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4.8 ★★★★★
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★★★★★ 4
4-stars: 'Six of Crows' by Leigh Bardugo
Format: Hardcover, Format: Hardcover
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.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2021
★★★★★ 5
This may just be my new favorite YA Fantasy series!
Format: Hardcover
*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
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Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2017
★★★★★ 3
Adult Fiction disguised as YA
Format: Kindle
When you first read the blurb and or the initial chapters of Crows, you’d think this was an adult fantasy book. The book even reads like adult fantasy, until you discover it’s anything but.
I think the biggest plot twist to this is in the way the author matter-of-factly tells you the exact age of her characters and its always coupled after explaining that characters extraordinary background.
Somehow it’s possible to be a seasoned assassin, rogue or racketeer (or all three, in that order) at just 13-17 years old.
Somehow you can live the life of a jaded 50-year-old at the ripe ol’ age of 12.
Somehow all the adults are either too rich, too dense or too dead (or all three, in that order) to operate a lucrative underground business, but kids are exceptionably capable.
Somehow it’s possible to be a father-figure to people the same age as you.
I’m specifically talking about Kaz here. He’s like that hardnose uncle who grunts all the time and tells you only what he wants you to hear. I loled each time he scolded a member of his crew.
Initially (before I knew the ages of these people) I thought Kaz & Inej’s relationship was more a teacher/mentor relationship, but then it morphed into this awkward romance where Kaz has less personality than a rubber ducky and Inej a lukewarm glass of water. To be fair, Inej got better as the story progressed, becoming the only one I really liked.
To the author’s credit, she does make a point to explain Numbuh One—I mean, Kaz’s abnormal cynical mannerism. But then the other characters (who are younger btw) act similarly. What’s their excuse? It was jarring to get behind, but what aided me through was that I just pictured everyone looking like the main cast from Kids Next Door and it helped tremendously!
Matthidus and Nina are virtually the same character. Their chapters were a drag on the narrative due to the fact that these two NEVER STFU about what they did to one another. It’s the “woe, it’s me” amped up to a thousand.
Jesper and Wylan were cool… that’s all I have to say about them.
Never at one point did I have a liking to any of the characters (besides Inej), neither did I feel they were ever in any real danger. Kaz is a walking-talking dues ex machina. The characters find themselves in a bind and he already has the solution to their problems. He’s like Superman morphed with Batman while the other characters are just your bog standard Metropolis denizens who constantly need saving or guidance.
In a nutshell, he’s a Mary Sue.
I found the pacing bogged down to the point that it was hard to keep my eyes open while reading. Not because it’s badly written but because the author constantly reverts back to the characters’ backstory over and over again. There would be a needless flashback in the middle of a fight scene. Characters near death randomly float off to dream land while getting the crap beat out of them. It was jarring.
Closing remarks
All-in-All, Crows is a unique book. I can’t really talk about the plot without spoiling anything, but it’s innovative and engaging. I can say the book is worth your time if you can circumvent the kids playing grownup, then you should enjoy it.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2019
★★★★★ 5
No Mourners..
Format: Hardcover
‘No mourners…’
‘…no funerals.’
Among them, it passed for good luck. ”
This quote is a perfect description of the tone set throughout this entire novel. A hopelessness so ingrained in a group of people that their phrase for good luck is hinged around the idea of no one mourning or honoring their deaths.
Having read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, I was familiar with the Grisha universe prior to reading this novel. If you’re wondering which you should read first, I suggest reading the trilogy prior to the duology — it will get you a lot of historical context that lays the foundation for the problems, war and ultimate state of the world this book is set it. I will say, I enjoyed the Grisha trilogy but found myself frustrated with the direction the story ended up going. Leigh Bardugo is a phenomenal writer but it felt like the end of that trilogy took the easy way out — but that review is for a different day.
Six of crows shows Bardugo’s redemption in making the difficult but correct plot choices, in my opinion. This entire book is thrilling because the reader (presumably having read her previous Grisha trilogy) goes into the story assuming they will have some idea of where the story will go, having explored this world before. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Six of crows follows the dark and dangerous mob-lifestyles in the Barrel of Ketterdam, far away from the Golden Palace of Prince Nikolai and the worshiped Sankta Alina. Bardugo does not shy away from the dark and gruesome reality of the mob lifestyle, she embraces it. Readers are shown vivid descriptions of call-girls, gambling rings, mistakes punishable by death and ruthless leaders capable of lethality at any second. Despite such a horrific environment, Bardugo’s character development leaves the readers connecting, loving and rooting for characters with truly horrible qualities.
One thing I appreciated was the pacing of this story – you’re shown an enticing and mysterious scene right off the bat, completely immersing you into this story as you crave to find out more behind what happened. Immediately, you’re pulled away and shown the humble beginnings of Kas Brekker and the Dregs from the Crow Club, learning about their personalities, roles, and motives for the dangerous job that takes up most of the story. Readers learn details slowly — not so slow that they’re bored — but slow enough that they’re kept hooked to the plot, hoping the next page turn will provide the answer they need. Just when you might become a bit bored by the plot, a twist or exciting, unexpected wrench gets thrown into the mix bringing you back in.
As you go along in the story, you’re introduced to more details about each member of the Dregs, their pasts that led them to this journey they take together, and the secrets that shape their relationships. These details are done brilliantly, as readers are able to see these memories and experiences from each characters point of view. This brings a human quality to the characters and allows readers to empathize with their situations, thus creating a bond between reader and character that allows them to continue to love and support the Dregs despite the horrible things they do to each other and others throughout the journey. You’re rooting for them to get the endings they want and deserve and hoping they won’t choose to lie, cheat, kill and steal in order to get there, but ultimately accept that that is just who they are.
The only time this aspect of the characters was frustrating was at the end of the book. The relationship between Kaz and Inej is tantalizingly frustrating throughout the story, but the end of the book is where we really see Kaz’s nature and I found myself so frustrated that he couldn’t be better for her and that because of him, Inej gets placed in the worst case scenario. I’m hoping that he redeems himself in the second installment.
Overall — there’s no denying that Leigh Bardugo has talent and if you loved the first trilogy, I guarantee you’ll love this one even more. If you had mixed feelings on the first Grisha trilogy, I urge you to give this duology a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Stay tuned for the review around book two!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2017
★★★★★ 4
Great read with an interesting plot
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.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2019
