Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by tahreemreads
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.5
Somewhere between a 4.5 and a 4.8, nearly 5 stars and I understand why it is for many people.
I did not think I was going to like this book that much going into it honestly. I'm not big on YA anymore and find it kind of cheesy but this book, for the most part, really avoided the classic pitfalls that I, personally, find in the genre. (This is not to bash the genre as a whole or its audience at all!!! It's just my personal preferences.)
Okay, so, who doesn't love a good heist? The actual plot of this book was great and executed wonderfully. I wish it had been sped up a little - that the actual heist had taken up more of the book, basically, but that's a small complaint and I enjoyed how everything played out overall. The world was interesting, even if the worldbuilding could have used some work. I know this is part of a larger series overall but since this duology is supposed to work as a standalone, I would have appreciated a little bit more of an explanation instead of having everything thrown at me like I was already a pro. Some of the concepts and words were a little cheesy, I definitely snorted a time or two, but easy enough to adapt to. I was really happy that there wasn't a lot of infodumping though, something that unfortunately is pretty common with complex fantasy worlds.
The characters were compelling and I fell in love with the crew pretty quickly. The dialogue is fantastic, sharp, and hilarious. The "No mourners, no funerals," tag for the Dregs really got me every time and when Matthias finally said it without hesitation, fully integrated into the group, I was ecstatic. I think I put a billion exclamation points into the margins.
I did wish the characters had been older, though. They even read older than the ages they were written as. I just can't buy a bunch of teenage criminal geniuses lol. Not even Kaz. They don't even have fully formed brains yet, they can't control their egos and emotions, how could they possibly be operating at such a high level? On top of that, certain situations of either sexual or very violent nature, I just don't feel comfortable reading kids in, so that didn't sit great for me either. Another note, I wish at least one of the main characters didn't have a tragic backstory lmao. It just feels so typical and tired after a while. Not everyone has to have sadness plaguing them in some way or other to be compelling.
The ships in this book were also on point. I sometimes side-eye ship heavy books that aren't outright romance novels because... it can be kind of forced, or unnecessary, or over the top. But they were all just the right amount of tension and will-they-won't-they for me. Even the friendships were wonderful. I found myself really craving way more of Inej and Jasper, specifically.
I'm definitely going to be picking up the next book (sometimes soon probably, I need to know what happensssss) and putting this on my rereads list. A high honor! I'm not a big rereader. All in all, I love my crow babies.
I did not think I was going to like this book that much going into it honestly. I'm not big on YA anymore and find it kind of cheesy but this book, for the most part, really avoided the classic pitfalls that I, personally, find in the genre. (This is not to bash the genre as a whole or its audience at all!!! It's just my personal preferences.)
Okay, so, who doesn't love a good heist? The actual plot of this book was great and executed wonderfully. I wish it had been sped up a little - that the actual heist had taken up more of the book, basically, but that's a small complaint and I enjoyed how everything played out overall. The world was interesting, even if the worldbuilding could have used some work. I know this is part of a larger series overall but since this duology is supposed to work as a standalone, I would have appreciated a little bit more of an explanation instead of having everything thrown at me like I was already a pro. Some of the concepts and words were a little cheesy, I definitely snorted a time or two, but easy enough to adapt to. I was really happy that there wasn't a lot of infodumping though, something that unfortunately is pretty common with complex fantasy worlds.
The characters were compelling and I fell in love with the crew pretty quickly. The dialogue is fantastic, sharp, and hilarious. The "No mourners, no funerals," tag for the Dregs really got me every time and when Matthias finally said it without hesitation, fully integrated into the group, I was ecstatic. I think I put a billion exclamation points into the margins.
I did wish the characters had been older, though. They even read older than the ages they were written as. I just can't buy a bunch of teenage criminal geniuses lol. Not even Kaz. They don't even have fully formed brains yet, they can't control their egos and emotions, how could they possibly be operating at such a high level? On top of that, certain situations of either sexual or very violent nature, I just don't feel comfortable reading kids in, so that didn't sit great for me either. Another note, I wish at least one of the main characters didn't have a tragic backstory lmao. It just feels so typical and tired after a while. Not everyone has to have sadness plaguing them in some way or other to be compelling.
The ships in this book were also on point. I sometimes side-eye ship heavy books that aren't outright romance novels because... it can be kind of forced, or unnecessary, or over the top. But they were all just the right amount of tension and will-they-won't-they for me. Even the friendships were wonderful. I found myself really craving way more of Inej and Jasper, specifically.
I'm definitely going to be picking up the next book (sometimes soon probably, I need to know what happensssss) and putting this on my rereads list. A high honor! I'm not a big rereader. All in all, I love my crow babies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Slavery, Trafficking