Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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.

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Publication date: 29/09/2015 

I am a big fan of Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy, so as you can imagine when Six of Crows, the first book in the Dregs duology came in the post I was beyond ecstatic! 

MULTIPLE POVs. There are six POVs and the thing with having so many perspectives is that sometimes I don't really care for one or more of the characters and I find myself itching to skip ahead. However, that was not the case here as I loved them all. The change of perspectives was done really well, each character had a distinctive voice and back story. So even if their names hadn't been at the top of page I could have easily identified which character I was hearing from.

COMPLEX, MORALLY GREY CHARACTERS. The six main characters aren't wholeheartedly good or bad, I'd say they fall somewhere in between. Living in Ketterdam -a place where you're forced to learn to fend for yourself and make hard decisions if you want survive- has hardened them and made the line between good and bad blurred. The exploration into their morality and their pasts was really interesting, Bardugo did an amazing job of creating fleshed out characters who I easily found myself feeling for. She also managed to bring in her usual banter, wit and humour through her characters which added much needed comic relief to the dark and gritty story.

PLOT & WORLD-BUILDING. The plot was sat at the edge of your seat kind of exciting. I love a high action, guns blazing heist story. My heart was racing throughout and man did I have fun rooting for the main characters. In terms of world building, in the Grisha trilogy there are mentions of Fjerda and Ketterdam, but we don't actually get to explore either culture. In Six of Crows, however, we do, which is interesting because they are quite different from Ravka.

STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS & FRIENDSHIP. There's just not enough female friendships in YA books, imo. I feel like we see more female rivalry in YA than friendships. Sad to say, but true. So, I was pumped about the one that formed between Inej and Nina. Two empowered females who care and lookout for one another, it really made my heart sing.

SHIPS/ROMANCE. There are three romances developing and simmering, and while all of them are well done there was one in particular that I was shipping hard. The subtle build up and tension, oh my gosh. I need more of these two!  

DIVERSITY. I wish there was more diversity in YA. I mean it's kind of disheartening when you don't see people like yourself represented in literature. However, when there is representation like there is in Six of Crows it makes me so happy - there are PoC characters, LGBTQ characters, and characters with disabilities!

Six of Crows was everything I imagined it would be and more, an excellent follow up to the Grisha trilogy!

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