Six of Crows

[...] Romance Score: You’re Trying The relationships in this book were good starts but just didn’t go all the way for me. One couple met each other in considerably unkind circumstances and, while I do enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers transition, the depth of hate/prejudice felt like it was a little too easily overcome. I really enjoyed the second couple and loved the respect that one of the people demanded for themself, it’s just too early to give much weight to that relationship. The third couple was more of a flirtation, so I’m not sure I can really count it at all, but it was super fun. Plus, that third couple added some diversity to the bunch, so I doubly liked it. Feminism Score: A+ success First, I’ll point out that I debated this for a bit because prostitution and sexual exploitation is a big part of the story for one character, but I finally decided that the way she deals with it and uses her experiences to find strength trumps the abuse. Additionally, the ladies in the book know what they want and they go for it, they’re respected for their skills, and are treated as equal contributors. I appreciated that there was a sisterhood and supportive relationship between the two girls; they know they have scars and give each other the love and comfort needed to acknowledge painful pasts and move forward. The other tough point for me was with one of the relationships. As mentioned above, I definitely feel the appeal of a hate-to-love relationship development, but the enmity between two characters in this book is based more on ingrained aspects of their identities than on personality clashes. When I think about a racist falling for someone with the skin color they’re prejudiced against but justifying it because “they’re different than the rest,” I get a little uncomfortable. While I think the relationship can eventually grow so that both characters move away from their deep prejudices, I still wonder about it. Diversity Score: A+ Success There are six main characters and we get a good range of people. I’m going to try very hard not to spoil things that come out slowly in the story, so…Kaz has a poorly healed leg that gives him a limp and lots of chronic pain. He also is suffering from what looks like PTSD thanks to an awful experience when he first arrived in the city. Inej is brown skinned, from a nomadic people, and has the agility and silence of a ghost cat. Nina is beautiful and curvy and takes pleasure in all of life’s tiniest joys. She also owns her sexuality and is determined to protect the life she wants. Underneath Jesper’s penchant for gambling is an interest in someone that was fairly well hidden until half way through the book. There are two other main characters that make up the six, one has some deeply hidden secrets that come out very near the end and the other would, I suppose, be the “normal” character, if you discount where he spends half the book. As a fantasy world, there’s no excuse for not reflecting the diversity of the real world and I think Bardugo does a good job with this. She also has a note in the back that I found sweet considering the focus of this blog. Awesome Factor: Between Good Effort and A+ Success I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had been feeling like I had abandoned my fantasy roots for a bit (untrue, but I had an itch) and Six of Crows brought me back around. I really liked the characters, the story, and the world – the hints of our own world that came through added extra dimension. I also thought the intrigue and underworld were engaging; I wanted to know what happened and if the crew would be successful. I’m not giving it a full score because it slowed down slightly in the middle and I’m still feeling a little confused about the true feelings or alliances of some of the characters. It’s clear they’re in it together, but I feel like it’s uncertain if that is forever or just until we escape. All around, it was fun and intriguing, and I’m waiting eagerly for the next book. Favorite Character All six are well-rounded and I felt like we got to know all of them equally, but I really love Inej. She’s suffered, she’s deeply embedded in the underworld, but she doesn’t let the brutal gangs beat hope and faith out of her. Plus, I’m concerned if I don’t choose her, she’ll let out all my secrets! Favorite Line “Many boys will bring you flowers. But someday you’ll meet a boy who will learn your favorite flower, your favorite song, your favorite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won’t matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns you heart.” Fun Author Fact Bardugo wrote a song for her book series, the Grisha Triology. Is this worth a book hangover? Definitely! If you like ensemble books full of adventure and big personalities, you’ll like this. The characters are amazing and the different points of view made the story richer and more exciting. It also kept the mystery longer as pieces dripped out slowly.

