Six of Crows Review

Title: Six of Crows

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Release Date: September 19th 2015

Number of Pages: 465

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads Synopsis
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
Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

As many of you may know I recently read The Shadow and Bone Trilogy for the first time and I didn’t love it the way so many people do and so I was really apprehensive going into Six of crows and to be honest I almost didn’t bother with it. But am I glad that I did as this book was phenomenal and to everyone out there how haven’t picked this up due to not loving Shadow and Bone I urge you to give it a shot as it is a million times more enjoyable.

First of all you can really see how Leigh Bardugo has grown as a writer from Shadow and Bone to this series as the plot is so much more intriguing, the world building more intricate and the characters so much more fleshed out and I fell in loved everyone single of them.

First off we have Kaz a.k.a Dirtyhands, who is probably the most morally grey YA characters I have ever read. He is a notorious thief and always at least 15 steps ahead of everyone else around him. When an opportunity to lead a heist, that will lead him to become very rich and finally get his revenge, falls into his lap Kaz jumps at the chance regardless of the danger and the slim change of survival but in order to pull it off he must create a team with not only the skills needed to pull it off but also one with those not afraid to take risks and willing to put their lives in fates hands.

First on the team is Inej a.k.a the wraith, she is an extremely talented spy who is able to move around without being seen and get into places most people can’t she also happens to be someone that Kaz cares about more than he would like to admit even to himself. Inej is a sweetheart but also completely kickass and I love her.

Next we have Jesper, who is extremely gifted with a gun or two and is willing to take up a wager no matter how small the odds.

Then we have Wylan, who is committed to distancing himself from the privileged life he grew up in.

Next is Nina who is a Grisha and the best character in this book, I love her with everything in me she eludes confidence and sass and will do anything to write the wrong she committed a year ago.

Lastly is Matthias, a convict who will do anything to be free of his false convictions and return home a free man, even if it means committing treason first.

All of these characters are morally grey, have their own reasons for joining Kaz and are amazing together and I would literally read a thousand page book of them just having dinner together as their banter is first class.

You definitely don’t have to have read Shadow and Bone before picking this one up but i am glad that I did as it’s fun to pick up on all the little easter eggs scattered throughout this book.

Overall, I completely fell in love with this book and gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Now I am going to talk about this book in a more spoilery manner so if you haven’t read the series yet then leave now, you have been warned.

First off I was not expecting Kaz to be just so dark as he is, I knew going in he was a very morally grey character but I hadn’t realised just how far he was willing to go. He also reminds me a lot of Locke Lamora from the Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch.

I love Inej so much and that Cliff-hanger ended me, I want her to get her ship and go fight slavers and show the world she ain’t to be messed with so bad and I want her to be reunited with her family. I also may have slightly punched the air when she told Kaz that she would have him without armour or not at all, as much as I would love them together she totally deserves all of him an not just the face he puts on for others.

Jesper is like an excitable puppy at times and this might just be the mental health nurse in me but he comes across as some who has ADHD. Also I had no idea that he was bi and I may have squealed a little when he told Wylan “not just girls”. And then we have Wylan who is just the sweetest and I want to punch Van Eck so bad how dare he treat him like that Wylan deserves so much better.

Nina Zenik is my bisexual icon and I am waiting patiently for on the page recognition of that. She is basically everything I want to be and we need more badass heroines like her. I love that Leigh was able to showcase that just because she is over weight doesn’t mean she can’t be confident, sexy AF or kickass just like any other heroine. And her and Matthias are everything I ship them so hard. I tried really hard not to fall for them as thanks to the internet I was spoiled about Matthias’s death in Crooked Kingdom and so told myself again and again not to get too attached, but it didn’t work as every time they interacted I just feel more and more in love and now I just have to live with the fact that Crooked Kingdom is going to destroy me.