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Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)

Leigh Bardugo

Start date: February 1, 2021

Finish date: February 28, 2021

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What Members Thought

Jun 30, 2017 Jessica Edwards rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favourites, young-adult

Wow..there are no words!
I WANT TO GIVE THIS BOOK 10 STARS!
This took me awhile to write, but I've been meaning to write a long review for awhile.
So here it is!

Six of Crows follows six teenagers living in the city of Ketterdam, a city of slums and crime lords.
Kaz Brekker, an infamous thief (also known as Dirtyhands) is promised a very large sum of money to kidnap Bo Yul-Bayur, a scientist from the Ice Court.
The Ice Court is the most highly protected place in Fjerda, and Kaz won't be able to gatec Wow..there are no words!
I WANT TO GIVE THIS BOOK 10 STARS!
This took me awhile to write, but I've been meaning to write a long review for awhile.
So here it is!

Six of Crows follows six teenagers living in the city of Ketterdam, a city of slums and crime lords.
Kaz Brekker, an infamous thief (also known as Dirtyhands) is promised a very large sum of money to kidnap Bo Yul-Bayur, a scientist from the Ice Court.
The Ice Court is the most highly protected place in Fjerda, and Kaz won't be able to gatecrash it alone. He needs a crew.
He recruits Inej Ghafa. Inej is known for her ability to climb buildings and move across impossible terrain with extreme agility. She's quiet but strong, and she's got quite an interesting background. Inej was kidnapped from her family's caravan and sold to a brothel in Ketterdam. When she eventually escaped, she entered into a contract with Per Haskell, a crime lord in Ketterdam. Inej's goal is to make enough money off of her work for Haskell to pay off her contract and return home to Ravka.
Next, Kaz recruits Jesper Fahey. He is the crew's sharpshooter. Jesper is a lighthearted and sarcastic character, who enjoys gambling a bit more than he should.
Nina is the only trained Grisha in the crew. She is stuck in Ketterdam and is unable to go home. Nina is really confident and unapologetic of who she is. She's also loyal to her friends.
Matthias a former Druskelle, soldiers from Fjerda. He has history with Nina as the two of them helped each other after a storm destroyed their ship, with the two of them developing a trust. Nina betrays him which causes him to hate her, but he also loves her.
Wylan is the son of a merchant. He serves as the brains of the operation. Wylan is an intelligent engineer and inventor. He's very shy and awkward because he's been isolated for most of his life, but slowly warms to the other members of the crew.

Can I just say, that this book is beautifully written.
Each and every character in this book were likable and bad-ass, and they literally felt like real characters.
Loved everything about this book! ...more

791 likes · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2021 Briney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, friendship, adventure-travel-journeys, series, ya, damn-those-cliffy-s, unforgettable, cackling, kickass-heriones, loved

Reread Dec 2023 - still phenomenal in every way.

YESYESYES, EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL.

A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse.

Please welcome my new shelf would-lay-my-life-down-for-them and let it explain my feelings better than this inarticulate "review".

I may have arrived 5 years late to the fan club, but guys - I'M HERE AND I'M LOVING IT. Everything about this was jus ...more

74 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2018 krista ☽✧ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-reads, morally-grey-books

“No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for 'good luck.”

“Inej had once offered to teach him how to fall. "The trick is not getting knocked down," he'd told her with a laugh. "No, Kaz," she'd said, "the trick is in getting back up.”

Times i have readed this book in total - 3 -My love for this found familly , this cast of charracters and this story is unendless and i will never stop re-reading this duology. Eeveryone pick it up , right now. Otherwise you missed this amazing story and ...more

55 likes · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2020 inês rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ッ, favorites, 2020

as amazing as i remembered, i love the crows <3

50 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2016 Fray rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-2016, read-2020, rereads

2nd read: 12 December 2020 — 27 December 2020

So I’m Dutch, and Kerch is largely based on my mother tongue, and Ketterdam is heavily influenced by Amsterdam with its canals and red light district (the Barrel in Six of Crows). It will forever be odd and fascinating to see characters with typical Dutch names (Kaz Rietveld, Jan van Eck, etc,) to read about Dutch dishes (hutspot) and vocabulary (Barrel, gondel, straat, etc.) I love walking around Amsterdam and sometimes thinking of scenes from thi ...more

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Apr 22, 2020 eme☾ rated it it was amazing

4,5.
Tenía altísimas expectativas, y aunque me costó horrores (y de verdad) tomarle el ritmo a la historia, me encantó.
Punto fuerte fuertísimo de la historia: Los personajes.
Le estoy gritando NO a mi Kindle hace como 2 horas mientras leía las últimas páginas. Y la ilusa que escribe tenia la esperanza de que termine bien. Já.

"No mourners. No funerals."