It took me quite some time to get to this book, mostly because I never managed to read the original Grisha trilogy, I tried several times to get started with it, but there was something about it that didn’t quite suck me in. Eventually though, I gave up that series and decided to dig into Six of Crows even though I had not read the Grisha trilogy in advance. And I am happy that I did because Six of Crows was an easy read that pulled me in rather quickly. In Six of Crows we follow a group of six criminals from a gang called the Dregs, and when their leader, Kaz, gets a job that would change their lives forever, he can’t say no, despite the job being as impossible as it gets. So, in this book, we get to come along on the quest as they set out to break into one of the most secure prisoners in Fjerda. There’s a lot of things that I really enjoy in this book, but also a few things that slightly annoyed me. But for the most part this is a great read and the way the author has managed to keep the reader invested in all three characters and their separate POVs is impressive, not once did I feel like any of the characters were unnecessary or flat. Every character is well developed with interesting backstory and there’s also a lot going on in their relationships and thanks to the separate POV’s you get a very intimate connection to each an ever characters emotions and reasons to what they do. It’s, like I said, beautifully crafted and the writing too is beautiful and vivid. The wordbuiling is great and Bardugo manages to incorporate details of the world and the scenery in the story without it feeling heavy with information. It all flows very well, and as I read it was easy to picture the scenes. The plot was interesting, full of twists and turns and seeing the team’s job take shape from the eyes of multiple POVs made for a very interesting read and also gave the heist that sense of mystery and surprise that we’re used to seeing on tv and in movies. As for the things that I didn’t quite like it was not bad enough to really make a difference in the overall rating, but it was still things that stuck out to me. The first being that I felt like the heist sometimes got overshadowed by massive bits of backstory. The backstory itself didn’t bother me because they were interesting and great, and they made me understand and connect with the character a lot more, but I didn’t feel like they were necessary for the story in that elaborated manor they had been written in, less information had been enough and kept the pacing of the main plot more consistent. So, even though I enjoyed learning about the characters pasts and the reasons they ended up in the gang, I would have preferred more focus on the heist itself. The second thing is the beginning. It was unnecessary and pointless. Why make us invested in Joost and Anya just to basically never mention them again? I get the point of showing what the drug could do, but there must have been a better way to do it. The third thing is related to the Fjerdans and primarily their language. The Fjerdan’s are, according to what I’ve read from interviews with Leigh Bardugo, heavily influenced by Scandinavia, and more specifically Sweden and Norway. As a swede, I can totally see that, and I knew that it is a fictional language and that my own language has been used as inspiration. But I couldn’t help feel a bit thrown off when there was suddenly words that I knew from my own language being used when there was so many other words used that didn’t fit at all with the way we’d use those words. It’s hard to explain, and truly it doesn’t really matter since it’s fiction and not real, but it was something that stood out to me, like a hiccup that broke the flow of my reading. I think it would have bothered me less if the Fjerdans had actually spoken any of the Scandinavian languages, or at least had a more reasonable structure to their sentences and words that would have fit well with the use of actual words from our language. And in this same line are the names of the Fjerdan Drüskelle. There were typical Scandinavian names at a lot of the times, but then there were these names that stood out and didn’t fit in with the rest we’d been told. But, I’m not going to let any of this affect the rating since this is just a personal thing that most likely wouldn’t bothered anyone else, and if does not in any way affect the intensity and greatness of the story. So, overall, this book will get a solid 4/5 stars from me, and I can’t wait to dig into the sequel. I can also highly recommend this book to basically everyone, it’s a great read and the way Leigh Bardugo handled all six POVs is reason enough for every author to pick up this book.

