Review - Six of Crows

Six of Crows

5 out of 5 Thieving Stars

"No mourners, no funerals."

Oh, hell yes, Ms. Bardugo. This right here is one hell of an awesome book. I've always been a fan of the antihero, and here Bardugo has created an amazing cast of characters than we really shouldn't like, yet can't help liking anyway. I mean, we've got spies and thieves and convicts oh my! Simply awesome. Definitely deserving of a Spotlight Sunday post, and an all-consuming read that once you start, you'll forget about everything else and get sucked into the story whether you want to be or not.

"This isn't a job for trained soldiers and spies. It's a job for thugs and thieves."

Okay, I will admit, I was a bit lost and confused at first. Six of Crows is based in the same world as Bardugo's Grisha series, which I read the first book of, but I didn't remember enough to be able to really understand all these terms she was using (which reminds me, I need to read her other series ASAP). There's so much thought that is put into the Grisha, people that are separated into three groups, and then subgroups, depending on what magic they can wield. The amount of detail that is also put into this alternate world (for Six of Crows it's based on an alternate Netherlands, the Grisha series on alternate Russia) is crazy-good. The guide of the Grisha groups and the maps drawn in the beginning of the novel really help us understand these different groups, and accurately envision where the crew is during their heist.

"Everything seemed sunnier with a weapon in his hand."

Now, onto the freaking impressive cast of characters. I've been reading a couple of novels now that deal with multiple POVs, and Bardugo is able to navigate between five different POVs magnificently. With each character's chapter, I am sucked into their thoughts, understanding their reasoning behind their decisions and actions, and sometimes being treated to a couple of flashbacks, too! I absolutely love the characters she has created in Six of Crows; each one is unique and essential to the plot of the story, making for one hell of an engaging novel. Kaz, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Jesper, and Wylan are so developed and flushed out that I feel like I really know these characters. At first I thought they were older than they actually are, since this is definitely a mature read, but I like them as teenagers. It shows that anyone can become anything at any age. Oh, and the nicknames for the characters are pretty cool and match their person perfectly.  I love getting to see them grow and live up to their badassery, and they are the perfect group for this novel.

"Never something for nothing."

Moving past my obsession with the amazing crew Bardugo has created, I am blown-away by the amount of research that must have been done in creating this plot. Not only did Bardugo create her own language, she also had to make sure that the thieving skills of these characters are realistic. The way that she gets them into a problem, and then solving the problem, is completely believable. Hell, if anyone reading this wants to become a thief, you can learn quite a lot from Bardugo here. The finesse that is needed to make this work is astronomical, and Bardugo pulls it off with ease. I know it took a lot of research and planning, which just goes to show how talented an author she is because of how effortless it all seems.

"When everyone knows you're a monster, you needn't waste time doing every monstrous thing."

Okay, I haven't really talked about the plot yet, have I? Well, basically it's six people banding together as a crew to pull off the ultimate heist, one that seems so impossible you're going to need to know how they plan on pulling it off. But besides for the plot, I love the relationships between the crew, of seeing how they grow not just individually, but as a group and maybe, between certain characters, something more. Let me make it clear right now, though: Six of Crows is by no means a romance novel. Yes, the romance is there, but it's teasing, fluttering to the surface for a page, only to go back into the shadows. It never takes away from the overall feel of the novel, of a crew pulling off a heist, and in my opinion, it just adds more depth to the characters and makes them a bit relatable. There is just the right amount of romance in the background, and I'm glad Bardugo chose to add it in. 

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

Overall, if you haven't gathered this already from my review, you should start reading Six of Crows ASAP. It's suspenseful, action packed, dark, and there's never a dull moment. Everything that happens is important, and Bardugo has created a wonderful world filled with fantasy and kickass characters. Is it September yet? I need the sequel Crooked Kingdom now!! Oh, and those black stained pages? Beautiful!

"Nations rise and fall. Markets are made and unmade. When power shifts, someone always suffers."