The Black Bouquet: The Rogues (Mass Market Paperback)

If you like books like this one, might I suggest another I've recently come across. The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. It's another fantasy adventure sure to please. I highly recommend it.

First of all, the main object of every single characters obsession was silly. It was an old book with formulas to make perfume that were "magical" in nature and people wanted to buy this perfume. Therefore the owner of the book would be making perfume and making lots of money - I mean lots of money. It is hard to get attached to the deeds and the desires of the characters when they are after something so silly.

Also, I had a hard time liking the characters. I really didn't care about any of them and had no real reason to hope for their success or their demise. There is one main character and two supporting characters, and then there are a lot of side characters that play what seemed like big roles. It got confusing just because there were so many small characters that kept rising up and showing their power for a chapter or two. Then they would dissappear and resurface later. The book is just frustrating and doesn't give any good reason to like it. The fight scenes and battles aren't really that great either. They don't grab ahold of you in any way.

However, there are a few shining moments, like I mentioned. First of all, like I said with "the Alabaster Staff," it is nice and fun to get a different perspective of different locations around the Realm. The city of Oeble is facinating and I would like to return there on a different adventure. The culture is similar to that of Calimport, mainly known from Enterei the assasin from Salvatore books. The other good thing is that the book is moderately intriging because there are a lot of twists and backstabbings. It is hard to tell who is in what party and what their true intentions are.

In my opinion, this book could be enjoyed by some and not by others - it is truely up to the reader to decide. The previously mentioned items are the only reasons why I gave this book two stars instead of one. It might be worth checking out but don't expect too much.

The main character is interesting, and he also takes a bit of a personal journey as the story unfolds.

This is a fast paced read, with interesting characters and well done villains. The city of Oeble is described well, providing a stark contrast to other FR cities, like Waterdeep and Shadowdale.

Besides some editing mishaps, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I look forward to the next installment in the Rogues series.