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unikornreads's review against another edition
This book would be perfect if
I am very disappointed with this book. It was a perfect beginning but that ends when Locke-Sabetha stupid drama begins. I could not handle it I skimmed and my interest to the story, gone.
Too bad the interesting book title and beautiful book cover wasted on this story. I will read Book 4 if Sabetha is completely absent from the story.
[1] little romance OR no romance at all (much preferable)
[2] no Sabetha and her unwelcome attitude
[3] more mischief and action
I am very disappointed with this book. It was a perfect beginning but that ends when Locke-Sabetha stupid drama begins. I could not handle it I skimmed and my interest to the story, gone.
Too bad the interesting book title and beautiful book cover wasted on this story. I will read Book 4 if Sabetha is completely absent from the story.
zoe_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
3.5
There are three aspects to this book that make it a little worse (or rather less good) than the previous two: the unrelenting love story, the lack of political inteuige in the present-day story, the plottwist-thing.
That I‘m uninterested in a love story comes at no surprise. I‘m just not into most love stories, and this one is equally predictable as topsy-turvey - you would think that the latter element would spark interest but the predictability makes the entire thing boring wheras the tumultuousness makes it annoying. I‘ve seen people claim that this love story is somehow different than other love stories and much better and such and to those people I say: I‘m glad you enjoyed this but it really isn’t. Anyway, I can’t say much more about this than I already have, I amat the mercy of my personal preferences.
That the political intrigue would be such a boring affair is the most surprising element to me. The words „I want it rigged from top to bottom“ (or something synonymous; I listened to the aufiobook) were uttered at some point and yet the reader witnesses extremely little rigging. They did normal election stuff but no heist, nothing that would make Locke and Jean particularly qualified for the job, happened. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still talking about a Gentleman Bastard book, what counts as boring here isn’t all that bad in a general sense, just much less engaging than one would expect.
What baffled me most is how the Locke plottwist soured me on the story. Not completely, mind you, but that mostly comes down to me believing that there is much more to the story than we currently know. As demonstrated by the little epilogue. Anyway, I just feel like I enjoyed the notion of Locke being, well,a bastard (in a literal and colloquial sense) much more than the idea that he is a type of Chosen One. Just let him be an ordinary orphan who happens to be extremely intelligent and quick-whitted with particularly nimble fingers. Don’t make him into the pseudo-offspring of an incredibly powerful mage hell-bent on reviving his dead wife (I‘m btw not convinced, that Sabetha isn’t the reincarnation of the wife and Locke isn’t just an ordinary boy who was at the wrong time in the wrong place) .
Other than those three things, this book was par for the course. I enjoyed the flashbacks immensely and I wish we had spent a little bit more time learning about the aftermath of it all. I also really enjoyed the epilogue, here’s to hoping that the rest of the series will eventually be published. I also feel like this book was particularly funny, though in a rather crass way.
That I‘m uninterested in a love story comes at no surprise. I‘m just not into most love stories, and this one is equally predictable as topsy-turvey - you would think that the latter element would spark interest but the predictability makes the entire thing boring wheras the tumultuousness makes it annoying. I‘ve seen people claim that this love story is somehow different than other love stories and much better and such and to those people I say: I‘m glad you enjoyed this but it really isn’t. Anyway, I can’t say much more about this than I already have, I amat the mercy of my personal preferences.
That the political intrigue would be such a boring affair is the most surprising element to me. The words „I want it rigged from top to bottom“ (or something synonymous; I listened to the aufiobook) were uttered at some point and yet the reader witnesses extremely little rigging. They did normal election stuff but no heist, nothing that would make Locke and Jean particularly qualified for the job, happened. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still talking about a Gentleman Bastard book, what counts as boring here isn’t all that bad in a general sense, just much less engaging than one would expect.
What baffled me most is how the Locke plottwist soured me on the story. Not completely, mind you, but that mostly comes down to me believing that there is much more to the story than we currently know. As demonstrated by the little epilogue. Anyway, I just feel like I enjoyed the notion of Locke being, well,
Other than those three things, this book was par for the course. I enjoyed the flashbacks immensely and I wish we had spent a little bit more time learning about the aftermath of it all. I also really enjoyed the epilogue, here’s to hoping that the rest of the series will eventually be published. I also feel like this book was particularly funny, though in a rather crass way.
xtet4045's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jacob_elliott_books's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
clfenters's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-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
3.75
Although sections of this book were slow (and fortunately skimmable), the banter and humour in the dialogue between characters - in particular between the Bastards - made the series a worthwhile read for me. I also enjoyed meeting Sabetha and learning more about her relationship with Locke.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Murder
Contains one page of graphic description of female genital mutilationcypherly__'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.25
dghughes28's review against another edition
3.5
Great prose and characters, but not enough caper in the plot to justify how skilled the characters are supposed to be.
reecey1297's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
th_written_off's review against another edition
funny
medium-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? No
4.0
beckeal's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, how I love them so. As always, the best parts are the heists, hijinks, and horrifically pottyish potty mouths—in which this instalment was a little lacking, comparatively—but I love Locke and Jean too much to ever dream of complaining.