REVIEW: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Published September 29th, 2015 by Henry Holt and Co. Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy Edition: Hardcover Source: Purchased Pages: 465 Rating: 5/5 stars Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone… A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction–if they don’t kill each other first. From the moment I heard the description of this book, I was intrigued. A band of thieves attempting to pull off a huge heist? Sign me up! I was counting down the days till it released. I had such high expectations for this book. And believe me, they were met. I couldn’t put this book down. I loved every minute of it. Now, it is one of my favorite books of all time, and I’ve read a lot of books. I titled this “review”. In a review, you usually find criticism of the book. But since I loved this book, it’ll mostly be me gushing about all my thoughts. I just want to run up to people, shove this book in their face, scream “READ IT”, and then go and reread it by myself. the plot It was so interesting! I loved the whole heist. Something was always happening, and it was always interesting. It kept me surprised: PLOT TWISTS! the characters The characters were probably my favorite part of this book. We meet six that, by the end of the book, I had come to love. They’re all so unique. I loved reading from each perspective, that way I got to know the characters a lot better. “No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for “good luck.” Kaz- The leader. “Greed is your god, Kaz.” He almost laughed at that. “No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.” “A liar, a thief, and utterly without conscience. But he’ll keep to any deal you strike with him.” Nina- She’s so brave, snarky, funny, and just an amazing strong female character. I loved that we had a Grisha in the group. Inej-MY FAVORITE. She’s an ex-circus performer who now is a spy known as The Wraith. She struggled between her dedication to the gang and her desire to see her family again. “Besides, she was the Wraith-the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.” Jesper- the sharpshooter, who added so much to the story. The chapter told from his point of view are really great, because you see the other characters how he does, and I think he sees them how they truly are. “Take good care of my babies,” Jesper said as he handed [his guns] over to Dirix. “If I see a single scratch or nick on those, I’ll spell forgive me on your chest in bullet holes.” Wylan- He was this adorable, innocent, little boy at first. But his character changed/revealed as the story went along, and I LOVED it. I wished we could have gotten chapters from his POV, but Leigh said there will be in the 2nd! “Always hit where the mark isn’t looking.” “Who’s Mark?” Asked Wylan. Matthias- I loved how he struggled with loyalty to his country and his love for Nina, and I also loved seeing the backstory of how him and Nina met. “And what did you do, Matthias? What did you do to me in your dreams?” “Everything,” he said, as he turned to go. “Everything.” the romance! I loved how the story was not overpowered by the romances in this book. It was a side plot that made the story more interesting. It wasn’t as prominent as the action part, but it was there. And it was amazing. I won’t spoil anything, but let me just say, I have 3 new OTPs just from this book. the setting In Bardugo’s previous trilogy, which I loved, we get to know the world a little, but it’s mostly set in Ravka, one country. Six of Crows was in a different country in this world, Kerch, and the group travels to a new country, Fjerda. I loved getting to know this world better. Also, the characters are from different countries so we get to know their view on their country and the others. the writing Her writing, like always, was incredible. It flowed beautifully. Some people have said it starts out slow, but once you pass the first 100 pages, things start picking up and getting really interesting. (I was interested the whole time, of course. I loved it from the very beginning.) But if you’re not enjoying it as much, I’m begging you. Keep trying. It’s SO worth it. There’s so many amazing quotes! I literally have notes and notes full of them. This book is funny! It made me laugh out loud a lot (and I was in public, so people stared at me.) “Jesper knocked his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. “Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost. Brekker’s lips quicker. “I’ll just hire Matthias’ ghost to kick your ghost’s ass.” “My ghost won’t associate with your ghost,” Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.” This book is so gorgeous! The cover is beautiful, but my absolute FAVORITE thing about it has to be the black edged pages. And the maps!! There’s two beautiful maps. TWO! what I didn’t like I honestly can’t think of anything I didn’t like in this book. I tried to come up with something, but I loved it too much. