Synopsis (from Goodreads)
After a brutal battle with the underworld that nearly destroyed him, Locke and his trusted sidekick, Jean, fled the island city of their birth and landed on the exotic shores of Tal Verrar to nurse their wounds. But even at this westernmost edge of civilization, they can’t rest for long — and are soon back to what they do best: stealing from the undeserving rich and pocketing the proceeds for themselves.
This time, however, they have targeted the grandest prize of all: the Sinspire, the most exclusive and heavily guarded gambling house in the world. Its nine floors attract the wealthiest clientele — and to rise to the top, one must impress with good credit, amusing behavior… and excruciatingly impeccable play. For there is one cardinal rule, enforced by Requin, the house’s cold-blooded master: it is death to cheat at any game at the Sinspire.
Brazenly undeterred, Locke and Jean have orchestrated an elaborate plan to lie, trick, and swindle their way up the nine floors… straight to Requin’s teeming vault. Under the cloak of false identities, they meticulously make their climb — until they are closer to the spoils than ever.
But someone in Tal Verrar has uncovered the duo’s secret. Someone from their past who has every intention of making the impudent criminals pay for their sins. Now it will take every ounce of cunning to save their mercenary souls. And even that may not be enough…
My Review
3 out of 5 stars
I’m a little between 3 and 4 stars, but I didn’t like this one as much as the first so I’m going with 3. The plot twist(s) were there, but I enjoyed/took by complete surprise the plot twists of the first book much, much more. The rest of my review here comprises a list of points I’d like to address in no particular order. It’s a mixture of positive and negative, so really, 3 stars is the best fit.
1. Bromance. Locke and Jean are a great duo with lots of witty banter. They are also incredibly devoted to one another and in a life of thievery it’s great to have one other incredibly skilled person at your back at all times. It’s a partnership where I equally appreciate both characters. This novel expands their partnership a little further by introducing a female romantic interest. Said female is a great match for one of them, but how will the dynamic duo fare with a 3rd in their party?
2. Scheme after scheme. Locke and Jean start this one by planning to rob the world’s most famous gambling house, the Sinspire. The Sinspire is crafted by Mr. Lynch to be a really interesting and impressive place to rob, so it’s exciting to read about this. But Locke and Jean’s scheming goes slightly off course by something, and of course our Gentlemen’s Bastard’s have to twist this aspect to go in their favor, so it ends up being a scheme on top of a scheme. As we keep going through the novel, more stuff comes up, and really I have to appreciate Mr. Lynch’s planning to have all of this go through. It got a little confusing at times, however, just because there was so much going on, and Mr. Lynch’s overly descriptive writing style isn’t helping matters. In the end, I got the gist of it all, but things may have been more tense if I could’ve remembered/understood more of the details of the schemes.
3. Veering off course. I wanted this header to have some sort of ship/pirate slang pun, but alas I am just not well enough versed in the field. In any case, the book felt a little too long. There was definitely some parts that felt like they weren’t getting anywhere, and honestly I can’t point out why they were all needed in the end (take me back to point 2, captain!). I think a lot of it was to include more pirate-y action, but I wasn’t enjoying it, sadly. I really like the pirate characters Mr. Lynch created/introduced. They’re unique and interesting in their own separate ways, but the pirates’ conflicts just weren’t all that exciting to me. With Locke and Jean’s story being the main focus of the book, it felt like we didn’t need as much seafaring action as was provided. It slightly felt like Mr. Lynch had a sudden need to write some Pirates of the Caribbean fanfiction and this is what we got.
Overall, there are some highlights to the book, but it ends up being a little too long and just slightly too much.
See this review on Goodreads.
Mad Scibrarian 