Today I have been mostly squeeing!!!

It seems ages since I was first introduced to the wonderful world of Read Alongs by Redhead at the Little Red Reviewer. Of course, it certainly helped that the title in question was the highly enjoyable The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, which was one of my favorite reads for last year. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we moved straight on to reading Book 2 in the Gentleman Bastard Series, Red Seas Under Red Skies, which was almost as good. At the time that we finished the second Read Along, Mr Lynch was supposed to be publishing Book 3: The Republic of Thieves early in 2013, so it was a definite for My Most Anticipated Titles of 2013 post. But then the publication date was pushed back a few times and I began to wonder if we would actually see the title this year. I am pleased to say that not only is it being published in October, but also that I have received a copy from NetGalley, so I should have my opinion for you in a week or so when I can fit it into my reading schedule.

Here is the description from Goodreads:

Having pulled off the greatest heist of their career, Locke and his trusted partner in thievery, Jean, have escaped with a tidy fortune. But Locke's body is paying the price. Poisoned by an enemy from his past, he is slowly dying. And no physiker or alchemist can help him. Yet just as the end is near, a mysterious Bondsmagi offers Locke an opportunity that will either save him - or finish him off once and for all.

 

Magi political elections are imminent, and the factions are in need of a pawn. If Locke agrees to play the role, sorcery will be used to purge the venom from his body - though the process will be so excruciating he may well wish for death. Locke is opposed, but two factors cause his will to crumble: Jean's imploring - and the Bondsmagi's mention of a woman from Locke's past . . . Sabetha. The love of his life. His equal in skill and wit. And now his greatest rival.

 

Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow-orphan and thief-in-training. But after a tumultuous courtship, Sabetha broke away. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke must choose whether to fight Sabetha - or to woo her. It is a decision on which both their lives may depend.

I am so excited that it is really sitting on my Kindle ready to be savored . . .