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you check this book out. It brings all the feels. I need the second book, Crooked Kingdom, NOW. Also, if you haven’t read Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy, you should. A lot of people have asked me, “Do I have to read the Grisha Trilogy before Six of Crows?” My answer has been: No, you don’t have to. Of course I would recommend that you do, as it is one of my favorite trilogies. If you don’t, you might be a little lost in the world, and there are some characters mentioned in here from that trilogy that you wouldn’t understand, but you could understand the story. There are minor spoilers of the end of Ruin and Rising in Six of Crows, but there is also some misleading. If you read the Grisha trilogy, you learn more about Ravka, where Nina is from, which helps you understand her better. Plus, it’s just an amazing trilogy. You SHOULD. But no, you do not have to. Okay, I’ll just conclude my ramblings now. Go read this book, please. This review took so long to write, because I had so many good things to say, and I reread Six of Crows while writing it. Ava Bookishnessandtea.wordpress.com

Kaz Brekker is a young criminal mastermind with a knack for meticulously planning every step of a greater picture before making a single move. He's spent a lot of time gaining a reputation, gathering a small gang, and building a legend and mystique around himself. His ultimate goal is revenge, and every move he makes is just another step toward it. When he is hired to carry out an impossible heist, he needs to gather a crew and plan his moves even more carefully. Where this book truly shines is with its characters. Kaz and his crew are all very different personalities, and their banter and relationships with each other are all wonderful. Each of the six main characters are given full, compelling backstories, motivations, skill sets, personality quirks, and personal demons to sort out. It was a joy getting to know these characters and seeing them bounce off of each other. Kaz is an excellent character, and feels like a teenage supervillain-in-training. He is human, and suffers from trauma, insecurities, getting emotionally attached, but does everything he can to come off cold and detached to keep up with the legacy he has built for himself - and when you get to see Kaz from other peoples' perspectives, you can see just how successful he's become at it. I'll admit I was not a fan of Matthias, one of the POV characters, at first. He's well-written, but his worldview and way of thinking were difficult for me to wrap my head around or justify. As the story went on and Matthias got more fleshed out and complex, I came to love him. Although there are six main characters, only five of them get POV chapters -- the sixth is still a very interesting character, and I would love to see a bigger glimpse into his mindset. After finishing the book I can understand why he was not given his own chapters, and I'm VERY excited to learn more about him in the sequel. The worldbuilding is also very impressive. I understand that there are other books and trilogies and such set in this same world. I've yet to read the others at the time of writing this review, but I am intrigued by the world these characters live in, the customs and cultures of its people, the history that is alluded to, etc. This world feels real and fleshed out, and it's very clear that a lot of thought and care were put into it. Six of Crows is an extremely fun book, I'm pumped to read its sequel and the other stories set in this world, and to check out the Netflix series based on one of them! I highly recommend this book!!

*May contain spoilers Six of Crows is one of those books that I could truly kick myself for waiting so long to read. Now that I’ve finally finished reading it, all I keep thinking is what a fool I was to deprive myself of one of the most original and amazing fantasy stories I’ve ever read. I feel like I’m not even going to begin to do this book justice, but hopefully, since I’m pretty sure I’m one of the last people on the planet to actually read it, you guys will all just nod your heads in agreement because you already know why Six of Crows is such a fabulous read. For those unfamiliar with the basic storyline, Six of Crows follows Kaz Brekker, a teenage criminal mastermind, who has been offered an opportunity to achieve wealth beyond his wildest dreams. How? By completing what can probably best be described as Mission Impossible. He has to break into the Ice Court, a heavy guarded military stronghold that has never successfully been broken into before. Once inside, his mission is to locate and smuggle out a scientist who is being held hostage there because he possesses knowledge on how to amplify and weaponize magic. Kaz knows enough about the dangers of the Ice Court to know that, without the right team, this heist is going to be nearly impossible, possibly even a suicide mission. Lucky for Kaz though, he knows exactly who the right team is: a deadly gang of young thugs, thieves, and runaways who are just desperate enough to agree to be part of this crazy mission. LIKES What I loved most about Six of Crows are the characters. Leigh Bardugo has crafted some of the most fascinating and unique characters I’ve come across in YA fantasy. I always enjoy stories that feature an anti-hero and with Kaz and his “Crows,” we have 6 anti-heroes! I love anti-heroes because they’re always such complex characters and these characters are no different. What