Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

65 reviews

leona's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was supremely better than the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and Bardugo's growth as a writer is very clear. Despite my hatred for pretty much all of the characters in her previous work, (other than Nikolai), I think the character work was excellent here. I was recommended this book by a friend, but I tried the first few chapters and didn't understand anything that was going on, hence I decided to read Shadow and Bone first. I would recommend reading the trilogy first, however I don't think you need to. (To be honest, I didn't really try that hard to get into the book when I first started reading it.) Also you will see some mentions and cameo's of a few of the characters, but Six of Crows is very much separate and it's own entity. I think the first two or three Chapters are a bit confusing and draggy, but once the characters start to become more developed, the book is brilliant. 

The plot was better than the previous books in my opinion, but I also thought it just felt a bit too long. I think this book was a lot stronger in its character work than its plot. The heist was interesting and I don't think I ever really found myself bored, it just felt like there was something missing to me, despite all of the characters having their moment to shine and show their abilities. The world building I think was pretty excellent, seeing a completely different side to the Grishaverse, the dirty, crime-ridden streets of Ketterdam. Bardugo really managed to create an atmosphere with this darker setting. 

I've already mentioned the characters a couple of times but here I will go into some more detail. The characters we follow are very much morally grey and even anti-heroes. They are criminals doing something pretty good that will hopefully benefit the world, but for all the wrong reasons *cough* money *cough*. A lot of people disliked Inej, but I actually really liked her for the majority of the book. I have to say 'that' scene

about Kaz's armour or some shiz

did p*ss me off quite a bit though, because

Kaz is clearly a deeply traumatized character. Inej had been concerned for him in the prisoner wagon when he feinted, and bringing his gloves back for him, but then completely turned on him? I was just confused.

I didn't really care about Nina, Matthias and Jesper that much at the start but Jesper did grow on me. Him and Wylan are hilarious. Matthias really annoyed me throughout the whole book but

I think his redemption was good enough for me, I sort of trust him now.

There are lot of character backstory moments in the book (maybe like a fifth of the book is backstory), which I'm not the hugest fan of, but I do think I got used to it eventually and it really helped to develop the characters a lot better. Especially considering that was one of my major problems with Alina and Mal in Shadow and Bone, there wasn't enough backstory for me to actually root for them. Anyway Kaz is definitely the most morally grey character, because his main motivations seem to be revenge and money for the majority of the book. Also he does murder a couple of people. 

Yep, this book is quite dark if you haven't gathered that already. I would say it is on the upper end of YA and there were a couple of gory moments which did shock me a bit at first because I'm not really good with that type of stuff but it wasn't too bad once I got used to it. The worst moment was (not a major spoiler)

a short paragraph in which someone is maimed with an X slit across their face, and then their eye is clawed out. The person is then tipped over the side of the boat.

I think it is almost YA grimdark, but others would disagree. I'm not an expert on fantasy sub-genres. Also it was just quite weird that the characters were teenagers. I understand this was an effort for the book  to stay YA, but the intelligence of these characters is crazy. I'm slightly younger than them and could never imagine plotting a heist. To be fair, I got used to it and this is definitely not a reason not to read it. Romance was also pretty minimal in this book, these are some of the most slow burn romances I have read. I did really appreciate this in comparison to how Alina latched on to dudes in Shadow and Bone (honestly there was practically a love square in that trilogy), but I do think that a more present romance could have made the book a bit more interesting in some of its slower parts. Anyway I loved the characters, even with their moral greyness.

To conclude, I rate it 5 stars, as I absolutely loved this book despite my complaints. It is really very character driven, gritty (for YA anyway) and I would definitely recommend giving it  a chance even if you are a bit put off by the social media hype or from hating Shadow and Bone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Gambling / Gambling Addiction (Moderate)

arisbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexism

This is one of my favorite books, the way Leigh describes the world and the characters is mystifying. The development of Matthias, and the family that they are in the end. I would give anything to read this again.

brookereadz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-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

A gripping and well written heist book that shows multiple point of views from six well developed characters. These characters who are all so different yet come together and find a community and later on a family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse and Torture

tinysierra's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Joost had two problems: the moon and his mustache.” pg 1

Plus sized, disability, mental illness, queer, and poc rep? *starry eyed emoji* yes pleaseeee!!
Loved the relationships between the characters. Inej and Nina are such bad*sses. 
I thought the pacing was nice and kept my attention. The world building is confusing which is why I read Shadow and Bone first. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

readingadventures's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

citymouse's review

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Slavery and Religious bigotry

Gambling

whataboutzana's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

molliecantread's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Trafficking

confusedmuse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

raisinreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I was honestly scared to reread this, because it's been so many years and I have always remembered it as one of my favorite books. From the very first chapter, I knew that fear was unwarranted. This is a book with such heart, such character, that appeals to every age. 

Six of Crows has my favorite cast of characters in anything I've ever read. There is not a character I do not love. I love the way they fit together, I love the bonds they form, the dialogue frequently makes me laugh out loud. There's multiple queer main characters, there's multiple disabled main characters and boy is there trauma. 

Six of Crows is well-written, with a fun and smart plot and loveable, complex characters. Of the ridiculous amount of books I've read, it is still one of the only ones I have given 5 stars too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, and Murder