Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows
Six of Crows #1
Leigh Bardugo
YA Fantasy
Paperback, 465 pages
29 September 2015 by Henry Holt

Goodreads Ratings : 4.41/5
My Rating : 4/5

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.

“Six people, but a thousand ways this insane plan could go wrong.” 

If you’ve been on social media, you probably have heard of Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo’s new series. Which, you probably have seen the book cover too. ISNT IT PRETTY AND GLORIOUS?!!!! I wish I have the hardback edition where the page spine is painted black. Such beauty.

Six of Crows tells the story of six amazing characters who are put together for an almost impossible heist mission with great rewards awaiting them. We have Kaz Brekker, Inej, Matthias, Nina, Jesper and Wylan to gush over but more on that later. This story takes place in the same world as Bardugo’s previous trilogy; The Grisha Trilogy—but they have totally different perspectives altogether. This is my first time reading Bardugo’s work so I need a bit of getting used to the Grisha world but the author herself totally helps by explaining the world building here and there within the pages of the book.

Okay moving on to what I like about Six of Crows :

1) THE CHARACTERS. Leigh Bardugo totally excels in writing diverse characters. THEY ARE ALL AMAZING WITH A BIG FAT CAPITAL A. Each one of them is very distinctive with very different personalities from each other, yet still amazing in their own way. If there is one thing to say about Six of Crows, its definitely this. 

Kaz Bekker is ruthless, heartless, a genius criminal prodigy and a bit of an asshole here and there but still loveable all in the same time. Inej is a woman of colour who is brave and passionate. Nina is one kickass character for me. She’s fierce, full of compassion, bold and MY FAV WOMAN CHARACTER HERE. Matthias is like this one huge teddy bear (hes not fat, if that’s what u thinking lol) who tries to act all fierce BUT SO ROMANTIC INSIDEEEEEEEEE. /dies/ Jesper appears to be funny but he has this depth in him that I like. And then we have this cute clueless Wylan.

2) THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES. They are all so different yet the dynamic they have when they are together is palpable. JUST LOOK AT THIS.

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.
"You're all horrible," said Matthias.”

And this too!!!!!!!!! I actually laughed lol.

"Jesper knocking 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 quirked. "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.” 

3) THE SHIPS. THIS BOOK IS A SHIPPER’S PARADISE. I really love how the romance element in Six of Crows isn’t overly done like some other books. I mean, its there but not that much??? Just enough gestures and thoughts that wont make you cringe. They were all briefly written that made you yearn for more and more. AND THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE YEEHAAAAA!!!! (I hate that stuff)

We have Kaz & Inej with all their vulnerabilities. Matthias & Nina WHOSE RELATIONSHIP SCREAMS ANGST AND HATRED AND PASSION AND SEXUAL FRUSTRATION AND MORE OMG GIVE ME MORE OF THEM GIVE MEEEEEEEEE. And then we have my favourite couple of all, Wylan & Jesper because FLUFFINESS AND GAY AND CUTE AND FLIRTY AND DHGCUKWCUWDCGEWUFFBWEUHWEBUWE goodbye

“I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.” 

“It's not natural for women to fight."

"It's not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall, and yet there you stand.” 

 “Wylan blushed deeper, and Jesper shook his head. “Play piano, too?” “Flute,” said Wylan defensively.
 “Perfect.”

4) THE ACTION. The tricks and actions in this book is intense and genius. There is always something to expect from Kaz and he always delivers. At some point of this book I shrieked because of the sudden gore this book has. It's almost like Game of Thrones.

Naturally, I have some issues with this book too.

1) IT HAS A PAINFULLY SLOW START. I almost give up, I swear. Its not until 100 pages or so that the plot starts to pick up. But once youre sucked in, youre sucked in.

2) NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS ACT LIKE THEIR OWN AGE. I could’ve sworn that at some points, I had a doubt on Kaz’s real age. He thinks like how a 28 years old leader/mastermind would think, for God’s sake. I mean, if you want your characters to be 17, make them at least think like 17 years olds. They are all so painfully mature that its hard to imagine them as teenagers. I had to readjust my imagination lol.

All in all, Leigh Bardugo can totally write. If I haven’t yet convinced you to pick Six of Crows up, I’ll say it again. READ. IT. I don’t care when you are going to read this book, but you need to read this book at some point of your life. Just read it, and then we’ll talk. The sequel (Crooked Kingdom) will be released on 22^nd September 2016.

My SoC reaction tweets can be found at #thesurayareadsSoC thread in Twitter 

“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”- Kaz Bekker, Six of Crows