Rate: 4.5/5

Medium: Audiobook

Overview (No Spoilers): I find myself in yet another vicious cycle of library holds coming due in the most inopportune times. Several months ago I started Red Seas Under Red Skies, and apparently assumed too leisurely a pace because the title’s due date stuck up on me with approximately two thirds of this hefty read completed and in the midst of quite a cliffhanger. Finding myself at the back of a rather long waiting list, I had to bide my time several months before my name worked its way back to the top. Prior to the hold, I couldn’t get enough of Locke and Jean’s wild adventures that only seemed to get more outrageous with each subsequent page. After the forced hiatus, it took a bit to get back into the ebbs and flows of their various predicaments. That being said, it wasn’t long before I was back, perched on the edge of my seat. While Red Seas Under Red Skies grew more predictable in nature when compared to The Lies of Locke Lamora, it didn’t make the literary journey any less satisfying. Lynch also crafted one of the most brutal, heart wrenching, tear inducing deaths I’ve read in a long time. Of course I had to be driving as I was listening to this specific scene, so let us hope that my fellow drivers were oblivious to my ugly crying. Overall, Lynch delivered a more than satisfying followup in Red Seas Under Red Skies that has a whole slew of unexpected twists and turns in store for our Gentleman Bastards.

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

• I’m not going to lie, the ship experience, especially after they were captured by Requin grew tiresome. Sure there was lots of action, but it started to drag as the pawns were moved for the final big play.
• I was entertained by the paintings turning out the be fakes. The con men were conned after all the effort they went into.
• Locke and Jean’s time in the Sinspire was definitely my favorite of this read. I loved their clever ploys.
• Where were the Bondsmagi after the beginning of this read? After their display at the market they virtually disappeared from the read other than pulling strings behind the scenes.
• Who was Merrain working for? Why did she kill the guards Locke spared? What was her goal?
• Are Locke and Jean actually poisoned? Maybe it was all a bluff?
• I’ve decided any character I come to like other than Jean and Locke I can expect to be killed off. Caldris and Ezri both met those fates after becoming likable. Ezri’s death was just horrid, albeit selfless. Still terrible, sad to read.
• What happens when Zamira comes back to the Ghostwinds? What is in the Parlour Pass speaking to the sailors? Why is it getting worse?
• Did Rodanov die with his ship?
• Jabril was a big surprise, going from a nemesis to one of my favorite characters in a few short chapters.