Snap Judgment
Based on all the raving reviews, I had purchased The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I started the book, but could never get past the first chapter, so I shelved it. After being thoroughly disappointed with Into the Fire, I didn’t want to invest in another book, so I decided to pull Locke Lamora off the shelf. There were some sections that I felt were too descriptive, but the strategy involved with Locke’s thievery made for an interesting read- I did purchase the second book. I hope some of the more wordy passages get tightened up. If you’re willing to skim read some of the longer descriptions, or you’re into a lot of descriptions, this is a good book to pick up.
Cannonball Read V 
Like you I enjoyed Lies and thought it could be the kickoff to a really promising series. But I was fairly disappointed in book #2 and felt no urgency about finishing it. Totally agreed about long paragraphs of unnecessary description that bog down the story. And in book #2, they seem to have amassed a huge fortune (it’s not entirely clear how huge) and yet they’re taking enormous risks to amass an even bigger fortune. Thus when they find themselves in potentially dangerous situations there’s a feeling of, “Well if you hadn’t been so greedy and willingly driven to assume huge risk this wouldn’t have happened.” I’m mildly curious to see what comes in book #3 but am suspecting that book #1 is the jewel in the series.