Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo | Book Review

The knowledge that they might never see each other again, that some of them–maybe all of them–might not survive this night hung heavy in the air. A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse.

Title: Six of Crows
Series: Six of Crows, #1
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: Sept. 29, 2015
Edition: hardcover
Pages: 465
My Rating: 5 / 5
Goodreads page

ATTENTION: This review is spoiler-free.

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 are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

(This synopsis is from Goodreads.)

Thoughts

Six of Crows takes place in the same world as The Grisha trilogy. I read Shadow and Bone (the first book in that series) a while back, and it was good, but it wasn’t enough to make me want to read the rest of the trilogy.

HOWEVER!

Six of Crows is so much BETTER.

The story is told by each member of the Dregs gang that were in the heist. Knowing the thoughts and feelings of each character enhanced the whole story.

Kaz is a freaking genius.  His plans are basically fool-proof. Whatever situation he’s in, he can get himself out alive. The way is handles certain situations reminds me of what Aelin did in Queen of Shadows (no spoilers, I promise).

I didn’t like Matthias in the beginning. He was so unforgiving and resentful against Nina that I wanted to smack that boy in the face. Thank goodness for character development.

As for the heist itself. Even though the characters kept on saying that it was impossible to pull off, I didn’t believe it until they actually got to the place where the heist was to be held.

And that ending! That ending was… just… GAH! It was good.

Leigh Bardugo: 1
My heart: 0

Characters

Kaz “Dirtyhands” Brekker 

As infuriating as he would be if he was a real person. Kaz is my favorite character. He has a lot of baggage (as many protagonists in YA fantasy novels often do), and he hides that from everyone. Heck, he hides a lot of information from his gang all the time. Despite the odds, he always succeeds, one way or another. Kaz reminds me a little bit of Sherlock. There’s just something about him that’s a little off. He’s a slightly mad genius.

Inej “the Wraith” Ghafa

Inej is the type of person you would not want to get on the bad side of. But, if she’s a good person if she likes you. If I could compare her to one thing, it would be a shadow. She appears and disappears silently, and follows people like a shadow. In all honesty, though, she’s still a pretty cool person. Despite her ruthless reputation, she seems like a person you could meet on a Sunday morning for coffee and chat.

Jesper Fahey

He’s pretty cool, I guess. Jesper, the sharpshooter of the Dregs gang, is the glue of the group. He’s what keeps everyone and everything from falling apart.

Wylan Van Eck

He’s adorable in the sense that he’s like a puppy (even though he’s a demolitions expert).

Matthias Helvar

He has a lot of trust issues and he needs to stop being stuck in the past.

Nina Zenik

Matthias might hate her in the beginning, but Nina sacrifices a lot in order to right her wrongs and protect those she loves. Plus, she took good care of everyone, and you can’t hate her for that.

Heleen Van Houden

She’s the kind of person where I want to reach into the story and smack her in the face. That’s how much I hated her.

Conclusion

THIS BOOK WAS SO FREAKING GOOD AND IT DESERVES A 5 / 5 BBC SHERLOCK HEADS NO DOUBT!

Ok I’m done yelling.

Until next time….