each of the Crows have in common is that they have no family and they’ve each had to do some pretty awful things in the name of survival, including resorting to thievery and murder. Through flashbacks that give us backstory on each of the characters, however, Bardugo manages to make this gang of thugs so sympathetic that you can’t help but fall in love with them. I also liked the angle that each character seemed to have their own, sometimes selfish motives, for wanting to be a part of Kaz’s mission and it added an element of suspense at times, as I wondered if someone would sabotage the mission to serve their own needs. It’s hard to pick a favorite character because they’re all so badass, but Kaz is definitely near the top of my list. As I’ve already mentioned, he’s a criminal mastermind. Even though he’s a teenager, his reputation precedes him and he is feared by many in Ketterdam, the city where the story takes place. Kaz can be as greedy as he can be cruel, but he’s also so brilliant, brazen, and daring that you can’t help being drawn to him. Kaz is also haunted by events from his past that left him alone and destitute, and he’s highly motivated by the desire for revenge against the man he holds responsible for what happened. In addition to Kaz, there are also two badass female characters, Inej and Nina. Inej, known as the wraith, has a reputation for being somewhat of a ninja. Kaz calls her his spider because she can climb her way pretty much anywhere and can do so undetected, a very handy skill in their line of “work.” She’s also very skilled with knives and is perhaps the most murderous member of Kaz’s team. I just loved watching her in action as she cut down anyone who posed a threat to the team. What made Inej especially fascinating to me was the connection between her and Kaz. As much as Kaz tries to be all business, all the time and never show any emotion or weakness, it’s clear that he has a soft spot when it comes to Inej and her safety. It’s also pretty clear that there’s a good chance the feeling is mutual. Nina is what is known as a Grisha, which means she possesses magical abilities. For the purposes of Kaz’s mission, Nina can use that magic to do useful things like slow people’s heartrates down until they lose consciousness. She can also use her powers for healing purposes, also handy when you’re on a super-dangerous mission. As we learn from her backstory, Nina’s people have been persecuted for years because of their magic -- imprisoned, tortured, and even burned at the stake. Because the Grisha are the ones whose magic would be weaponized, Nina has personal reasons for wanting to take part in this mission. Matthias is one of the characters that intrigued me the most. At first, I couldn’t stand him, but the more I got to know about him, the more I just grew to adore him. Kaz recruits him by breaking him out of jail and offering him a pardon for his crimes in exchange for his help with the mission. Kaz sees Matthias as one of the biggest assets to the team because he used to work in the Ice Castle and can therefore give them the overall layout of the place, how the security works, etc. Matthias is torn because he knows he should be loyal to the Ice Castle, but at the same time, how can you turn down a chance to be pardoned so that you can get your life back? What makes the whole situation even more complicated is that he and Nina have shared history and he holds her responsible for his imprisonment. Tension, much? I swear I was convinced those two were going to kill each other for about half the book! Beneath all that hate they seemed to have for each other though, you could sense there was something more, an almost smoldering attraction for one another. Let me tell you – I’m not usually big on romance, but I was shipping the heck out of Nina and Matthias! Jesper and Wylan. While these two guys were clearly assets to the team as well with their knowledge of weapons and explosives, respectively, what I loved most about Jesper and Wylan was that they provided a bit of comic relief where the other characters were so intense all the time. Jesper and Wylan teased each other relentlessly and their banter was just hilarious at times. The world building in Six of Crows is also top notch. Bardugo paints a vivid picture of Ketterdam with its rival street gangs swarming around duking it out for power. It’s a dark and gritty world, as well as a dangerous one, filled with assorted thieves, predators, and traitors. It’s hard to know who, if anyone, can be trusted. The atmosphere definitely creates a sensation that all of the characters are vulnerable to attack by anyone anywhere so they have to be in survival mode at all times. The Grisha magic system is also well thought out and vividly drawn. I went into Six of Crows without having read the Grisha series, which was probably a mistake as I’m sure it would have further enriched my understanding of the Grisha magic and their history, but even without having read it, I still felt like I completely understood the magic and why it would be such a valuable weapon if it could be amplified and harnessed. Imagine practically indestructible armies of Grisha fighting on your behalf. You’d be unstoppable. Action, Action, Action! As I’m sure you can