--some spoilers to follow--
i found her very disappointing (maybe it was unavoidable) after the build-up in the first two books. but she is annoying as heck, very shallow and overall unlikeable. and i am not sure it was written to be like that on purpose. plus, to be this great love story there is no chemistry between the two.
as far as the revelations about locke origins, i think they detract a lot from his character, who goes from being a smart kickass nobody who raises on his own merits, to being the Secretely Predestined Hero™.
how cliche'. and totally unnecessary and out-of-tune with the rest of the story. i am guessing it is going to be central to the next book(s), but that completely changes the bases of the story.
i didn't like the finale because it renders the entire actions of the Gentleman Bastards completely pointless. they were already not very relevant because basically there was nothing at stake for them, except bragging rights vs sabetah, but even the final outcome of the contest, which could have been interesting to explore in the light of how the bondsmagi would have reacted to the forced tie, was voided but patience's massacre. and then you have the out-of-the-blue awakening of the falconer, which has no premises in the rest of the story. a deus-ex-machina with the sole intent to set up the next book
the writing is good, and some parts are clever, but the overall storyline -especially the 'present' one- is extremely weak
Very interesting.
One of the things I like about Scott Lynch is his ability to write good, strong female characters - and not necessarily nice ones, but quite believable ones. A great many male authors completely screw up when attempting to write women, even when they start with the best of intentions.
Anyway, re romance, is it that there has to be chemistry in a 'great love story', or, rather, is this some sort of obsession that Locke has been nursing and nurturing for years that might not quite be returned in the way he imagines?
Reading the book, I never got the sense that Sabetha returned Locke's regard to anything like the same extent; they were colleagues, competitors, friends, with a bit of frisson and sort of fancying each other - because they were both so good at why they did. But I am not so sure that this is Sabetha's great passion - she 'gets' Locke, and connects with him, and has some fondness for him, but nothing I read suggested that she loved him, whereas he has been obsessed with her for years. Sometimes, those who are obsessed see what they want to see rather than what is in front of their eyes.
Besides, I think it possible that Scott Lynch is one of those writers who may not do 'romantic' love terribly well, - or, it is not the focus of his relationships - or, rather, I think he portrays other forms of relationships and love a lot better, - friendships, family love (I loved Zamira Drakasha's scenes with her children, that was brilliant), loyalty, respect, fear, coercion, - and is able to conceive of a world where women - or, rather, heroines - are not defined solely by their role as someone fancied by the hero.
We never saw what motivates Sabetha; although that is something which may become clearer in later books.
