Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis:

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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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

When Leigh Bardugo wrote this book, little did she know that she would be breaking the scarce emotional stability YA readers have.

Six of Crows is the first book of a duology that yet again submerges us into the Grisha universe (Grishaverse). This world was introduced in her first saga, Shadow and Bone. it is not mandatory to read it before Six of Crows although doing so will certainly make some aspects of the fictional universe clearer. Anyway, the characters and the plot from this saga and Shadow and Bone are a far cry from alike. When reading it you have to bear in mind that the language used in the novel is quite complex and, for that reason, I recommend this book to advance readers or at least to those who have patience, if English is not your Mother tongue. Also, don't be scared away by the language and terminology since you will incorporate it as chapters go by, just keep reading :)

The story follows Kaz Brekker, also known as Dirtyhands, who leads a gang of thugs. One day someone gives him an impossible mission where death is the most likely outcome; but if he, with his superior mind and well-planned crew, are able to survive, money will be so abundant that all their deepest dreams could be achieved.

This book is such perfection that I can’t even put it into actual words. First and foremost, the storyline is so complicated and marvelous that it blows away every tiny bit of love I have towards my reality. The way it was built made me able to feel the darkness on the streets and on the characters’ choices. The difficulty of the heist is conspicuous; nevertheless it is well-constructed and clearly explained in the plot in a manner that every step the characters take is breathtaking. I had to take pauses from page to page in order to process what was happening since it was overwhelming in a very positive way. This book contains lots of plot twists, turns on the story that you don’t even realize you are taking until the bomb goes off.

Even though every aspect of the novel is like pure gold to me, the characters are what Bardugo triumphed with. You are able to know their characters by their full-of-shades and imperfect pasts. You connect with them even though each one has their flaws (they are criminals so…)

• Kaz: the superior boy, with his convoluted plans where nobody and nothing slips from his hands, except, maybe, his own feelings.

• Inej: the Wraith, the invisible girl, the gatherer of secrets, the girl who floats where no one is able to catch her... except her own fears.

• Jesper: the precise sharpshooter who will not fail a bullet even in his nightmares, but even though his guns are not his most valuable weapon.

• Nina: the Grisha with the power to control someone else’s body, but who, however, struggles to know and rule hers.

• Mathias: the Fjerdan, the different one, with divergent cultures and beliefs, who yet loves and feels the same intense way as the others.

• And last but not least, Wayland: the kid, the one who has lots to learn in order to survive, the one who despite his privileged past, has had to withstand a lot.

I fell in love with every single character. Bardugo painted them as real people, with real history, to the extent that you can ask me their description and I will talk about them as intimate friends. The chapters are written through their individual point of view where you have to be prepared to encounter some flashbacks, dreams and desires, and nightmares and fears. There is very little romance but at the same time everything they do, every breath they take is out of love. Something that really impresses me from the book is that there are so few spicy moments that you, somehow, learn to appreciate every little one of them, where the slightest smile, the slightest caress, gave me goosebumps.

This book deserves all the hype it has and more. So if you want a book that will take your breath away, that will overtake you and your heart, a book where you fall in love with the bad guys, then I don’t know what you are waiting for; Go and read Six of crows NOW!