imagine just based on the details of their mission, Six of Crows is truly action-packed. There are endless twists and turns, obstacles that need to be overcome, enemies that need to be taken out, plans that fall apart and then need to be improvised. Although the novel starts out at a fairly slow pace as we are meeting each character and establishing the world of Ketterdam, once Kaz and his gang get started on their missions, it’s like jumping on a thrill ride that doesn’t stop until the final page. DISLIKES I can’t really say this is a dislike of the book, but it did take me about a hundred pages or so to really become invested in the characters and get sucked into the story. Again, I’m chalking up my slow start to needing extra time to understand the Grisha magic and how it worked because I didn’t read the Grisha trilogy first. Once I did get sucked in, however, there was no stopping me. It probably took me 3 or 4 days to get to page 100, but then I inhaled the last 300 or so pages in another day and a half. I guess my advice would if you are struggling to get into it, stick with it until they actually get started with the planning of their mission. It might be a slow build in the beginning, but it’s a wild ride from that point to the very end. FINAL THOUGHTS I truly loved pretty much everything about Six of Crows, hence why I’m kicking myself for having waited so long to read it. Up until now, Victoria Schwab’s Shades of Magic series has been, hands down, my favorite YA fantasy series. I have to say though, Six of Crows is seriously giving it a run for its money. RATING: 4.5 STARS

This is going to be a very long review. I’m sorry ahead of time, but I knew it wouldn’t be a short review after I finished the book. Lots needed to be typed, but I promise no spoilers. Six of Crows is set in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, but this time readers will get to follow six different characters on a mission to pull off a very dangerous heist together. This book will pull you in different directions because all six characters get to tell the story from their point of view before, during, and after the heist. It’s crazy how Leigh Bardugo managed to keep up with all six points of view while building the storyline to this new epic adventure in the Grishaverse. Storyline/My Thoughts: First, if you read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, then I will let you know now that Six of Crows doesn’t take place simultaneously as the trilogy. It’s set further in the years after the war has happened. Unfortunately, the Grisha are still treated horribly, and most are hidden or at Ravka helping the King rebuild, but this book is not focusing on that storyline. Instead, it’s focusing on six different characters, which each have a different personality and background. They are all supposed to be in their teens but come off as maturer in age. If you lived the way they did, then you would be much wiser in years to deal with the issues they have had to succumb. Readers will get to read some of their backstories when they tell their points of view in Six of Crows. (It’s amazing how authors can keep up with everything. I can’t even remember yesterday sometimes due to memory issues.) I’m going to try to break down what I liked about each character without going overboard. I loved how Leigh Bardugo wrote each character differently. This is one reason why I was interested in the book. Kaz Brekker has a heartbreaking back story, but he has managed to fight through everything thrown at him. He has a disability that requires him to have a cane, but he’s stronger than ever. He’s one scary character, even to his team, because he plans things that will put himself and everyone at risk. I enjoyed his character, especially after finding out what happened to him. He’s on a mission for revenge for what happened to him, and he will do anything to get that revenge. One thing that drove me crazy about him is his feelings for a particular character that he would rather deny than tell the truth. Just tell her!!!! Inej Ghafa is by far my favorite character of the six. She’s been through a lot too, and Kaz saved her from the life she had at the Menagerie. She became known as the Wraith since she’s able to sneak up on people. She’s a fighter. She puts Kaz in his place a couple of times, and only she can do it to him. I could go on and on about her character. I loved getting to read her point of view. Jesper Fahey has a secret that he’s unwilling to share with anyone on the team until he has to on the heist. He has a gambling issue, but he’s an excellent sharpshooter. I loved how even he questioned Kaz, but he also became friendly with another person on the heist. Nina Zenit is a Grisha Heartrender who uses her magic to survive the slums. Her abilities include controlling someone’s breathing, heart, and cells in their bodies. She’s one Grisha you don’t want to mess with, and in this book, she ends up putting herself at risk for everyone else to survive. Matthias Helva is a former druskelle and a Fjerdan witch hunter. Both Nina and he are dangerous together because he can’t stand what she is, and Nina is trying to make it right by Matthias. They have a complicated past and relationship that could put the others