REVIEW: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

As soon as I saw “Leigh Bardugo” and “heist”, I knew I had to get my hands on this book. I am so thankful I did (and I may or may not carry it with me wherever I go now). Six of Crows is SO good. Trust me, you’ll want to pick this one up.

From the publisher:

Game of Thrones meets Ocean’s Eleven in this brand-new book in the world of the Grisha by New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.

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.

The story begins with this sentence:

“Joost had two problems: the moon and his mustache.”

I don’t know why, but I just love this opening sentence. The first chapter definitely made me laugh a few times, but this was me throughout most of it:

The story does start off a little slow and it was difficult for me to get into it at first, but once I did I could not put the book down.

[divider]THE CHARACTERS[/divider]

Okay, I am only going to talk about two of the characters and I’m not going to go into much detail about them because of…

…and I want you guys to discover how amazing they are yourselves. It’s so hard to pick favorites because I love them all equally!

Kaz

“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste your time doing every monstrous thing.”

I DON’T THINK YOU’RE A MONSTER! Well, maybe a little… but I still love you!! In all seriousness though, Kaz is such a well developed character. Yes, he’s dark and he can be cruel but what happened in his past is to blame. I love it when he outsmarts other characters!

Inej

“She was the Wraith — the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.”

This girl is awesome. I love how tough she is and I kinda wish I had the ability to sneak around like she does.

The character depth in this book was phenomenal. Each chapter we got of a certain character went deeper into their past, telling us what happened that made them the way they are now. Even though we got to know them well, we still aren’t sure if one was going to betray another or not. At certain points, I felt there was great camaraderie between the six of them. Here are two quotes I love:

“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.”

“We enter from the north as planned,” Kaz said.”

“Jesper knocked 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.”

Oh and we definitely can’t forget the romance! I have about three ships going on right now, and one of which causes me a bit of heartache. The romance did not take over the story and fits perfectly in the background.

[divider]THE PLOT[/divider]

I have actually never read a heist story before, so this was a refreshing change for me. I love the intensity, it really will keep you on the edge of your seat. I was constantly worried for the characters and whether or not this crazy plan would succeed. The pacing was just right. It wasn’t too fast or too slow — which I was extremely happy with. I am not sure what else to say without spoiling anything, so I’ll just leave it at that.

[divider]THE WORLD[/divider]

Six of Crows takes place in the same world as the Grisha Trilogy. However, you do not need to read that series before this book since it is a completely different storyline. There are mentions of a few characters from the Grisha Trilogy, though. I absolutely loved exploring more of the world Leigh Bardugo made! Everything was so perfectly well described. The world-building was so fantastic that it all felt so real to me, that I was actually there with the characters.

[divider]FINAL THOUGHTS[/divider]

Overall, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Even though it was a tiny bit hard to get into, it’s just a minor thing and in no way lessens my love for Six of Crows. I am so excited for everyone to read this!

AND THAT ENDING THOUGH. It had me like:

and

Anyway, Six of Crows comes out September 29th. Mark it on your calendar and BE SURE TO BUY THE BOOK OR I WILL SEND THE DREGS AFTER YOU. You don’t want that to happen, believe me.