Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

38 reviews

cnjg88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, Trafficking, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Rape, Death, Addiction, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, War, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Vomit

david_slack110507's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

About a year or so ago, I began reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy as a means to enter Leigh Bardugo's world of the Grishaverse, admittedly, the main reason why I had started to read that trilogy was to start reading this duology, the Six of Crows duology, as it had been so widely critically acclaimed, recommended, and well received that they were put on my radar but I decided I would read the Shadow and Bone trilogy books first, as while not necessary to read these books, I'm glad I did as not only did it allow me to appreciate the little nods and mentions to the aforementioned trilogy spread throughout this book, but it also meant that I wasn't going into this book blind when it came to the lore and the Grisha systems of the world. I also found that it allowed me to appreciate the overall upward shift in quality because while eventually, I did really enjoy the Shadow and Bone books, this one was just another level. 

One of the main enticements of this book for me was the characters and I'm glad to say that the characters, at least our main group of 6, all were incredibly well-written and developed. I think their connections as a group as well as intergroup connections with one another were so well done. I loved them all - Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, and Matthias - and I found that I was never once bored when it shifted to either one of their perspectives which I'm really glad this book did as everyone had a unique character background which explained why they were doing what they were doing as well as having unique perspectives on the heist that lay ahead of them. 

Speaking of the heist, I found that the heist as the plot was actually really strong, and it helped move the book along at a brisk but nice pace allowing for moments to breathe before the next one arrived. I found the pre-planning and the constant shift in plan when something unaccounted for happened or when something wrong took place was extremely enjoyable and it was really good to see these characters constantly face change during their heist on the Ice Court and adapt the best that they could. 

I also really liked seeing the world beyond Ravka and the Grisha's perspective as that was something that, now looking back on it, was missing from the Shadow and Bone books so it was interesting to see what the Fjerdans/Fjerda thinks of Grisha and vice versa as well as seeing the story set in a place of less elegance and extravagance than Ravka with East Stave and the 'Barrel'. It also built upon Grisha magic with the introduction of Jurda Parem, a drug that allows Grisha to do unimaginable things that break the previous limits of their power; I do wish we had gotten to see more of it but I also think that what we saw did demonstrate well enough why it was so dangerous to the world and why it was imperative that this not fall into the wrong hands. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this even if it did take me a lot longer than I wanted to but I found it to be a huge step up from the Shadow and Bone books and the next book is rated even better so I can't even imagine how good of a treat that'll be which I'm hoping to get around to relatively soon as I try and finish up the other books I have on the go. I'm interested in seeing whether or not the next book, Crooked Kingdom, will resolve the cliffhanger off screen (or off the page in this instance, with explanations in the form of exposition spread throughout to explain it) or whether it will start the book and wrap it up relatively quickly to then go onto the actual plot of that book but I guess only time will tell.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Child death, Confinement, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Abandonment, Addiction, and Rape

Minor: Classism, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Alcohol

josiee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Genocide, Miscarriage, Addiction, Dementia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Outing, Rape, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Torture, Trafficking, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, and Violence

charlottx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

Absolutely loved this book. The writing was great and the characters were all intriguing. I enjoyed all the different POV’s (obviously I have favourites but I didn’t dislike any of them!). 
I am so excited to read the next book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture, War, Death, Genocide, Vomit, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Slavery, and Trafficking

ambamsaurus's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, and Drug use

Minor: Slavery

bashsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

OMG Six of Crows is incredible! I don't know why it took me so long to read it, but I'm glad I finally did. The character dynamics are so messy and fun; the heist keeps you on the edge of your seat; the worldbuilding is thorough (and you can see the cultural differences through the eyes of various characters). I can't wait to read the sequel!

I love Jesper so much he is like a blorbo to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Drug abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Confinement, War, Murder, Grief, Trafficking, Slavery, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping

Moderate: War, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Gore, Body horror, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

-Many references to one character's history of forced prostitution when she was a young teen

mir_frog73's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. The plot twists were very good 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Drug use, Death, Chronic illness, Blood, Ableism, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Cursing, Confinement, Body horror, and Addiction

jolibon4e's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted

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

5.0

Funny, engaging, amazingly written. Honestly, reminded me why I love reading and that sometimes it is genuinely hard to make yourself stop reading. I am pushing the age though at which this is a fun adventure, I spend half of the book thinking how young these kids are and how much therapy they all need. Not saying this in a bad way, just putting it as a reminder to myself if I reread it, that this is something that changes your perspective. And just, it felt like all of these characters have some specific things added to them that are so special, and so real - problems/situations that exist - and it was not there just for the brownie points, they actually formed a coherent character and had an effect on the story. Though, to reiterate, every single one of the six has a diagnosable mental problem that they will need years of therapy and medicine to deal with.

My only problem is that ends in the middle of nowhere. I know people like to sell trilogies etc. but it literally was surprising when it ended because the kindle edition was not even done, maybe about 80%? It just feels like the first book should have ended 1 chapter earlier, and not in the middle of an action scene.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Murder, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault

babsi_222's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

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

4.75

Oh my god I finally read this book and I love that so much I gave it 4.75 stars because of the very confusing world building. After a while, I started figuring out how everything works or at least that it doesn’t matter that much and I don’t have to remember every single name, but in the beginning was quite something. 
I am in love with every main character, especially Inej and well every crow and I love the little romance going on. If you know you know, I never like Matthias, though, I never did. Nina can do so much better!!
I love the ice court heist!! It was so interesting and funny, but I have no idea how to imagine that and that’s why started watching the show Shadow and bone. But I’m honestly so disappointed because first of all I didn’t like the shadow and bone triology, and the show is mainly about that, and I only love the the crows. Also, the show was not like any of the books and that make me really mad. I just wanna watch the heist not some other random mission. Anyways I need to read a different genre now, but I’ll come back for Crooked kingdom!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Slavery, Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Chronic illness

benja_p_a's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely marvellous. It was really interesting to read about Ketterdam, as a dutch person. I can say that I never expected to read the names Joost and Rutger in a fantasy book 😂
Somehow I felt identified with most of the characters, and was not able to read with a straight face through most chapters.

I’m really hoping for something to happen between Jesper and Wylan. Also, Inej and Kaz are going to be the death of me...

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Trafficking, Death, and Gun violence