• Author: Scott Lynch
• Series: Gentlemen Bastards #1
• No. of pages: 644
• Dates read: 05.07.20 – 15.07.20
• Star Rating: 4
• Challenge: Second Chance Challenge and ONTD Challenge (July)

Plot: The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a friend to the poor, a ghost that walks through walls. Slightly built and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny. All of Locke’s gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves: The Gentlemen Bastards. The capricious, colourful underworld of the ancient city of Camorr is the only home they’ve ever known. But now a clandestine war is threatening to tear it apart. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends are suddenly struggling just to stay alive…

I originally read this about 5 years ago when I was 14/15 and I really struggled with the writing style as I was used to reading more YA novels at that time. I was pretty satisfied with sticking with that rating until I started getting into BookTube and Book Twitter and I saw the love people had for this book. I decided I was going to give it another shot and I am so happy I did!

We follow two different time lines in this story. The present day timeline and a more sporadic broken up time line set during the main character’s childhood, showing moments of his life growing up as a Gentlemen Bastard. I loved the two timelines. I think it works great from a pacing point of view as it broke up the story well and it really helped with allowing myself to connect more with the characters and understand the world better. It really helped give an insight into how our main characters work, what makes them tick!

There were also little interludes that included some backstory for the world or show you what some other characters you meet along the way are feeling. Overall, it did really well in adding to the world-building.

I thought the dialogue was hilarious there were times where I caught myself laughing at some of the quips that Locke comes up with! But it’s full of swear words which I personally don’t have a problem reading but if that is something that bothers you here is your warning. Overall though, the dialogue was just amazing at times it can feel a bit like a thesaurus ,probably one of the reasons why I struggled when I was younger, but I felt it was really dynamic and I enjoyed reading the long conversations between characters.

I really enjoyed the bond between the Gentlemen Bastards. I love the found family trope and this is what they are, I love the banter they have and I love the love they have for each other. Especially, Jean and Locke. Jean is by far my favourite character, I want a Jean in my life!

I thought the Grey King was a good villain but there were elements of his story which I felt could have been better I can’t go into to much with this due to spoilers.

One thing I will say which nearly left me giving it a 4 star was the pacing. At times it was really fast-paced and fun to read and then at times it felt like I was walking through mud I couldn’t read more than maybe 10 pages at a time. Ultimately though I think it also came down to the fact that I have been reading nothing but fast-paced books recently and it was a shock to the system to read something slower paced and it threw me off.

The next book I will be reviewing is The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson! I am soooo excited to continue this series!