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A review by readingcat1832
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
EDIT 10/16/20 Okay it's been months and I am still thinking about this book so bumping it up to 5 full shiny stars
ORIGINAL REVIEW
Well, shit. This book pulled me right in from the start. What an A+ fantasy read, it had almost everything I could possibly want. The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, and the worldbuilding was absolutely impeccable. I know a lot of newcomers had a hard time with the complicated terminology of the fantasy world and found it confusing, but I thought Leigh Bardugo did a great job dropping us headfirst into her universe and keeping us immersed while also not relying on forced infodumping, the exposition was woven into the story very organically.
The real selling point, though, are the characters. After all, what’s not to love about a ragtag bunch of morally grey, traumatised children doing crime? And listen—I get the Kaz Brekker hype. Truly, I do. He’s terrible and coldhearted and fascinating and an incredibly written character, and yes, I liked him. Okay, I liked him a lot. His narrative voice was really strong, the handling of his backstory and his trauma equal parts compelling and heartbreaking. I’m not normally a fan of bad boys, but… damn, okay. I see you.
So, yes, I get the Kaz Brekker hype, but nothing could have prepared me for just how fucking much I adored Inej Ghafa with every fibre of my being. Inej has become one of my absolute favourite literary ladies. She was strong-willed and clever and witty and compassionate. I loved the way she grappled with her wavering morals as she got used to her life in the Barrel and Inej was just such an enjoyable character to spend time with, I was always so happy to see her POV sections come up. Not to mention that her dynamic with the other members of the crew was great. I loved the friendship she had with Nina—especially since it’s such a lovely treat to see female characters supporting each other instead of trying to tear each other down for no reason, especially in a squad-type dynamic where they’re the only girls in the group. And her banter with Jesper!! It was so much fun and I wish we’d seen more of them. (Speaking of, love Jesper).
And her relationship with Kaz?! Holy shit. Okay. Wow.
(Look, Inej is just a force of nature and I fucking love her, can we accept that and move on? I’d say I’d die for Inej but she’s pretty damn capable of holding up her own.)
I think the only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars was because I might just not have been in the ideal frame of mind to read it as my mental health has been not amazing lately, so I didn’t get quite as hyped as I might have done otherwise. Oh well. The point still stands that this was a phenomenal read and I’m very excitedscared to get to Crooked Kingdom.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
Well, shit. This book pulled me right in from the start. What an A+ fantasy read, it had almost everything I could possibly want. The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, and the worldbuilding was absolutely impeccable. I know a lot of newcomers had a hard time with the complicated terminology of the fantasy world and found it confusing, but I thought Leigh Bardugo did a great job dropping us headfirst into her universe and keeping us immersed while also not relying on forced infodumping, the exposition was woven into the story very organically.
The real selling point, though, are the characters. After all, what’s not to love about a ragtag bunch of morally grey, traumatised children doing crime? And listen—I get the Kaz Brekker hype. Truly, I do. He’s terrible and coldhearted and fascinating and an incredibly written character, and yes, I liked him. Okay, I liked him a lot. His narrative voice was really strong, the handling of his backstory and his trauma equal parts compelling and heartbreaking. I’m not normally a fan of bad boys, but… damn, okay. I see you.
So, yes, I get the Kaz Brekker hype, but nothing could have prepared me for just how fucking much I adored Inej Ghafa with every fibre of my being. Inej has become one of my absolute favourite literary ladies. She was strong-willed and clever and witty and compassionate. I loved the way she grappled with her wavering morals as she got used to her life in the Barrel and Inej was just such an enjoyable character to spend time with, I was always so happy to see her POV sections come up. Not to mention that her dynamic with the other members of the crew was great. I loved the friendship she had with Nina—especially since it’s such a lovely treat to see female characters supporting each other instead of trying to tear each other down for no reason, especially in a squad-type dynamic where they’re the only girls in the group. And her banter with Jesper!! It was so much fun and I wish we’d seen more of them. (Speaking of, love Jesper).
And her relationship with Kaz?! Holy shit. Okay. Wow.
(Look, Inej is just a force of nature and I fucking love her, can we accept that and move on? I’d say I’d die for Inej but she’s pretty damn capable of holding up her own.)
I think the only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars was because I might just not have been in the ideal frame of mind to read it as my mental health has been not amazing lately, so I didn’t get quite as hyped as I might have done otherwise. Oh well. The point still stands that this was a phenomenal read and I’m very excitedscared to get to Crooked Kingdom.