Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)
By Leigh Bardugo
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Ages: 18+ (for violence and graphic images)

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

The Gist:

I so mad at myself for waiting so long to read this AMAZING book. So much action, beyond amazing characters and a plot line that was exciting and suspenseful. And one thing I want to note, I did NOT read the Grisha Trilogy before this.  I had read a couple places online that you didn’t have to have read them before reading Six of Crows. I agree with that. I could see how maybe knowing the Grisha-verse would make certain things more familiar, but I never once felt lost or out of the loop. This book far exceeded my expectations. A thrilling read where you’ll fall in love with the characters immediately. I totally get why people are so obsessed with this duology, because now I am too. Highly recommend.

What I Liked:

Oh gosh there’s almost too much to name. I’ll start with the component that blew me away: the characters. Leigh brought together the most endearing, unique, smart, passionate team of teenagers ever. Each person is so different and I just can’t decide who I love most. Jesper’s quick wit, Nina’s fierceness, Matthias’ steadfastness, Wylan’s adorableness, Inej’s loyalty, and Kaz’s brilliance. The way they each brought something different to the table was well woven together.  The magic of their interactions really drew me in and kept me loving every second of the story.

Being new to the Grisha-verse, I was quite intrigued by these magical powers. A lot of them are very similar to what you read in a lot of YA fantasy.  But they were portrayed in a unique way for me. So much so that they felt completely different from what I was used to.

In general, I thought the plot line of trying to “steal something” for an obscene amount of money was genius.  Very Ocean’s 11 but with teenage vagabonds if you will, some of which have magical abilities. The intricacies of the heist were incredible. I am in awe of Leigh and her ability to figure all the details out in her head and portray them in such a thrilling way. In a way that made sense to me no less! I didn’t ever feel lost as Kaz explained his master plans. Leigh, you’re a genius, your own version of Kaz. The plot was so fast paced from the very beginning. I was never bored, never felt like it slowed or lagged. Cross my heart.

What I Didn’t Like:

This is legit very hard for me because I loved so much of it. I truely struggled with what to put here.  The only thing I came up with was that there was a lot of flashing to the past in the middle of a scene and sometimes it felt a little disjointed. But people, you must know that one thing was an extreme reach for me, because I actually didn’t mind the flashbacks in the middle of a scene that much. And I thought Leigh wrote them in very well technique wise.

LunasLuckyRating: 5/5 Lunas