Six of Crows #1 by Leigh Bardugo
Hello,
HIII! Alright I need to breathe. And I need to calm down because I'm a little bit too excited. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardogu, O M G. I read this book in like four days but I read half of it the last day. The story came to a point that didn't allow me to put the book down. That's how good it is, you can't put it down. Leigh Bardugo wrote a trilogy called The Grisha before writing her Six of Crows duology. Although the stories aren't related by characters - at least I don't think - they are set in the same world. So she created a world in which Grisha exist. Long story short Grisha is a kind of people who have supernatural abilities. I have not read The Grisha - but I might, who knows. Okay, back to Six of Crows, I freaking loved it. Like REALLY loved it. I haven't liked a book like that in a long time. Here's why.
What the blurb says:
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached)
Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world)
Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it)
Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest oucasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first.
What I say:
Kaz Brekker is Per Haskell's right-hand man and leader of the Dregs, a gang in Ketterdam. He and his crew work at the Crow Club owned by Per Haskell. He is offered by merchant Jan Van Eck the modest sum of money of 30 million Kruge for a suicide mission: break into the Ice Court in Fjerda to bring Bo Yul-Bayur back to Ketterdam. Appealed by the money and the challenge, Kaz accepts the mission and gathers five crucial persons to work by his side: Inej, Jesper and Nina - who are part of the Dregs, Wylan - Jan Van Eck's son and Matthias - a drüskelle from Fjerda. Not only is this mission dangerous because of how protected the Ice Court is but it concerns more than one country. A drug called jurda parem was created by Bo Yul-Bayur that increases Grisha's powers but make them immediately addicted. They become both dangerous and in danger. The Six of Crows are off on a suicide mission. But can everything go as planned if the members of the crew try to serve their own interest?
My opinion:
This is BRILLIANT. Honestly one of the best books I've read in a long time. Alright let's start with the writing. Leigh Bardugo has a beautiful writing. Not in the sense that what she writes is beautiful but the way she writes it is beautiful. Sentences are well structured, the reading is easy and fluid. It's a real pleasure to read something like that. It's easy to read because it is well written but it isn't cheap writing. The vocabulary is expended which I like. The book is structured in parts: Shadow Business, Servant and Lever, Heartsick, The Trick to Falling and Proper Thieves. Each chapter follow a different character which is nice because we get to know each character one at a time. It makes it easy to understand their personalities, their ambitions and their stories.
Now let's talk about the plot. It is SO good. Leigh is very smart in her writing because Kaz is very secretive about his plans and we know just as much as the other characters do so it keeps the suspens going. While reading the book I kind felt like a tightrope walker. It felt like I was walking on a thin line and at any second I could fall. That's how tight the suspens is. The events are flowing, it didn't feel like anything was out of place or impossible. The storyline kept turning around. We wonder about a lot of things, we doubt characters, we don't see things coming. And the end left me begging for more.
Characters. Such brilliant characters. Kaz Brekker, God do I love him! He is an asshole. Like a proper asshole. He is cruel, crude, greedy, revengeful but fuck he's amazing. He is smart, really smart, talented, and also caring - even if it's hard to figure that out. Throughout the book we learn more about his history and we understand why he is the way he is. It doesn't necessarily justify everything he does but Kaz doesn't feel the need to justify himself. He has his reasons to do things and if you don't like them well too bad for you. Kaz is a driven young man. He has goals and will do anything to achieve them. He is determined and focused - for the most part. He is that hot bad boy that you can't help but love because in spite of his many flaws he is freaking awesome. (Can you tell I'm in love with Kaz?)
Inej and Nina are our two girls and they're badass. Inej is that short cat like woman who can almost disappear. She's so silent that she can kill a man - or a women, let's not be sexist - and they wouldn't know what hit them. She is called the Wraith - pour mes lecteurs français ça veut dire spectre - because of her special abilities. Kaz relies on her a lot. He also cares for her a lot, in his own way. Nina is grisha. She's a heartrender which means she can kill someone with the bare touch of her hand. She can also control someone's heartbeat etc. Nina has made mistakes and works for Kaz to mend them. She has history with Matthias and their relationship throughout the book is very interesting. They have a love/hate relationship filled with quite a bit of sexual tension - not an annoying sexual tension though - you want them to love each but you understand why it's not that easy and you're mad at each of them for what they do and say but you don't want it to stop because you know they're doing it out of love. Makes sense?
Jesper is a friend of Kaz - is he? it's a hard to tell if Kaz has friend - and Kaz trusts him. He is an excellent shooter and an excellent member of the Dregs. Jesper is kind and loyal. He is not always the smartest and makes mistakes but he never means wrong. He is a character full of surprises and I hope he doesn't stop surprising me in the second book. Wylan is the most inexperienced out of all of our characters. He engaged in the Dregs to prove himself. It didn't take Kaz too long to figure out he is the son of Jan Van Eck and intends to use him as leverage if negociating is needed with the merchant. He is braver than he seems to be, more useful as well. And finally Matthias. he isn't part of the Dregs to begin with, in fact he's in prison. They break him out because they need his knowing of the Ice Court to break in and out. He is the character that evolves the most in my opinion. He also is the one that is most tortured by his past, his present and future at the same time - Kaz is tortured by his past but not by the present and the future - Matthias is unsure of where his loyalty lies. His evolution is very interesting.
Content wise it's quite violent at times. I wouldn't recommend it to someone too young. It's quite crude. But I actually loved it. It wasn't overly disgusting it was just a bit graphic. This is definitely a young adult novel not a teen novel. There isn't sex or alcohol or drugs - apart from jurda parem - but the violence and the topics brought up by the story - I'm thinking of Inej's past at what is called the Menagerie - aren't appropriate for young readers. It's not a problem of course, just something to have in mind. Friendship, love, loyalty and morals are important themes. They aren't overly covered as the heist is the most important element. They are cleverly brought up.
This is not the type of books that make you think of the meaning of life but this is the type of books that grab you into its world and won't let you go until you're done. This is a thriller/fantasy/action book. This is a must-read.
Conlusion:
I feel like I haven't done the book justice with my review but I don't want to give away too much. You need to read this NOW.
Rating: ★★★★★ (I feel like adding a sixth star because it's that good but I won't)