gracecrandall's review
3.0
I wavered between a 4-star and a 2-star rating while reading this book, so, three stars it is. The basic premise drew me right in--I'm a sucker for tales of noble rogues--and the story itself remained interesting the whole way through.
Harcourt was an endearing protagonist. Even as a near-penniless alcoholic thief, he has a really adorable soft spot for orphans, performing magic tricks for them as he stumbles home from yet another bout in jail; and his love for the scarred barmaid Jalanna (and her reciprocal love for him) is also quite sweet.
The thing I had the most problems with in this book was the writing style. At best, the writing stayed out of the story's way; but occasionally the phrasing, dialogue, exposition etc. were a little cringe-worthy (Harcourt shouting 'No' with the exact same number of drawn-out O's on two separate occasions, frequent sections of unadorned exposition, and the like). The characters, on the whole, made sense.
The strongest thing going for this book is definitely the plot. the story was consistently interesting, and it delivered twist after twist--a sinister demon cult, a magical shape-shifting mask, betrayals and murders and alliances oh my.
There were a lot of plot elements I really loved--the old and legendary thief who taught Harcourt his secret to success and Harcourt's wrongful imprisonment for murder and eventual release, bent on vengeance, were my especial favorites. Over the course of the book, the story transformed from a sweet but sad romance to a bit of a thriller to a true crime novel and finally a revenge epic.
The revenge epic bit was admittedly my favorite. Harcourt proved himself a clever and thoughtful plotter, and ultimately the dastardly villains fell into a trap of their own making--which always makes for a satisfying read.
Ultimately, in spite of its shortcomings, this book was really enjoyable. the story, its hero and all the adversity thrown his way, was just fun. I'll be interested to see how the story develops over the rest of the trilogy :)
Harcourt was an endearing protagonist. Even as a near-penniless alcoholic thief, he has a really adorable soft spot for orphans, performing magic tricks for them as he stumbles home from yet another bout in jail; and his love for the scarred barmaid Jalanna (and her reciprocal love for him) is also quite sweet.
The thing I had the most problems with in this book was the writing style. At best, the writing stayed out of the story's way; but occasionally the phrasing, dialogue, exposition etc. were a little cringe-worthy (Harcourt shouting 'No' with the exact same number of drawn-out O's on two separate occasions, frequent sections of unadorned exposition, and the like). The characters, on the whole, made sense.
The strongest thing going for this book is definitely the plot. the story was consistently interesting, and it delivered twist after twist--a sinister demon cult, a magical shape-shifting mask, betrayals and murders and alliances oh my.
There were a lot of plot elements I really loved--the old and legendary thief who taught Harcourt his secret to success and Harcourt's wrongful imprisonment for murder and eventual release, bent on vengeance, were my especial favorites. Over the course of the book, the story transformed from a sweet but sad romance to a bit of a thriller to a true crime novel and finally a revenge epic.
The revenge epic bit was admittedly my favorite. Harcourt proved himself a clever and thoughtful plotter, and ultimately the dastardly villains fell into a trap of their own making--which always makes for a satisfying read.
Ultimately, in spite of its shortcomings, this book was really enjoyable. the story, its hero and all the adversity thrown his way, was just fun. I'll be interested to see how the story develops over the rest of the trilogy :)
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