Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #1
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Pub Date: September 29, 2015
Pages: 462
Format: ARC | Source: Publisher
Genres: young adult, fantasy 
Rating: 

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 outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

HEY EVERYONE, I FINALLY READ SIX OF CROWS! And I really really liked it.

I was unsure for about the first quarter of the book; the vastly detailed worldbuilding is impressive but it often gives me a slow start in new fantasy books because I get easily overwhelmed. It didn’t help that it’s been over three years since I read the Grisha trilogy so I couldn’t even remember some of the basics. Whoops. I usually just have to keep reading and hope it seeps enough into my brain to process. I also had a hard time connecting to the characters at first.

But goodness, as the book goes on it gets more and more brilliant. And wow is it brutal. I really loved how Leigh wove in stories of each of their pasts with the current book, and how the spotlight kept shifting to different characters. The crispiest, most burnt cinnamon rolls in YA hahah. It helped me connect with them and I loved their relationships with each other, even if they didn’t always trust each other. The dialogue was fantastic. And the heist really was of Ocean’s Eleven proportions. I also feel absolutely tortured by the ships because we get SO LITTLE but it makes it so good.

Six of Crows started slow for me but was such an impressive book overall; I fell hook, line, and sinker for it. And I leave you with Kaz Brekker in a nutshell:

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #2
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Pub Date: September 20, 2016
Pages: 546
Format: hardcover | Source: library
Genres: young adult, fantasy 
Rating: 

When you can’t beat the odds, change the game.

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

This duology has truly some of the best world building, best plotting, and most complex, interesting, weirdly likable characters I’ve ever read about. I think I liked Six of Crows a teensy bit more but this was a masterclass in scheming and plotting, and seeing it all come together as things fell apart was mind boggling. There is nothing I love more than a good reveal scene in books and movies. And the friendships! And the ships!! These people shouldn’t have been friends in any sense but they were and it was real and I loved that. Crooked Kingdom gave me a lot of Feels and a few teary lumps in the back of my throat while keeping up with awesome banter and black humor. I also thought it was left in a really satisfying place but because you can imagine these characters’ lives, it would be easy to hope for another book in the future someday.

(The Dregs but imagine them younger, more diverse, and eating waffles.)

Have you read this duology yet? Who’s your favorite member of the crew?