be shattered about them and scheme about how Bug, Jean, and Locke were gonna take revenge before I finally got home to read the rest of the chapter….
• WHERE. IS. SABETHA.
• Bondsmagi OP, plz nerf /s
• Doña Vorchenza keeps taking those L’s.
• Let me preface this by saying that I LOVED the way women were written and portrayed in this book. Absolutely none of it was patronizing or unrealistic and they were all distinct characters capable of the same level of cunning and brutality as any of their male counterparts. THAT BEING SAID: Was a little disappointed that the two women characters who had potential to be a part of the main crew as it were (Nazca and Sabetha) were neatly folded up and put away for the majority of the novel. Hoping I get to know what the deal is w Sabetha in the next book because she didn’t even show up in the flashback portions of this one and it made her feel like she wasn’t even a part of the Bastards…
• The bank scene is genuinely one of the most insane, most clever, and most hilarious things I’ve ever read. POOR BENJAVIER.
• I was on the toilet during the scene where Locke speaks Bug’s true name and let me tell you, crying heartily about that while pooping was not my most dignified moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Abandonment, War, and Classism
claire_baco's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
wolfthorn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it very intriguing. I thought it was quite difficult to get to grips with as it seems to throw the reader into the middle of an already established plot and I can see how that can be problematic for some readers. I spent quite a bit of the early part of it not entirely understanding what was going on. I kept waiting for a full backstory but there's a lot of it that you never get to find out. There is some backstory doled out intermittently as Interludes before the main chapters but it still left me wanting to know a lot more.
There's a major twist about halfway through that I didn't anticipate, and the second half of the book contains several other twists and various thrilling incidents which really made it exciting reading. It's quite a long read and I didn't really get into it until a third of the way in, but after that point, I was hooked. There were several moments throughout the last third when I realised what Locke's plan or intention was, and seeing how it all came together was most joyous. It's definitely one that you have to stay with, but I think it's worth it. I could write a really lengthy review of the plot in great detail because I was just so taken with it but that would be too much. The characterisations are great, although I didn't like Locke at first because he seemed to be too smug and perfect, but I soon found out that he wasn't like that at all. It was nice for him to have definite flaws, he might be intelligent and great at disguises, but he can't fight with fists or sword to save his life. Literally. The amount of times he got beaten up!
The world building itself is outstanding. The religion and system of 13 gods is very detailed and complex, and having it link in with the calendar so that years are named after the gods all ties together incredibly well. The class system, the economy, and justice system are all well laid out. I loved the detail regarding clothing and how that indicated a person's status. Locke's eye for style, fabrics, and colours suits the time and place, particularly with it being based loosely on 16-17th century Venice.
The main plot of the book is all finished off quite nicely, but I was still left with so many questions about the world, its history with the Elderglass and previous inhabitants; what happened to Chains and Sabetha; and, most importantly, what will Locke and Jean do next??
There's a major twist about halfway through that I didn't anticipate, and the second half of the book contains several other twists and various thrilling incidents which really made it exciting reading. It's quite a long read and I didn't really get into it until a third of the way in, but after that point, I was hooked. There were several moments throughout the last third when I realised what Locke's plan or intention was, and seeing how it all came together was most joyous. It's definitely one that you have to stay with, but I think it's worth it. I could write a really lengthy review of the plot in great detail because I was just so taken with it but that would be too much. The characterisations are great, although I didn't like Locke at first because he seemed to be too smug and perfect, but I soon found out that he wasn't like that at all. It was nice for him to have definite flaws, he might be intelligent and great at disguises, but he can't fight with fists or sword to save his life. Literally. The amount of times he got beaten up!
The world building itself is outstanding. The religion and system of 13 gods is very detailed and complex, and having it link in with the calendar so that years are named after the gods all ties together incredibly well. The class system, the economy, and justice system are all well laid out. I loved the detail regarding clothing and how that indicated a person's status. Locke's eye for style, fabrics, and colours suits the time and place, particularly with it being based loosely on 16-17th century Venice.
The main plot of the book is all finished off quite nicely, but I was still left with so many questions about the world, its history with the Elderglass and previous inhabitants; what happened to Chains and Sabetha; and, most importantly, what will Locke and Jean do next??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping and Grief
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
christian08's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
maelikesbooks's review against another edition
The characters are flat and one dimensional, the relationships aren’t compelling in the slightest, and the plot is a drag. I kept thinking it was getting started or that things might go in an interesting direction, but it takes half the book for the actual main plot to become apparent. By that point, there’s been so many throwaway plot lines I got invested in only for them to be forgotten, that the actual plot and intrigue was deeply uninteresting and I had to put it down.
Also, the women only exist for the characters to lust after or to bekilled/fridged .
The childhood plot was a lot more interesting than the present day one though, but I couldn’t get myself to power through the main story just to find out what happened in the past. The prose was also beautiful. Unfortunately, that was not enough for me personally to overlook all the things I disliked about this book.
Also, the women only exist for the characters to lust after or to be
The childhood plot was a lot more interesting than the present day one though, but I couldn’t get myself to power through the main story just to find out what happened in the past. The prose was also beautiful. Unfortunately, that was not enough for me personally to overlook all the things I disliked about this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Murder
lalu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
read in 2020
I had heard a lot about this book beforehand and I had high expectations - which were surpassed. This book is amazing, it's witty, gripping and I don't think I've ever had this much fun while reading!
I had heard a lot about this book beforehand and I had high expectations - which were surpassed. This book is amazing, it's witty, gripping and I don't think I've ever had this much fun while reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Excrement
Minor: Bullying and Sexual content