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amblygon_writes's review against another edition
5.0
So I'm back, and I decided to spoiler this, not because it's definitely going to include spoilers, but because I don't want to tip-toe around issues by describing scenes as neutrally or as cryptically as possible. (Actually, I do go on to discuss spoilers so don't read if you don't want spoilers or rambling.)
Finally, we get to meet Sabetha! I love that this took so long. Yes, one of my issues with the first book was the lack of an interesting female character (Sabetha was mentioned so rarely and mostly as the lost love of Locke that I wouldn't really say she had a meaningful presence). I like Sabetha as a character; she didn't seem forced to me and I like how strong she is. I also enjoyed the fact that her returning Locke's feelings was not an automatic process and it didn't feel inevitable (especially since we knew what was going to happen).
I thought the start was a little slow again, but this story does crook its fingers and at some point you realise you're racing to the end. The alternation between interludes and Karthain events was exasperating, but also exhilarating. I loved both stories and the pacing was great.
The one niggle I had was the continuing relationship with Sabetha. I was particularly interested in the fact that she had left him (for whatever reason - hopefully their relationship gets picked apart a bit more in the next book); it shows depth and makes her relatable. What I didn't really understand was why she was so bothered by the discovery that he wasn't necessarily who he said he was. It was quite clear that he was either a master liar and something terribly weird was going on (in which case she should've left that nest well alone) or perhaps he was as lost as she was. I'm not sure she had any particular reason to trust Patience as opposed to the man that she clearly has feelings for (and who has explicitly shown the vast amount of trust and love, however puppy-like and naive, he has for her). Perhaps her aversion to men who want her just for her red hair should've been made clearer; I just felt that Locke had shown a lot of reasons to love her and respect her despite her red hair (or well maybe in addition to it) so the fact that some crazy super-powerful woman who's basically holding her friends' nooses in her hands says that Locke used to be someone who loved a red-haired woman makes her bolt is a bit weird. Ah well, maybe that was just me reading too fast because I was too excited to know what happens. :D
Anyway, what a shame, I thought book 4 was already out! I ran off to look on Amazon and was ready to click the button to purchase it when I noticed it was a pre-order button rather than a deliver-instantly-to-Kindle-and-proceed-to-devour button. Something to look forward to in July! And oops, this did include quite a few spoilers. :D
Finally, we get to meet Sabetha! I love that this took so long. Yes, one of my issues with the first book was the lack of an interesting female character (Sabetha was mentioned so rarely and mostly as the lost love of Locke that I wouldn't really say she had a meaningful presence). I like Sabetha as a character; she didn't seem forced to me and I like how strong she is. I also enjoyed the fact that her returning Locke's feelings was not an automatic process and it didn't feel inevitable (especially since we knew what was going to happen).
I thought the start was a little slow again, but this story does crook its fingers and at some point you realise you're racing to the end. The alternation between interludes and Karthain events was exasperating, but also exhilarating. I loved both stories and the pacing was great.
The one niggle I had was the continuing relationship with Sabetha. I was particularly interested in the fact that she had left him (for whatever reason - hopefully their relationship gets picked apart a bit more in the next book); it shows depth and makes her relatable. What I didn't really understand was why she was so bothered by the discovery that he wasn't necessarily who he said he was. It was quite clear that he was either a master liar and something terribly weird was going on (in which case she should've left that nest well alone) or perhaps he was as lost as she was. I'm not sure she had any particular reason to trust Patience as opposed to the man that she clearly has feelings for (and who has explicitly shown the vast amount of trust and love, however puppy-like and naive, he has for her). Perhaps her aversion to men who want her just for her red hair should've been made clearer; I just felt that Locke had shown a lot of reasons to love her and respect her despite her red hair (or well maybe in addition to it) so the fact that some crazy super-powerful woman who's basically holding her friends' nooses in her hands says that Locke used to be someone who loved a red-haired woman makes her bolt is a bit weird. Ah well, maybe that was just me reading too fast because I was too excited to know what happens. :D
Anyway, what a shame, I thought book 4 was already out! I ran off to look on Amazon and was ready to click the button to purchase it when I noticed it was a pre-order button rather than a deliver-instantly-to-Kindle-and-proceed-to-devour button. Something to look forward to in July! And oops, this did include quite a few spoilers. :D
lucyistoocool's review against another edition
4.0
My least favorite so far, but still very entertaining
benmcfc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
5.0
paigeyy_p's review against another edition
3.25
Boring compared to the other books but makes u want another, no clue if we shall ever receive it tho. The last thirty percent of the book becomes interesting and I was more interested in the flashback story line most of the time. Still well written and sabetha a baddie slay and so is patience. There’s not a ton of women in these books but the ones that are there are always baddies <3
srhhelm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
windupcow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
5.0
I can't believe it took me this long to finish such an excellent book. I suppose time to listen to audiobooks is one benefit of a long commute.
shandyt's review against another edition
4.0
4.3 stars. I'm not sure if any future sequel will match the greatness of book 1, but book 3 is, for me, a not-so-distant second place. The main plot is alright, probably inferior to the other two (although we finally get to meet Sabetha, which is a treat). The side plot is where this installation truly shines. I'm no great fan of Shakespeare, but the play Locke and company put on is fascinating to me, and I almost wish we'd gotten to spend more time on it. It was interesting to see the ins and outs of life in an acting troupe, I loved the actor side characters, and the play itself was so good, I'd like a copy of the full thing.
loquaciousleon's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
The characters were really loveable and the book itself was good, but personally, I found it was missing a core. I didn't find myself compelled by it, and it took me a long time to understand that it may be because it did not have any overarching themes. It felt a little hollow because of that. But the characters were loveable and kept me reading, much more than the plot.
blainembentley's review against another edition
3.0
My rating on this one has nothing to do with the actual quality of the book and has everything to do with my enjoyment of the book.
Lynch has been very consistent in my opinion with the Gentleman Bastard books. His character work is so well done. Locke and Jean are so charismatic and very enjoyable to be with. The way the plots are crafted and slowly build to a big reveal/resolution of the plot is done so wonderfully. His prose is just perfect. It feels sophisticated, but is easy to follow. I just love how the story flows. I have a lot of the same praises I had for the previous two books.
The actual plot is where this book fell flat for me. I feel it was still very well executed, but I was just not that into it. I found the “big job” in this book to be very bland. I did not find any of it to be all that interesting and was bored throughout the book. There have been flashback sequences in all of the books so far. However, the ones in this book almost felt like they were competing to be the main story, rather than complement the story as they have in the previous books. The book was almost split evenly between the flashback and the current time. I did find the events in the flashback sequence to also be lackluster.
I do appreciate that there is one character who is constantly mentioned in previous books that finally made an appearance in this book. It was nice to get to know them and their background story. I really do hope that we see more of them in future books (if we ever get more books).
This was my least favorite of the three, not because of weak writing, the plot just didn’t click with me. Not too bad that I would stop reading any future published works in this world.