at risk. Matthias is one person you either could trust or not, and there were times I didn’t feel I could trust him with the group during the heist. Wylan Van Eck is someone that Kaz brings to the crew for leverage since the person who requested Kaz’s help happens to be Wylan’s father. Wylan, though, has his own tricks up his sleeve, and I hope I get to know him more in the next book. He fit right into the crew during the heist. All six are on a dangerous heist to break out a scientist from an impenetrable prison and put themselves at risk of being put in jail or, worst, being killed. (It’s all Kaz’s fault, but it was a deal that no one could turn down.) The heist reminded me of the movie Ocean’s Eleven, but much more risk to it, and instead of stealing money and gold, they have to steal a person. This person is someone everyone wants for themselves since they have created something that will change the odds. The thing that drove me bonkers about this book was how slow it started for me. It took me a while to gain my interest in the story. I’m used to reading multiple POVs, so that was not an issue. It was the issue of getting to the heist, going through everything, and then how it ended. It took a while to get through it all. I also was bothered by how Kaz did not get the revenge he wanted in this book. He had a chance but didn’t take it. He deserves revenge for what happened to him. He also didn’t share his feelings with a specific character that he should have in this book. I hope he starts sharing them in the next book. I know Kaz will be out for revenge even further in the next book, but for something else entirely. Overall, this book receives four stars from me. I think if the book would’ve grasped me from the beginning and not been slow to start, then I would have given it five stars. There was a lot to take in the beginning. Leigh Bardugo is a master at storytelling, though, and I can’t wait to see the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows books be brought to life in the Netflix series. I already love the actors/actresses they chose to play the book characters. Now I need to make time to read the Crooked Kingdom because this book left me with a cliffhanger. Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Six of Crows Duology. It’s also part of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse. (If you read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, then you will read about certain characters in this book from the current characters. There will be a moment of clarity of who Nina is and where she came from, and why she ended up with the crew. I don’t think you have to read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy to read this book, but I feel readers will miss out on some connections between the books.) Cliffhanger: Yes. Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of YA Fantasy involving a dangerous heist with six different characters, you will enjoy this book. I also would recommend the audiobook if you enjoy listening to books. The narrators were fantastic at having the characters come to life when I listened to the book instead of reading it.

This book is magic. Such a fantastic story with fantastic characters. This book made me feel. I am going to attempt to convey why I love it so much but just know the review will not do it justice! The story is set in Ketterdam, which is in the same world as the Grisha trilogy. I actually wasn’t aware that this story is set in the same world so I am happy I at least read Shadow and Bone before picking this one up. Shadow and Bone was so-so for me and the world-building was average. I know we are in the same world in Six of Crows, but it is so much better! Ketterdam is a hub for international trade and is also filled with crime and various gangs. Kaz Brekker leads the Dregs, one of the most notorious gangs in Ketterdam and Kaz himself is a well-known thief and criminal. When Kaz is offered a job, an impossible job of breaking into the Ice Court, he gathers his crew and they set off on their mission. While the action is undoubtedly exciting, the characters in the crew are really what makes this book special. Told through alternating points of view and through a series of flashbacks, we intimately get to know each character and how they came to be part of Kaz’s crew. Kaz is such a complex character. He initially seems like he is only an uncaring and ruthless criminal. He wears his signature black leather gloves and is also known as Dirtyhands. The more I learned about Kaz’s past and his motivations for his actions, the more I loved him. He is both broken and hardened, yet he still has a few softer moments. “There was no part of him that was not broken, that had healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.” Page 401 Inej, also known as the Wraith, is Kaz’s spy. She has learned to move silently and gather information from anyone. She learned to fight and kill to protect herself. