Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Banda celor șase ciori

An absolutely awesome read! After years of grad school readings then a year of non-fiction, this book brought back that feeling of wanting to devour a story.

The characters are wonderfully complex and (mostly) lovable and Bardugo has managed to capture the fun of a heist whilst keeping us on our toes with twists and turns.

Additionally, there is great disability representation. With the disabled characters being portrayed far beyond their disability and without disability being used as something to be 'overcome', forgotten at key moments, or inspiration porn. It just is, just as we disabled folks just are.

10/10 a must-read for fantasy lovers!

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fennish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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cooldudenick's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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madalina0_0's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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filipacmiranda's review against another edition

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4.5

The plot starts slowly by introducing each character and the city of Ketterdam while establishing the relationship between the city and the Grisha universe. The story is told through the POV of five of the six crew members who carry out the rescue/heist. Although, upon rereading, I understood what might have led the author not to include Wylan's (also known as "the warranty") perspective in this first book, I believe it could have sometimes enriched the narrative.

Once the heist begins, the story gains a better pace, with events aligning perfectly and shaping a plan whose intricacies we gradually become familiar with. Six of Crows is an exciting read, with characters we may not identify with right away but for whom we end up rooting wholeheartedly.

Somewhere between fantasy and action, without forgetting subplots of romance, chosen family and second chances, this book definitely raises the bar for Leigh Bardugo's writing.

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1st Read (2020): 4.00 stars

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wunderofmars's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I feel like this book can quite easily be split into two sections, with the first focusing heavily o character introductions and backstory, and the latter half being focused on the heist itself. I enjoyed both halves as I connected with the characters quite easily however it would likely drag for someone not interested in the characters or the dynamics between them.
For me though, the second half of the book was a stand out, as evidenced by me finishing it at 5.30am after a 4 hour reading binge where I felt I couldn't put the book down at all. The pacing was tight, and plot beats were interwoven in such a way that nothing was spoiled too early or left without explanation for too long - keeping the story tense without causing confusion.
The POV style used in six of crows is my preferred type of POV, and I think it was handled extremely well with each different POV well focused on the strengths and weaknesses of each character. I was disappointed to not get a Wylan POV in this book, and according to a quick search it was because he was not yet a fully fledged member of the gang, however I would argue that neither was Matthias and he does get a POV so this is the only thing that caused a bit of confusion for me.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and in particular liked how none of the main cast of characters were flawless - each having aspects of their personalities and actions that were flawed and complex. Relationships wise, I found Nina and Matthias to be interesting and hope to see Leigh Bardugo explore the effects of the religious indoctrination of the Druskelle more in the next book, and how if will affect the two of them going forward.

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urfavgrainne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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