4 Stars

I didn't read this book sooner because...

- I was unaware of its existence.

LIAR!!

- I thought I wouldn't like it.

LIAR!!

- it's heafty, and I dread heafty books.

BASTARD!!!!

Someone please call the physiker, I think I am dying and a new, more corrupted, immoral and slightly cunning version of myself is taking birth inside me and is desparate to come out. I didn't know thievery can be so lucrative and fun but now thanks to this book i am seriously considering it my a career option.

You’re one-third bad intentions, one-third pure avarice, and one-eighth sawdust.

This book, my dear friends, was amazing. The plot was cleverly contrived, characters were well developed, and writing was whip-smart, loaded with right amount of snark and ruthlessness. There were humongous amount of plot twists that i didn't see coming, and then there were the elaborate schemings of Locke Lamora that left me in awe for his smarts and quick thinking. And for some strange reason I kept imagining Locke as Leonardo Decaprio. I mean, I know, Leo is too old to play Locke, but he can pull this character off with much finesse than any of his contemporaries.

If he had a bloody gash across his throat and a physiker was trying to sew it up, Lamora would steal the needle and thread and die laughing. He…steals too much.

For the most part of the book we follow Locke in two different time lines. In the past we see him as an acolyte, learning the art of deception and thievery from the priest of thieves himself. In the present we find him scheming, with his friends, to rob huge amounts of money from a Duke of greatest influence in the city of Camorr. But things doesn't go as planned and he find himself entangled in a web of complex and dangerous gang politics all the while evading the Midnighters- Anti-theif force of Comorr.

Locke is a brilliantly written and likable main character. He was smart, but he really had to work really hard to get what he wanted. It didn't feel like that everything was falling in his feet; he was outsmarted number of times. He wasn't like those annoying main protagonists that seem to possess all the answers, all the time.

Someday, Locke Lamora,” he said, “someday, you’re going to fuck up so magnificently, so ambitiously, so overwhelmingly that the sky will light up and the moons will spin and the gods themselves will shit comets with glee. And I just hope I’m still around to see it.”

So let's talk about that marvellous and shocking ending. Locke didn't disappoint, he fucked up and fucked everyone up just like his master - the priest - had predicted when he was an acolyte. I was gasping for breathe the whole time. Locke's final move was epic. I am super excited to see how everything is going to play out in the next books.

Locke and Jeann are officially my new favorite bro-OTP. They are friendship goals. I loved how they supported and looked out for each other. The antagonists were great too. They were scary, powerful and someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

I would have given this a 5 stars, if it were a little shorter. It felt like some parts were unnecessary and were being dragged. Specially the Interlude parts by the end of the book started to irritate me a little as they became less and less relevant to the plot.

I am excited to read the second book but I am not sure when I'll read it. These books are hefty and hefty books frighten me.