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 … 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.
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If Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind got together and decided to write a heist story, this would be the template they followed.
I did not want it to end, and I want more. Those are the best qualities of a series opener that I can recommend.
M
I enjoyed the story and the heist, but there were too many POVs in first person for met o give it 5/5 stars. So, 4/5 stars it is!
I enjoyed the first three books, but as many people have said before me, this is where the Grishaverse series really picks up. You can easily start reading this book first without any knowledge of the world because it starts in a new location with new characters, about two years after the events of the original trilogy. It’s an amazing and exciting ride from beginning to end.
Just a note: Like the Shadow and Bones trilogy, this book was long and didn’t feel quite YA to me. Not all of the characters seemed that young and they were dealing with some pretty serious topics. In particular, the references to underage sex trafficking are frequent and a little hard to stomach, even though there is nothing explicitly described.
But I loved the characters and their found family dynamic. Since I’ve seen the TV series now, I can really appreciate how great the casting is for them. I already loved Kaz, Jesper, and Inej from the show (and I love them even more now that I know more about them). I didn’t like Nina before but she warmed up to me in the book, but I hated Matthias even more. I don’t understand or like his relationship with Nina. She can do so much better than him.
I liked the hint of queer representation with Jesper and Wylan, but I want more. It was a little weird that there are six main characters (even in the title!) but Wylan doesn’t get any scenes from his POV. He felt like a sixth wheel. (You know what I mean.) There was more screen time dedicated to Nina/Matthias and Kaz/Inej.
The cliffhanger ending was a shocker so I will definitely read the next book soon. Pekka Rollins better get what’s coming to him!
I can see why this is more popular than the original series because of the action, the diverse characters, and the extra humor. Lots of fun!
LGBT+ representation: two of the main characters are queer, there’s a hint of queer romance.
There’s a reason why this story has caught on so widely! Each character is worth a tale all their own. Cas is a favourite!
Leigh Bardugo is the queen of world-building. The world building in this duet blew me away!
This is, in my mind, one of the greatest books in the world. It is the first in its duology, and had me captivated on every page. It’s a brilliant heist story with a dark fantasy spin, complex and intricate characters, intriguing plotlines, and a phenomenal writing style. It contains representation for women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, victims of sexual assault, people with PTSD, and much, much more. You will fall in love with every character, location, and language in this hugely diverse and intricately formed world, crafted by Leigh Bardugo. Six of Crows is, to put it simply, a masterpiece.
Gangs of New York and Oceans 11 meets fantasy. This was a fun read with a cast of lively characters. I loved the unexpected plot twists. Highly recommend!
An exciting, action pact fantastical adventure that I could not put down! A young adult read that follows several different people as they set of on an impossible mission, each for their own reasons and by the end of it they will hopefully all come out alive!
5 STARS EASILY
booktok hyped this up so much i didn’t even know what to expect going into it but i was actually shocked at how much i liked it. i think this actually might be my favorite read so far this year. THE CHARACTERS?? so good. the heist plot was also just so well done and addicting. KAZ AND INEJ?? i didn’t expect anything from them in this book because i know they’re like a major slow burn but HELLO?? they had so many good scenes but their ending was so sick will be starting crooked kingdom asap. i just can’t believe this is the same author who wrote the shadow and bone books.. respectfully they were a complete train wreck and i barely made it through them (nikolai kept me going) but THIS BOOK?? a piece of art actually.
If you’ve read my Shadow and Bone reviews, you’ll know that wasn’t a big fan of that trilogy. Still, I decided to read the next series, a duology from the same universe. I just finished the first book in the duology, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (published by ORION Children’s books), and let me say it greatly surpasses the writing of Shadow and Bone.
In fact, I think Six of Crows is officially my latest five star read. And I don’t give five stars out too often.
Kaz Brekker is the head of the Dregs, an organized gang in slum known as the Barrel. He soon finds himself an opportunity to make millions of kruge by pulling off a dangerous heist: stealing a scientist from a Fjordan prison. In order to pull it off, Kaz recruits the perfect crew: a gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost grisha, and a Suli girl. Together these six crows attempt to pull of the impossible.
Usually, I’m not too into heist stories but this book was amazing. The story shifted between five points of views but because it was between chapters that were clearly marked, I didn’t find it confusing and actually appreciated the chance to get to know each person’s story and background. There was so much character depth! Each character had their own gifts, beliefs, and backstory, as well as flaws that caused disaster throughout the novel. The dynamic was perfect. There was even perfect flirting without the break where the characters admit they like each other! I’m hoping that comes in the next book but I’m a sucker for a good slow burn.
My favorite character is Nina. She is a powerful heartrender but she’s also sassy and somewhat soft for a criminal. She is also portrayed as a bigger girl, probably plus-size, and there isn’t a lot of representation of that in YA fantasy novels.
Speaking of representation, Kaz has a limp as well as a dark past and a knack for escaping. He is brooding and has anxiety about people and I love this very real depiction of PTSD, disabilities, and the way greed and revenge can motivate people. Kaz kind of reminds me of Tommy Shelby from the show Peaky Blinders.
