Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Young Adult, Fantasy

Guess who's finally gotten on this super hyped train... 

"No mourners. No funerals."

Non-Spoiler Review

(Six of Crows #1)

When criminal prodigy, Kax Brekker, is offered to pull an impossible heist for an insurmountable reward, he knows that the deal is too tempting to resist. And having survived the dangerous streets of the merch city, Ketterdem, Kaz knows that this opportunity is too lucrative to pass up. But he needs the right crew to do so...  

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

When I first picked up this book, I knew I was signing myself up to one of the most hyped trains out there in the YA market. And I'm honestly quite relieved that I didn't end up hating it or finding it mediocre. I knew going into it wouldn't live up to the overwhelming hype surrounding this series, but I'm glad that it still met my expectation more or less. 

World-Building:

The story is set in the bustling trade city of Ketterdam, off the shore of the main continent where Ravka is located in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha universe. Having read only the first book in the original Grisha trilogy, the city was a stark contrast to the dreary Ravka country. It reminded me of a cross between Las Vegas with all the gambling halls and playhouses, and Amsterdam with the canals and the overall aesthetic of the city. The overall world-building was solid and it was interesting seeing more of the universe that Leigh Bardugo made all those years ago.  

Characters:

I'm not a huge fan of heist stories, particularly for the things-could-easily-go-very-wrong element of every heist story imaginable. While I did find the heist highly interesting and entertaining, it was the characters that really made this story special. I like how the story wasn't focused on the chosen one trope. In the words of Leigh Bardugo... 

"I wanted to write a story that had nothing to do with grand destinies or secret birthrights. These characters were scrappers - brawlers and outcasts, people the world saw as expendable."

Art by Charlie Bowater

Kaz Brekker was this criminal prodigy that rose to power in the Barrel and who built a deadly, formidable legacy around himself. And while the author certainly did not paint him as some secretly heroic character, you can't help but root for him to succeed. Because if there's one good thing Kaz Brekker is, it's that he knows how to keep his people alive and in the streets of Ketterdam that goes a long way. I saw someone summing up Kaz as an old man in a teenage boy's body and I couldn't agree more since the audiobook gave him that persona.

Art by @monolimeart 

"The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true."

Inej Ghafah was Kaz's right hand and a deadly spy known as the Wraith. I  wished we got to see more of her in the story since I felt she disappeared in the latter half of this book. I loved how skilled she was at defying gravity and using her daggers like the badass she was. I empathised for her when her backstory was revealed and all the other close calls she had in this book. If there's anyone who deserves that happy ending, it has to be Inej. And given the number of fanarts online about her and Kaz, there might be love on the horizons. Though in all seriousness, I wished that their relationship was built-up more and we actually got to see their growing attraction more than what we got. 

"Trickery is not my native tongue, but I may learn to speak it yet."

Nina Zenik was a formidable Heartender who used to be a part of Ravka's Second Army, but a life-changing mistake set her on the course to Ketterdam, the Barrel and, of course into the arms of the Fjerdan druskelle, Matthias Helvar. Matthias was a former druskelle who had fallen from grace after his chance encounter with Nina and throughout the story, you clearly saw his internal conflict with what he had been taught about the Grisha and the confronting reality that was Nina Zenik. I'm trash for a good hate-to-love/enemies-to-lovers, and wow was there good tension between these two.  Honestly, their relationship would've benefitted even more so if they had their own novella about their past and was categorised as an adult since the potential was huge on their part. I need more of the angst and tension from them than the brief flashback I got because there's definitely more to uncover about their shared past. Also, the ending with Nina broke my heart because Nina also deserves the world. I just loved reading from her perspective and she and Inej make for a great support system dealing with their brooding lovers. I promise that I'm just not into romance in my books but all the art surrounding this series made that increasingly difficult. 

Art by @monolimeart 

Jesper Fahey, a skilled sharpshooter with far too many gambling problems, made me laugh with his humour and sarcasm and had me on edge with all the close calls he had throughout the story. Although it wasn't said on paper (yet?), he was bisexual and it doesn't take a highly trained mastermind to figure out the romance that will eventually blossom between him and Wylan Van Eck, a mercher's son who had a privileged past. I mean just look at the fanarts. What I loved most about Jesper was his obvious care for every member of his crew. Jesper was an example of what a few bad decisions can do to someone who had a seemingly bad future, but despite all of that he still had an optimistic (albeit impulsive) attitude. And speaking of Wylan, I admired his courage (arguably foolishness) for joining essentially the Dregs of society. Wylan added this level of goodness to the crew since he was the newbie and really innocent member, and I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between him and Jesper. I didn't expect the revelation about him at the end, and it made me infuriated at his father for his highly prejudiced perspective. 

Art by @monolimeart 

All in all, the characters had some elements that are archetypes in literature with the whole troubled pasts. Each has something they believe in and are fighting for no matter how messed up or righteous the cause.  However, the characters still felt real and I felt for them, and I honestly want them to succeed. They each have the unique spark that makes them a joy to read about with Kaz's seemingly limitless tricks, Inej's unfailing perseverance, Nina's hilariously witty remarks, Matthias' conflicting loyalty, Jesper's love for risks and Wylan's commendable courage. The story would've benefitted more if they were in their early 20's to make their actions seem more appropriate.

"They were like anyone else - full of the potential to do great good, and also great harm."

Plot/Story:

Like I said before I'm not a massive fan of heist stories, but they do make for quick-paced, action-packed stories. I enjoyed well enough all the break-in and outs, but wow did they make me irritated at all the slight things that went wrong for the crew. While I didn't really care for the heist as much as I did for the characters, the overall conflict with this all-consuming drug that not only amplifies Grisha powers but subjects their bodies to the brink of death was fascinating. Imagine the rampage and chaos that would have ensued if that had been present during the Ravkan civil war in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. It might have intrigued me enough to continue the trilogy, but alas, it wasn't. As much as I enjoyed the magic system with all its consistent rules and scientific nature, I do enjoy powerful displays of magic and the ending scene was no exception to the deadly potential of jurda parem on Grisha. Given the ending of this book, I'm guessing the sequel will have the same amount of debauchery, possibly higher stakes and hopefully an even wilder plot. 

Overall Thoughts:

Overall, I'm happy that this turned out to be a solid 4-stars. Given the hype, I highly doubt that it would get a 5, but nonetheless, I loved the characters. And after listening to a ton of people rave about this book/series, I'm so happy that I enjoyed following the characters and that they didn't felt flat or shallow. They would've benefitted more if they were inherently older and had their backstories more thoroughly flushed out or we got novellas following each of them and how they ended up where they were at the start of this book. Definitely cannot wait to jump back into the sequel and actually say that I've read and finished this series.