************

Cuando empecé Six of Crows tenía esta necesidad de que me guste. Es de esos pocos libros que parece que a todo el mundo le parec 4,5.
Tenía altísimas expectativas, y aunque me costó horrores (y de verdad) tomarle el ritmo a la historia, me encantó.
Punto fuerte fuertísimo de la historia: Los personajes.
Le estoy gritando NO a mi Kindle hace como 2 horas mientras leía las últimas páginas. Y la ilusa que escribe tenia la esperanza de que termine bien. Já.

"No mourners. No funerals."

************

Cuando empecé Six of Crows tenía esta necesidad de que me guste. Es de esos pocos libros que parece que a todo el mundo le parece bueno, en mas o en menos, pero nadie que yo conozca lo destruyó. Asi que quería ser parte de eso. Y por eso me desilusioné un poco porque al principio no entendía nada. Y cuando digo nada es NADA. Estuve como 3 días para leer, no se, la primera parte. Tenía esta cosa de que me interesaba la trama pero me costaba mucho entender los lugares a los que se refería la autora, los Grisha y todo lo que forma parte de la mitología del libro. Pedí ayuda a una persona que había leído Shadow and Bone para que me pusiera en contexto, y seguía sin entender la mitad. En otros momentos me hubiera rendido y dejado el libro por la mitad (o menos). Pero le dí otra chance. Y valió la pena.
Pasada la primera parte del libro, cuando se terminan de presentar los personajes, éstos pasan a ser más importantes e interesantes que la trama misma (que se volvió muy buena). Realmente no me pasaba desde, no sé, los libros de Casandra Clare o The Lunar Chronicles, de amar TANTO a unos personajes. Porque de verdad fue así. No es que me parecieron intrigantes, divertidos, y miles de otros adjetivos. Estan excelentemente construidos, hacen que los ames y que quieras ayudarlos a través de las hojas, y pocas personas pueden lograr eso. Me gustó mucho además como la autora le dió importancia a la espiritualidad, a las creencias de cada uno, como tienen que combatir sus propios demonios, que se interponen entre sus relaciones con los demás personajes. Otro punto a destacar es que la autora crea unas relaciones tan profundas, sin ser el romance clásico, que me tenía suspirando cada vez que leía.
La trama en sí esta buena, aunque sentía medio inverosímil algunas cosas, como que Kaz siempre se adelantaba a todo (excepto al final *sobbing*). (view spoiler)
En resumen, fantasía, relaciones interesantes, personajes bien planteados y un final que te deja con ganas de más. Solo le bajé media estrella por lo que me costó empezarlo.
Crooked Kingdom me espera (en algún tiempo cercano).

"Jer molle pe oonet. Enel mörd je nej afva trothem verretn". Nina swallowed hard. She rememberd those words and they truly meant. I have been made to protect you. Only death will I be kept from this oath.

...more

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Jan 29, 2021 magdalena dolorico rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, ya-books, fantasy

Kaz and Inej are some of my favorite characters I've ever read about in my life to be completely honest, and if they aren't bi panic idk what is. The other characters are fantastic as well, but there's this magic i feel while in Kaz and Inej's POVs that is just unmatched by the others. I'm going to have to reread this book sometime in the future to get more clear thoughts on it, because I happened to read it in one of the worst weeks of my life and was a bit distracted. But I know I'm in love wi Kaz and Inej are some of my favorite characters I've ever read about in my life to be completely honest, and if they aren't bi panic idk what is. The other characters are fantastic as well, but there's this magic i feel while in Kaz and Inej's POVs that is just unmatched by the others. I'm going to have to reread this book sometime in the future to get more clear thoughts on it, because I happened to read it in one of the worst weeks of my life and was a bit distracted. But I know I'm in love with the world Leigh Bardugo has built. I keep picturing all the scenes and just want to experience them again. The level of improvement from the Grisha Trilogy to this is incredible. I remember this book wasn't perfect and there are some things I was frustrated with, perhaps it was the pacing and placement of the many flashbacks, but AGAIN, I'm gonna have to reread because I can't organize my thoughts on it that well lol. But based on my fondness for the world and characters, and how excited I am when I think about this book, it's a four star read for me. Almost at the end of Crooked Kingdom right now and I'm loving it just as much, maybe even more.

Reread: LOVE

Honestly I don’t have much more to say about this. I adored it again, and I felt more connected to the other characters storylines, bc the first time I was just like Kaz and Inej Kaz and Inej Kaz and Inej. I still don’t think it’s perfect. Kaz’s characterization drifts into caricature territory at times (like a lot of telling us repeatedly “he’s so ruthless!” “he’s so smart!”) but I don’t care I love him for it, but I can see where that might bother others. I think Nina and Matthias’s relationship could have been a bit better developed and I never felt as connected to them as I wanted to be, which is a bit of a disappointment since they’re such a big part of the book. I’m not saying I don’t like them at all, but I don’t like them nearly as much as I want to, or as the book wants me to. I appreciated the action and heist-y elements much more this time around, because the first time I was so compelled by the characters, that big blocks of action, (particularly from characters other than Kaz and Inej bc i never minded with theirs) bored me the tiniest bit.