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her relationship develop with Kaz, she is loyal to him but doesn’t quite understand him. Inej was one of my favorites- this girl is so tough! Jesper, the sharpshooter. Jesper provides some much-needed comedic relief throughout some of the more tense scenes. Jesper thrives on adrenaline and doesn’t feel quite right unless he is risking his life, or on the gambling tables. He also often seems to question his role on the team. I absolutely loved Jesper and Wylan’s interactions, they had some of my favorite dialogue in the book. Jesper always had a way of making me laugh in some of the more serious situations. “He made himself refocus on Inej’s feet. “Sants,” he said. Inej grimaced. “That bad?” “No, you just have really ugly feet.” Page 324 Nina is a powerful Heartrender and Grisha soldier and she carries this fact with pride. She has an interesting relationship with Matthias, who hunts Grisha and has grown up hating people like her. Nina is not necessarily as skilled in hand-to-hand comment, but she helps the crew with her Grisha abilities as well as her skill at blending in and speaking multiple languages. I really grew to love Nina. Matthias is Fjerdan and a druskelle or “witch-hunter.” Matthias is loyal to his country and knowing Nina is the only thing that has made him question his views and way of life. He joins Kaz’s crew, but makes it clear where his loyalties lie early on. I loved watching Matthias’ internal struggle with his loyalty to his kingdom, his feelings for Nina and his grudging admiration for the group he was essentially forced to work with. Wylan is the demolition guy and relatively new to the crime world and the most inexperienced of the crew. While he initially comes across as meek and quiet, we soon learn that Wylan is brave, loyal and charmingly adorable. While we didn’t have any chapters from his point of view, I really started to care for him! He also seemed pleasantly surprised whenever his demos went right, which was hilarious. “Gunfire sounded from above. Apparently, Wylan had found the controls. “For Saints’ sake,” Jesper said to Inej. “Help him aim!” Page 413 All of these characters are so rich and complex. Not only did I care for each of them, I loved watching the relationships develop between them (not necessarily romantic, although there was a little romance!). Jesper and Inej had some sweet moments as friends. Nina and Matthias have many tense yet passionate moments. I even enjoyed the moments with Kaz and Matthias as the two men realize they understand each other better than they thought. It is so rare for me to read a book where I care about this many characters so deeply. Six of them! I also love that this book has male narrators! Granted, it has alternating point of views so the entire book is not a male narrator but many of the chapters are told through Kaz, Jesper or Matthias’ voice. We need more male narrators in YA books! Off the top of my head I can only think of a few other YA books that have male narrators- An Ember in the Ashes and most books by John Green. I also thought of Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, The Maze Runner by James Dashner and Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins but these are arguably middle-grade books. It was refreshing to have a male POV. This was such an exciting, refreshing read. Bardugo creates such a beautiful, intricate world that I was completely immersed in it until I finished the book. While it doesn’t end on a giant cliffhanger, I definitely need to know what happens to my beloved crew!

This book was described as Game of Thrones meets Ocean's Eleven in the blurb. It's kind of accurate in that the book is essentially a heist story in a fantasy setting. However it was definitely much more simplistic than the Game of Thrones series and also a YA novel. It definitely had it's fair share of violence though. Overall I enjoyed this book - I liked the world-building that Leigh Bardugo did and the magic had clear rules and limitations, which is a plus. The characters were all pretty memorable and distinct, especially the main character Kaz. There wasn't a super clear villain, but more like a system that the characters were fighting against. I thought the dialogue was good and the pacing/plot was pretty steady, although I never really got fully invested in the overall story. The narrative switched between different characters every chapter, and also alternated between current story events and flashbacks. Despite all the jumping around, the story was easy to follow and none of the character stories were boring. I did think it was weird that all of the main characters were 15-17 years old. I knew this was YA going in, but the characters' ages didn't really fit with their mannerisms and backstories. They hardly ever acted or spoke like teenagers, and a lot of them had backstories that involved prison sentences, gambling addiction, slavery, training as a soldier, tragic romances, etc. It just seemed like it would make more sense for the characters to be a little bit older, and I'm not sure what having them be so young added to the story besides making the book more appealing to teenagers? The other thing I really didn't like was that the book ended extremely abruptly. I knew this was part of a series, but it felt like there was absolutely no conclusion to the story. I turned the page after the end of a chapter and that was it! There are plenty of multi-book series that still manage to have a satisfying conclusion within each individual book.