Jesper is probably my second favorite character. I can’t necessarily relate to him as he is always on the go, antsy, needing to gamble and shoot. But he’s funny and I love the dynamic he has with Wylan.
Wylan is the one that belongs the least in the group. He has never hurt another person before. He’s kind of nerdy and young, and he tries desperately to fit in. It’s actually really cute and I want to protect him.
Next is Inej, known as the Wraith. She is a faithful criminal. She prays to her saints and sticks up for people but she also sneaks around like a spider, killing if she has to.
Finally, there is Matthias. I have mixed feelings about Matthias. He is the epitome of oppressive religion. The person that uses faith to justify killing an entire race of people. And yet, we see him grow throughout the book. I’m not ready to forgive him, but I don’t quite hate him.
So we have our six crows and their amazing dynamic, featuring love, friendship, betrayal, religion, and more. In fact, I don’t even know if I have any notes that I didn’t like in this book, besides it ending on a huge cliffhanger! All I have to say is, even if you didn’t like Shadow and Bone, go read Six of Crows because it is amazing.
I just want to shout all my selected traits for this book as my reason for liking it, just imagine I’m yell/chanting “WONDERFUL CHARACTERS!!” for about a full hour to grasp my feelings around this book. It was just so good and I can’t believe it lived up to all its hype. I am so so excited for the next book and to finally start watching the Netflix series!
OMG I just finished this book and loved it. The characters were wonderful and so were there backstorys. I recommend this book for anyone who like dystopian/fantast type books.
I read the Shadow and Bone trilogy before reading this book. It was a little hard to get into, a bit confusing – discovered that was because the characters in the very beginning are intended to set the stage, not be active characters in the story. Once I got past that, the story was well done and kept me turning pages whenever I could get a few minutes to read. While it is in the same “universe” as the trilogy, it really had very little to do with it, and the people and places from the other books were mentioned but not given much background/description (so you probably should read the trilogy first if you want to get the most out of this book/duology). The characters of this book are inserted into the Netflix “Shadow and Bone” series, but that insertion makes no sense to me. I highly recommend reading this and the Crooked Kingdom *before* watching the Netflix series, or your view of these characters will definitely be skewed. The only “con” for this book is that it clearly leaves you hanging (I’m not sure I’d define it as a cliffhanger, but definitely makes you feel you have to read the next one to finish the story).
Loved loved loved!!!!! I love this world and I cannot get enough!! So much action, and damn do these guys get lucky, and just as equally unlucky! I loved all the scheming and planning, and the secrets being kept from each other, and I loved how each person’s talents shined without overpowering any of the other characters. So, so good!
3.5 stars. I enjoyed the adventures and being introduced to the crows and I love Nina and Matthias and their crazy relationship, I am a fan of Nikolai and his bravado a bit more. I will read Crocked Kingdom to finish the series and begin of King of Scars to see what happens to Nikolai.
Love love the Crows. The heist and the dialogue. Truly Bardugo’s best work.
Kaz has a new job in line for a whole lot of money. He just has to break into Ice Court (that has never been breached), retrieve a hostage, and come back. No biggy. 🙂 Next, he needs a crew, each with something unique to contribute, each with a past.
I love the writing style, it’s very unique and it took me a minute to get into it. I fell in love with the characters, the story, the world.
It’s one of my all-time favorite books. I also just started watching the Netflix series and want to read both series again. 🙂
Magical heist found family with a diverse crew. Everybody’s broken pieces fit together. Will be my new comfort food book with its sequel. LGBTQ+ and Disability rep.
2021 ETA: I was nervous to reread this afraid it wouldn’t hold up to the love I felt for it in my memory, but it absolutely did. The banter was just as delightful, the relationships just as compelling, the diversity (especially disability rep) just as meaningful and on point and the heist itself just as engrossing. Kaz + Inez always.
So I have conflicting feelings about this book. I loved the writing. The characters are so well developed with all their qualities and flaws, their backstories, their secrets, their loves. The world developing is pretty amazing too and there are some great surprises along the way (which in my book is always a good thing).
There were a couple things that bothered me. The ending was one of them. I know this is a duology so I’m not going to dwell on it. I know there will be a resolution for it in the next book.
The first chapter really bugged me. I get it that the author is setting up the stage for us to understand what the drug did to the Grisha but when pretty much all of those characters disappear, never to be mentioned again, I had to question the need for that chapter. I felt cheated because I thought the young guard, Joost and the Grisha girl he liked would be the MCs and when they vanish from the story and a whole new group of characters is introduced I felt a little confused.
I also felt at times that Kaz was way too smart, too cunning, always guessing the possibility of things happening when things were really impossible to predict. His character is great–his reason for the gloves blew my mind–but it did feel a bit too unrealistic at times (and yes, I’m aware this is a fantasy).
Another thing that bugged me was the sheer number of voice actors involved in the audiobook. To hear so many different voice interpretations for one character was just weird.
But all in all it was a great read and I will be definitely reading the next book in the duology. Great escapism.