Highlights:

First five or so chapters (plus prologue) -
God I absolutely adore every part of this first third, the character introductions are so great, and setting up the atmosphere of Ketterdam and the story is just done beautifully and I felt so immersed.

When Everything Escalates -
Probably around the 3/4 mark shit just gets absolutely crazy and I just could not put down the book. Just brilliant stuff.😩

Low Points:

There’s this middle section that I think is a bit of a hard block to get through, probably because of poor pacing it just drags there a little bit.

The writing can feel a bit stunted and not as vividly in the heads of the characters as you want it to be. I read someone saying if this was written in first person it would improve this a lot, and while I wouldn’t want the book to change from 3rd person because for the most part I like it that way, I do think 1st person would help bridge this distance you feel from the characters at times. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

May 05, 2018 Salma19 (And I Darken stan) rated it it was ok

2 stars
OVERHYped....
Seriously, I wish I loved it like many of you.

Sooo, I have a long story with Six of Crows.
When I bought it in 2017, I thought this gonna be one of my favorites.
When I was reading this, I thought I'll DNF it because not a lot of things happened in the first half even though the characters are likeable and I didn't like the fact the first half was almost only flashbacks. So, I put this book down for a month. The only characters that were not boring are Nina and Matthias.

I re-p ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 07, 2021 Caitlin ~WordsAreMyForte~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

3.5 stars

You know what a group of crows is called? A murder. Very fitting, Leigh Bardugo.

The Shadow and Bone trilogy was hardly a favorite series of mine, so jumping into 'Six of Crows' was a wildly different experience. It bewilders me how a writer can grow and progress to gradually tell more mature and unique stories with each new novel, and Leigh Bardugo is a prime example of that in my eyes. 'Six of Crows' has basically all you could ask for in a well-rounded, slightly more mature YA fantasy 3.5 stars

You know what a group of crows is called? A murder. Very fitting, Leigh Bardugo.

The Shadow and Bone trilogy was hardly a favorite series of mine, so jumping into 'Six of Crows' was a wildly different experience. It bewilders me how a writer can grow and progress to gradually tell more mature and unique stories with each new novel, and Leigh Bardugo is a prime example of that in my eyes. 'Six of Crows' has basically all you could ask for in a well-rounded, slightly more mature YA fantasy novel: multiple perspectives that are well-balanced and each have their own voice, a multifaceted plot to keep the reader on their toes (or crow's feet) at all times, morally grey characters whose motives change at the flip of a coin, and a world loosely based on reality but is still separate and decidedly its own universe.

As much as I enjoyed every part of this book, I particularly loved the story between Nina and Matthias, of their rapidly shifting loyalties, exploring the ordeal of putting trust in someone you're told by society to instinctively hate. Inej and Jesper's stories evoke great sympathy from the reader, what with their own particular insecurities, tribulations, and attempts to adapt to this new world thrust at them. Wylan's character intrigues me quite a bit as the rejected son of a wealthy man, but I don't think Bardugo delved into his character in this first book with much depth, so I'm excited for some exploration of his character in 'Crooked Kingdom.'

I'm very conflicted about our main man, Kaz Brekker, because, one the one hand, he is an incredibly well-developed character with a tragic backstory that allows for a weakness I've never seen portrayed in YA before. (view spoiler) On the other hand, Kaz very much felt like he was crafted for the sole reason of being a main character, spouting short maxims nearly every sentence and remaining on top of the whereabouts and intentions of nearly all of his allies and enemies. As much as I enjoyed reading his character, he did not feel real to me. (view spoiler)

Also, if Kaz is a cripple who needs a cane to walk, why is it that he can go miles without a cane and keep up with everyone's normal walking/running pace? Was it just that his injury wasn't actually that bad? Then why would he need the cane at all? There's a point in the book where he says that having his cane around all the time is a burden because others could too easily recognize him. But!! If he limps, isn't that also obvious? I am confusion.

I know this is fantasy where rules of reality don't necessarily apply, but the reminder that all of these characters are 16-17 pulled me out of the story on multiple occasions. The way they act and talk—their sheer abilities in deception and combat for crying out loud—are that of at least twenty-somethings. As older teenagers, their brain neurons have not even fully matured, and you're telling me that they're entrusted with a top secret mission that could destroy the world? My brain can't fathom that. I'm not saying that teenage characters have to be stupid, but the level of maturity and ability of these characters simply did not match up with the picture I had of them in my mind. I know this is hardly a problem with only SOC —it probably has more so to do with me becoming jaded to the YA genre—but this still holds me back from being highly invested in the story.

