First, I should say that an Amazon reseller accidentally sent me an Advance Review copy, so I don't know if perhaps some changes were made between what I got to read, and the final product. The review is based on the version I received.This was an enjoyable read, with engaging, likable characters and a fairly fast-paced, complex plot. As any story featuring a pair of criminals should, it begins by showing us just how cool the main characters are. I feel that's a necessity, before things get challenging. I guess I can compare it a bit to Lies of Locke Lamora in that regard, as well as relating to the close loyalty between the two main characters, although it's a very different story.
I have to admit that in the very beginning of the book, when they were being offered their job, the one that the book description told me would be a trap, I was wincing, because I felt the trap was a little bit obvious. Or, if not obvious, at least that the whole thing was suspicious, and that's something that gets on my nerves in stories. In particular, when they were considering the job offer, Hadrian told Royce that their client's story checked out. How did he know it checked out? There was no mention of him having checked into it, and from what I knew based on reading the summary (and from reading just a few chapters further), the guy's story definitely should not have checked out. It seemed uncharacteristically sloppy of the two of them, based on what I read in the rest of the book.
The above is really my only complaint, though. Hadrian and Royce are both compelling characters. They clearly have a lot of history, which is given to me gradually, and which still leaves a great deal of questions. I like that. I'm given enough to be intrigued, and still wanting more. I liked all of the protagonists, really, even some I hadn't expected to like, like Arista and Alric. Myron was a favorite who I hope to get to meet again, as well as Mauvin Pickering. Despite the predictable beginning, there were a great number of surprises in the book that I really didn't manage to guess.
This book really contained two separate stories, although they were tied together, and they figure into an overarching, developing plot that I expect to come to more of a head in later books. There are also more interactions and developments between the characters that I'm expecting to get to see in the future as well. I look forward to reading a great deal more of this series.
