Locke and Sabetha get a lot of practice at being star-crossed lovers this week. In Espara, Baron Boulidazi unwittingly comes between his ‘noble cousins’ at every opportunity. In Karthain, Patience would rather the would-be lovers kept their mind solely on the Five-Year Game. Will the pair ever find a time and a place to put aside their tempers and pursue their passion?
Category Archive: Read-Alongs
I’ve done a reasonable job of staying on top of my NetGalley eARCs, but I have quite a haul direct from authors and publishers that are prickling my conscience. And that look amazing. So hooray for ARC August, the perfect time to get on top of them. My goal is to read 4, because I’ve got other commitments too (not to mention a lot on at work!) with a stretch goal of 6.
As the new Duchess of Londinium recovers from the Rosa attack, she is faced with a fresh threat from the Agency. Working with Max the Arbiter, she realises just how dangerous an enemy she has made. But Max has bigger fish to fry – the Sorcerers of Albion are going to war…
Aboard a ship with an excellent chef and some well-made manacles, Locke and Jean must figure out a way to get back to Karthain. Some years earlier, the Gentleman Bastards get their first taste of false-facing as nobility when they discover their contact Moncraine has been imprisoned. Can Locke and Sabetha find a way to beguile the angry nobleman who holds the key to his freedom?
And I thought last week was tricky to summarise without spoilers. Much is resolved in this action-packed finale. But are we on the edge of exciting new developments or will the powers behind the status quo crush all hope of a freer future?
In past and present, Locke must confront his feelings for Sabetha. In simpler times in Camorr, Chains sets an unexpected test for his protegées; whereas the complexity of working for the Bondsmagi may be dwarfed by the traps Sabetha has had time to set for her fellow Bastards in Karthain…
It’s all go this week – all the simmering plots boil over at once as Cathy persuades Max to hunt down the missing members of the book club; Margritte realises she may not have the stomach to take revenge; and Sam gets the biggest surprise of anyone. Over half way through the third book it seems a little redundant to say this, but: expect spoilers.
Revealed as a Chinese Celestial, Temeraire has become an international incident: the Chinese have sent a delegation to bring him home, and the Admiralty are minded to agree in the interests of diplomatic relations. Will our boys be separated?
Locke is reunited with a friend (no, not that one) before putting his life and death in the hands of the Bondsmagi, practitioners of fearsome sorceries and unexpectedly personal politics. As the ship without crew sails into the wind, Archedama Patience spells out exactly what – and who – the Gentleman Bastards will be facing in Karthain…
Just when you think you’ve got the hang of the game, the curtains are flung open and you realise the players aren’t even sat at the same board. This week is full of surprises as Oxenford takes centre stage, the Sorcerers go to war, and Sam finally finds out Leanne’s secrets…
The Duchy of Londinium is back in the hands of an Iris. The Tulipas fan the flames of an ancient enmity. Cathy finds herself at a new disadvantage with a Curse, her own emotions and the outrageous suggestions of a gung-ho Gargoyle to contend with. And the Agency get creepier and creepier by the moment…
Cathy has been outmanoeuvred by her family and pushed into a marriage with Will Reticulata-Iris. He’s hardly enthusiastic about the idea, but his healthy fear of Lord Iris means he must win her over – in spite the allure of the seductive Amelia Alba-Rosa White – and make a play for the Dukedom of London…
Welcome back to the Gentleman Bastards Read-along! We are in Lashain, where Locke Lamora is losing his battle with Stragos’s poison and taking solace in childhood memories of the canonical her. But is Jean desperate enough for a miracle cure for his friend to accept help from their bitterest enemies?
The second half of the voyage to Beijing is as eventful as the first, with sickness, sea serpents and suspected assassins to contend with. But no matter how hard Yongxing tries, there’s no separating our boys…
It’s a long float to China, which provides ample opportunity for friction. As tempers fray, Yongxing steps up his campaign to win over Temeraire and Will finds himself on the back foot – and he is all too aware that the Prince will have the upper hand once they arrive in China…
