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beaktastic's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book! It's not the best or strongest entry in the Gentleman Bastard series so far, but it's really enjoyable none-the-less. If I could, I would rate it 4.5 stars but I rounded up cos it's still a great book and amazing series :)
Following the disastrous results of their game in Tel Verrar, Jean Tannen desperately searches for a cure for Locke's poisoning, with no success. Then, when it seems like all hope is lost, the pair have the cure offered to them but the very people who have promised to destroy them and who Locke and Jean can trust least - the bondsmagi of Karthain. But there is a catch and a job they will have to do in return - a job that will see them reunited with the final living member of the Gentleman Bastards and the love of Locke's life who left 5 years earlier - Sabetha. But will their reunion be a happy one? And can they complete this job and escape Karthain in one piece or are the bondsmagi simply using them for a greater purpose even Locke cannot understand?
This book was great. We are once again reunited with lovable duo Locke and Jean, who are still reeling from the events of Red Seas Under Red Skies, with Jean still deeply mourning the loss of his love Ezri, and distracting himself with his desperate search to find a cure for the unique poison killing Locke. It was nice to see this kind of change up in the beginning of the novel, with the more ruthless side of Jean that we haven't really seen much of in the past. After some strain in their relationship in the last novel as well, it was nice to see them united once again and working in sync. This was good to see, but at the same time I missed seeing their relationship develop further or progress, but I suppose for the sake of what they had to do in Karthain and with everything else going on in the novel Lynch couldn't work on it too much.
I LOVED seeing Sabetha finally, after all the hints dropped about her in the previous two books. She is just as sassy and awesome as I imagined, and I look forward to seeing more of her as the series continues. On the one hand, I loved seeing Locke so infatuated with her and how he lost his cool and became a bit of a bumbling idiot around her at times, but on the other I felt slightly disappointed in their relationship - I just felt like it lacked a bit of depth, but on the whole I liked it.
I liked the overall plot of the novel, and how it revolved around (mild spoiler)
The book is quite frequently interspersed with flashbacks to 5 years previously, when Sabetha was still a member of the Gentleman Bastards. Whilst it was quite nice to see more of her when she was still part of the team, and when they were all younger (and it was nice to see the Sanza twins once more), I did feel that this subplot dragged on quite a bit and detracted from the main, present-day narrative of the book, and I also felt it ended quite-abruptly, as I was expecting there to be more of a tying up of loose ends with Chains and stuff and Other than beefing out the book I also felt that this subplot didn't serve much purpose to the overall plot of the novel other than highlighting the GBs becoming more of a team and serving as a mirror for the progression of Locke and Sabetha's relationship in the past and the present.
There were plenty of hints as well to how the series is going to develop and what will happen in later books, and I cannot wait to read it and can only hope the next books will follow soon!
Overall, I thought it was a really good book, if a bit of a problematic middle book. I felt that the story dragged a bit at times and that the past subplot detracted from the more interesting main narrative, but it was nice to get this information we needed about Sabetha and her past with Locke. It was a great book overall though, a great read and I cannot wait for book 4!
Following the disastrous results of their game in Tel Verrar, Jean Tannen desperately searches for a cure for Locke's poisoning, with no success. Then, when it seems like all hope is lost, the pair have the cure offered to them but the very people who have promised to destroy them and who Locke and Jean can trust least - the bondsmagi of Karthain. But there is a catch and a job they will have to do in return - a job that will see them reunited with the final living member of the Gentleman Bastards and the love of Locke's life who left 5 years earlier - Sabetha. But will their reunion be a happy one? And can they complete this job and escape Karthain in one piece or are the bondsmagi simply using them for a greater purpose even Locke cannot understand?
This book was great. We are once again reunited with lovable duo Locke and Jean, who are still reeling from the events of Red Seas Under Red Skies, with Jean still deeply mourning the loss of his love Ezri, and distracting himself with his desperate search to find a cure for the unique poison killing Locke. It was nice to see this kind of change up in the beginning of the novel, with the more ruthless side of Jean that we haven't really seen much of in the past. After some strain in their relationship in the last novel as well, it was nice to see them united once again and working in sync. This was good to see, but at the same time I missed seeing their relationship develop further or progress, but I suppose for the sake of what they had to do in Karthain and with everything else going on in the novel Lynch couldn't work on it too much.
I LOVED seeing Sabetha finally, after all the hints dropped about her in the previous two books. She is just as sassy and awesome as I imagined, and I look forward to seeing more of her as the series continues. On the one hand, I loved seeing Locke so infatuated with her and how he lost his cool and became a bit of a bumbling idiot around her at times, but on the other I felt slightly disappointed in their relationship - I just felt like it lacked a bit of depth, but on the whole I liked it.
I liked the overall plot of the novel, and how it revolved around (mild spoiler)
Spoiler
basically tricking and one-upping each other. I thought it was quite ingenious and very enjoyable and quite different to the plot of the previous two books, and yet still had a similar theme and feel to it and involved trickery and thievery.The book is quite frequently interspersed with flashbacks to 5 years previously, when Sabetha was still a member of the Gentleman Bastards. Whilst it was quite nice to see more of her when she was still part of the team, and when they were all younger (and it was nice to see the Sanza twins once more), I did feel that this subplot dragged on quite a bit and detracted from the main, present-day narrative of the book, and I also felt it ended quite-abruptly, as I was expecting there to be more of a tying up of loose ends with Chains and stuff and
Spoiler
seeing Sabetha actually leave and stuff and more of her reasons for why, but this didn't happen and I can only presume this is because it will be continued in the next book(s).There were plenty of hints as well to how the series is going to develop and what will happen in later books, and I cannot wait to read it and can only hope the next books will follow soon!
Spoiler
I'm interested in Patience's prophecies at the end of the book and how those will play out, although I have some hints about some of it. I feel the fall of the Marrows will become very important again in future books as well. Also: the Falconer - I know right? I cannot wait to see what happens there :D It can only be epic!Overall, I thought it was a really good book, if a bit of a problematic middle book. I felt that the story dragged a bit at times and that the past subplot detracted from the more interesting main narrative, but it was nice to get this information we needed about Sabetha and her past with Locke. It was a great book overall though, a great read and I cannot wait for book 4!
zach_r's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.75
asriram's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic novel in the Gentleman Bastards sequence. I liked it about as much as the last one — there were moments where I felt the pace was slow, but there were also great emotional moments. Once again, the characters are fantastic, and it was a delight to finally get to see Sabetha after seeing only her shadow the past few books. I anticipate the next book in the series, whenever it comes out. I feel this is definitely the weakest of the three, but Lynch’s writing is so fantastic that it compensates for that pretty handily to make this an even 4.75/5 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.
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
pbug01'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