"Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
"Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Hey everyone!
I'm finally back with yet another book recommendation thanks to Tik Tok.
Enjoy!
Novel: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 465
Series: Six of Crows #1
Personally, I believe it is slightly overhyped and I initially did struggle to get into it. However, Bardugo's writing is nothing short of a descriptive masterpiece.
"Let's let the Ice Court know the Dregs have come to call." - Jesper Fahey
Blurb:
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
Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
So, yes, don't hate me. I do believe that this novel is good, but I do think it is also overhyped. The first part of the novel is quite slow-paced, I found. I was struggling to read it without needing a break quite often. It felt like it was dragging, like the plot needed some extra oomph to get it going. The thing is, though, that I read SOC without reading the Shadow and Bone series which this is a spin-off of. I don't know if it would have been a different story if I had read that trilogy first, but I did find myself very confused at the beginning, trying to understand all these new foreign phrases and this completely new plot. I wonder if I should have read the SAB trilogy before reading SOC to fully get a grasp on the world Bardugo has created so brilliantly.
Despite this, however, I do believe it began to pick up and the story really found its grip. I don't find it hard to read sometimes when there is a minimal amount of romance in stories, but I think Kaz Brekker and Inej, despite not actually getting together or even hinting if they even will in the sequel, I do believe they are in love and there is definitely enough Brekker quotes which I have saved to my Goodreads account to back me up. Their entwined storyline definitely got me through the book. I absolutely loved how Kaz is seen as this strong, emotionless criminal who doesn't feel anything, when deep down, he fears losing Inej most, which becomes so evident at the end of the book. I don't know how the sequel pans out, but I do hope they at least kiss or tell each other they love each other or something close to it, because honestly, it is so obvious they do.
Other than that, I did love the side characters. Nina and Matthais's story was my second favourite part. They have the enemies to lovers trope that I idolise to death. They definitely did the minimal romance side to this story justice.
The overall plot of the story, being the heist on the Ice Court, wasn't really what I enjoyed the most. I found that it was rather dry and didn't really initiate anything from me. However, I think the Dregs working together and the scenes with Kaz, Inej and then Nina and Matthais respectively, was what really brought it all together for me. I think the characters in the story really save Six of Crows, rather than the plot itself.
Overall, it was a really well-crafted novel and despite it not being my favourite ever, I am excited to eventually read the sequel. Oh, and let's not forget, it is becoming a Netflix television series! It couldn't get much better than that. I can't believe fans aren't talking more about it honestly.
PROS: Kaz and Inej for sure.
CONS: Not getting into the plot until closer to the end.
So, I give this novel a 7.5/10!
See you very soon with another novel I have been waiting for years to read. Can you guess what it might be?
