Today’s
topic is not a particularly great one for me because I read so little that could
even vaguely be classified as Romance. Also, the rules stipulated that this
list could only include books published in 2013, which reduced my choices even
further because I mostly read books a year or two old. I am left with a grand
total of two choices, but they both appear in the same book, so I hope that
they both still count!
The
Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch is the third in his wonderful Gentleman
Bastard series. This was one of my top reads for the year and you can find the
links to the Read Along posts here.
The two main characters of the series are Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen.
Although they are almost complete opposites from one another they are both
extremely engaging characters and I can hardly wait to read the fourth title in
their adventures.
Throughout
the first two titles, The
Lies of Locke Lamora and Red
Seas Under Red Skies, we are faced with a love-sick Locke who can never
find a replacement to the red-headed love of his life: the absent Sabetha.
Finally, in The Republic of Thieves, we meet this woman, who has managed to
completely captivate one of my favorite characters of all time. Many of us were
wary approaching the book because if Mr Scott had fluffed Sabetha we would have
been totally disappointed, but she is revealed to be the perfect woman for
Locke. We get to see both their initial excruciating courtship as teenagers and
their reunion after several years apart. Both story lines were handled
beautifully and showed that Locke could be the most thoughtful and yet
annoyingly stupid boyfriend of all time.
If the
people doing the Read Alongs are any indication of the general female population,
then it is actually Jean Tannen who would win the title of Best Boyfriend EVER.
At first glance he appears to be the brawn to Locke’s brains, but he is an avid
reader and, therefore, very knowledgeable about all kinds of strange subjects.
He has a particular liking for Romance titles, but we will draw a veil over
that . . . In Red Seas Under Red Skies, we saw him lose his heart and prove
that he could be as ‘enthusiastic’ as the next man, even though he is normally
shy about approaching women. Unfortunately, the relationship did not end well
and his heartbreak was dreadful to read. In The Republic of Thieves we see him
lose his virginity to a good woman, which earned a rousing cheer from those of
us who carry a rather large literary torch for him. Jean is almost perfect in
every way: strong, with nice big shoulders; well-read and educated; good in a
fight, but gentle as well; not afraid to show his more feminine side and
emotionally intelligent.
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