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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One of my favorite reads in recent years! I love the ensemble cast, fantasy world, heist plot, and great lines!! Highly recommend this fun book!
The characters are so lovable and amazing. Great plot as well!
Another good fantasy-heist book. I enjoyed the unique magic and world-building. Lots of characters pulling off difficult jobs. Very “Ocean’s 11”.
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.
Kaz is a monster and a killer and generally not a good person and yet my reaction is that he must be protected at all costs. I love this disaster murder child. I’m glad I finally decided to get caught up on this series because this was great. I really love how this took place in the same world as the Shadow & Bone trilogy yet it feels very different. I also loved this rag tag group and that none of them were particularly good and were just varying shades of grey… some darker than others. I definitely enjoyed the Kaz and Inej POVs more than the others, but none of them left me disappointed. I definitely see what all the hype was about now.
I am so happy this was my first 2021 read. I read this so slowly, because I needed to savor every single word before it ended. I wanted to be there, I didn’t want to miss a single second.
The shadow and bone trilogy bored me to death, the characters almost killed me with how much they annoyed me. Tell me, how is it possible that Leigh was able to create this masterpiece after making me hate her first series with an unfair amount of strength?
The characters… The characters in this book are so dense, intense, multilayered, deep, amazingly crafted, I think I could make a list of 300 different adjectives and it wouldn’t be enough. They are all real people to me and I will fight you if you say otherwise. They exist and I love every single one of them with all my heart (except you Mathias, the only thing I love about Mathias is how much he loves Nina, I mean, who doesn’t?)
I really hope Netflix doesn’t fuck this up. I will cry real tears, I will sob. I will pull my hair out of my skull because they cannot destroy this magnificent book.
This has been added to my favorites and I will read Crooked Kingdom as attentively as possible because I don’t think I want to live in a world where Kaz doesn’t exist. Thank you very much.
I sense the worst book hangover of the century coming. Ugh, it hurts.
Just do yourself a favor and read this right now.
/5
Me? Reading another Leigh Bardugo book and loving it? Shocking…
Once again, Leigh Bardugo has shocked me with how amazing of an author she is (but at this point I shouldn’t even be surprised). I’d only heard good reviews about Six of Crows and I completely see why. I thought Shadow and Bone was good, but oh my gosh this book was even better!! I was hooked immediately and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I fell in love with the characters instantly (like hello… KAZ??) and loved watching them develop throughout the book. While only one book, Six of Crows felt as if I had read a whole series in the span of 400 pages.
While I tend to not like books with multiple POVs/ flashbacks, this book executed each character beautifully and I never bored. The banter was so well written and I loved seeing each of the character’s relationships evolve. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read Crooked Kingdom next!
I don’t care for magic or cyber/steam punk books, so I’m not really sure why I picked this one up. Glad I did! It. Was. Great. Fantastic characters and an exciting plot.
• •
: Six of Crows
: The Six of Crows Duology #1 & Grishaverse #4
: Leigh Bardugo
: 4.5/5
This was such an amazing book. The only reason I could not give it 5 stars is because I did find some parts a bit slow / the pace felt off for me and I had a hard time getting into the book again after putting it away. Aside from that, I loved this book. I loved how we switch between the characters and how we got to know all of them. Also, the flashbacks at certain moments were a really nice touch. I love Kaz, I love how you slowly get to know him and his reasons behinds certain things/actions. The plot is carefully build up and even though I saw some things coming.. there were a lot of surprises along the way. I loved how this book revolved around a heist. I always loved the Ocean’s movies and I feel like this story could have been one of them! As someone from the Netherlands I also loved the references to Amsterdam/The Netherlands in the book. Hutspot is a typical Dutch dish; Leigh Bardugo did her research very well for this one. I am very curious to see what will happen next, especially since I already love this series more than the Shadow and Bone Trilogy.
Most of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
MASTERPIECE!!!
I didn’t realize this was a series, so I was a little upset when I finished it. But the book was full of twists and turns and daring escapes! I liked that there were so many details of the heist hidden from the reader (by changing voices, but also by leaving out parts of the plan). The Grisha aspect was interesting as well! Very well-written! A little too much violence for my taste, but it was so fun!
I loved this book it’s amazing and breathtaking. The characters are well-made and soon they start to grow on you and you end up loving them all even if they’re band of misfit criminals. Great plot story, very original. Especially the characters I love how they each have there own unique thing about them. I can’t help but get sucked into this fantasy world that Leigh Bardugo made herself and built from scratch.
Different POVs yay or nay? It’s been a while since I read a book with so many change in POVs. So it took me a while to get used to it. That been said I loved it.
Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Edition: Kindle
Rating 5/5
The world #leighbardugo created is amazing. My favorite character so far is Inej or maybe Matthias, I found their backstories super interesting and their voices easy to get into.
Kaz is a tough cookie to swallow but that’s what makes me like him even more. All tough on the outside but a scared kid on the inside.
The way the author describes the scenery is beautiful you can picture everything.
All the gang is awesome and their adventure it’s epic.
I absolutely loved this book! At the end I was frustrated that it left me on a cliff hanger because I didn’t have the second book yet and I wanted to read it. Though its not the books fault. I don’t think there is another story out there that has the kind of depth and emotion that the Six Of Crows has. This book has the most wonderful characters and the balance of tragedy to victory is fantastic! The characters each have their own backstory that sucks you in making you feel more connected to them with every word you read. Please read this book I promise you, you will enjoy it.
I’m a bit embarrassed that it took me so long to read this book. I read the Grisha series a while back and really enjoyed it and just never got around to this one…until now! I’d forgotten how beautiful her worlds are. The characters were fantastic, and even though I had a big NOOOO!!! every time one character’s pov switched, I was so excited about the next one that I didn’t even care. I feel like most books I read are either good on characters OR world OR plot. This one does all three.
I love this book and i couldn’t put it down! the story is great and even greater with it’s unique characters!
I wasn’t sure I would like this book but I gave it a try anyway. It was fun and I really enjoyed the characters.
Personally I loved it . Bargudo created such an amazing world . I was so hyped for the books and they didn’t fail to amaze me . Overall it’s a great choice
This was a fun dive back into the world of the Grisha with exciting new characters and adventures.
I enjoyed these even more than the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and that’s saying something! If Ocean’s Eleven and Peaky Blinders had a baby that could do magic, the Six of Crows duology would be that baby. Brilliant vivid characters, a rip-roaring plot, fantastic world building and writing capable of making you laugh one minute and cry the next. I’d recommend these to literally anyone looking to lose themselves in another world for a bit. I will now basically read anything Leigh Bardugo writes from now until forever.