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A review by doughtah
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is the first in a duology of heist novels. Following Kaz Brekker and his misfit crew, the book is filled with twists and turns and the hidden puzzle pieces that only come into play in later chapters as Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan make their ways to Fjerda.
I had seen this book all over the internet and hadn’t had the opportunity to read it. Until now! (God bless the Libby app and my library for having an ebook edition of this book) I honestly shouldn’t have waited so long, because Six of Crows was fantastic.
The greatest part of the book, for me, was the way Bardugo managed to show us that conversations were happening without giving us all of the details. Sometimes authors pull things out of their butt at the end, the things like “Ha Hah! You foolish reader! You couldn’t keep up with me and my machinations! But look here and see me unveil everything!” But not Bardugo’s Six of Crows! There were plenty of times where the POV character saw two other characters talking to each other, but because they weren’t right beside them, the POV character didn’t know what precisely was being said. Lo and behold, later in the book, that unheard conversation? It comes into play. It was really exciting for me as the reader to read along and then see how the gears never stopped turning because the POV character changed.
The characters were also engaging. There were instances throughout the book where you got to witness them change themselves. A seed that was brought up in one chapter can turn into a bigger idea in later chapters. They were also foolishly relateable. Kaz’s depressed humor ( “Ideal for faking suicides, Kaz had once told her, and she’d never been sure if he was sincere.”), Inej’s hopeful growth (“She was not a lynx or a spider or even the Wraith. She was Inej Ghafa, and her future was waiting above.”), Nina’s weight(!), Jesper’s self-preservation, and so many other moments with the characters were wonderful to see written out in a story.
There was bisexual representation (can’t wait to see how things go in Crooked Kingdom for them!), kids trying to protect themselves in every way possible, tears on my part and laughter, and this book was honestly just so, so enjoyable. If you’re at all interested in fantasy YA with strong worldbuilding (would love to learn more about the languages of this world!) or heist books AT ALL, I cannot recommend this book enough. I’m going to be ripping into the sequel as quickly as possible!
I had seen this book all over the internet and hadn’t had the opportunity to read it. Until now! (God bless the Libby app and my library for having an ebook edition of this book) I honestly shouldn’t have waited so long, because Six of Crows was fantastic.
The greatest part of the book, for me, was the way Bardugo managed to show us that conversations were happening without giving us all of the details. Sometimes authors pull things out of their butt at the end, the things like “Ha Hah! You foolish reader! You couldn’t keep up with me and my machinations! But look here and see me unveil everything!” But not Bardugo’s Six of Crows! There were plenty of times where the POV character saw two other characters talking to each other, but because they weren’t right beside them, the POV character didn’t know what precisely was being said. Lo and behold, later in the book, that unheard conversation? It comes into play. It was really exciting for me as the reader to read along and then see how the gears never stopped turning because the POV character changed.
The characters were also engaging. There were instances throughout the book where you got to witness them change themselves. A seed that was brought up in one chapter can turn into a bigger idea in later chapters. They were also foolishly relateable. Kaz’s depressed humor ( “Ideal for faking suicides, Kaz had once told her, and she’d never been sure if he was sincere.”), Inej’s hopeful growth (“She was not a lynx or a spider or even the Wraith. She was Inej Ghafa, and her future was waiting above.”), Nina’s weight(!), Jesper’s self-preservation, and so many other moments with the characters were wonderful to see written out in a story.
There was bisexual representation (can’t wait to see how things go in Crooked Kingdom for them!), kids trying to protect themselves in every way possible, tears on my part and laughter, and this book was honestly just so, so enjoyable. If you’re at all interested in fantasy YA with strong worldbuilding (would love to learn more about the languages of this world!) or heist books AT ALL, I cannot recommend this book enough. I’m going to be ripping into the sequel as quickly as possible!