'Six of Crows' was thoroughly engaging, amusing, and exhilarating throughout, and, honestly, it was all due to the cast of characters and their dynamics that pulled the story together in such an immaculate way. It was a breath of fresh air to learn more about the Grishaverse through characters who are actually compelling and interesting (unlike miss Alina...), and I hope the second continues to deliver mature themes and great creativity with regard to this world and its characters. ...more

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Jul 27, 2020 Andrea rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-other-world

So. This book.

For the first 3/4 of the book I was planning on giving it 4 stars. I loooooved those 6 misfits so much. And it is incredibly well written, that many POVs and constant flashbacks could have easily gone the wrong way, but Leigh Bardugo is a goddess. And that's a fact.

And yet I was expecting something more, even tough it was great, it didn't feel spectacular. Maybe it's because of the hype, or because I recently finished the Shadow and Bone trilogy so nothing about the world reall ...more

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Dec 21, 2015 Amanda (MetalPhantasmReads) rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf

DNF after Part One

This is another book that I do not understand the hype. I also don't get why people like the ruthless, morally great characters that don't value life or honesty. Kaz felt like too much like a one dimensional "special snowflake I'm so mean" character. Also, the pacing was taking forever to get to the main plot, which sounds good. But you can develop characters while the plot keeps going.
Plus, from a writing stand point, there were times when subjects were beaten to death. (With ...more

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May 06, 2018 Dimitra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite-series

Nothing to say

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2019 OldBird rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, magic

I can see why people who read the Grisha series after this would be disappointed. While Grisha is very much your standard YA fantasy replete with dangerous magic and forbidden love, this is a complex thing of beauty. Slow, painfully painfully slow for the first two thirds, and undoubtedly cringeworthy to those picking out cultural faux-pas (of which I understand there to be many - so much so I now think of Grishas as Garys just to point out the silliness of using real-world things badly) but sti I can see why people who read the Grisha series after this would be disappointed. While Grisha is very much your standard YA fantasy replete with dangerous magic and forbidden love, this is a complex thing of beauty. Slow, painfully painfully slow for the first two thirds, and undoubtedly cringeworthy to those picking out cultural faux-pas (of which I understand there to be many - so much so I now think of Grishas as Garys just to point out the silliness of using real-world things badly) but still shockingly enjoyable once we really get into the story.

Because this isn't the story of a high stakes heist full of daring dos and non-stop action. It's a story about the people who commit one. Characters make up the meat of the book, the action almost an afterthought. Again I'll complain the build up is slow when you're expecting something more YAish, and so many times I just longed for less prevaricating about the myriad characters' multifaceted pasts and more stuff happening. But it's necessary to get to know Kaz and his crew because without that prior knowledge the rest of the story would just be stuff happening. It's because of those characters that we give a monkeys about what happens to them.

Brass tacks here: Kaz isn't a good guy. Nor a nice guy. Nor are any of his associates. They are quite frankly unlikable. And yet they all have something to amuse you and keep you on their side in a kind of grudging appreciation. Nina's swagger in the face of adversity, Inej's sense of purpose and innocence despite her job, Jesper's dry wit, Wylan's quiet inner strength despite his naivety, Matthias' ability to challenge his sense of fairness and loyalty. And Kaz himself, the ruthless, scheming, hard-nosed, gold-digging Bastard of The Barrel - he is so much more than he seems. Everyone has a past that has shaped them, and by exploring it in snatches here and there we come to know what made them they way they are. It is a thing of character development beauty. (Slow beauty, but still...) The dynamic between the crew is amazing, based on a mutual mistrust as much as anything else. This is not some tight-knit band of brothers(/sisters) in arms on a mission to right the world. Love and hate between them is often blurred.

There is no overt romance, or at least not in the tradition swoony sense, which in and of itself makes this stand out amidst it's YA rivals for your attention. It's a sort of young adult appropriate grimdark - not everything is terrible, but it's gritty, grotty and the world isn't going to bring out the best in people. No one here is a paladin. People do bad things, bad thing destroy people, people pass it on.

I will say that the only bothersome thing, pacing aside, is how young in age but old in personality the characters are. They sound like 20-somethings, not tweens. Usually we're reading about adults behaving like kids, and here's it's the opposite. Weird.

At first the slow pace really threw me. But the complexity of the characters and the deliciously twisted tone that the GaryGrisha-verse takes with this book ended up drawing me in. Definitely worth a read if you like your story character-centric... followed by a heavy dollop of action, intrigue and emotional destruction. ...more

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