Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 25, 2018 Adjrun rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy-and-sci-fi

I devoured this book in less than a day. What a fantastic heist novel. Sympathetic characters, earned reveals.

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May 27, 2021 Jaime rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2021, ya-fantasy

I went into this book somewhat blind, expecting another fantasy-quest type story like we had in Shadow & Bone. So I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself reading a heist novel. Who doesn't love a heist? I do think you should read the Shadow & Bone trilogy before starting this one, to give you a better understanding of the world and the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker is the young leader of the Dregs, one of the more powerful gangs in the Barrel section of Ketterdam. He normally is focused on taking mo ...more

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Sep 25, 2015 CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph rated it liked it

Shelves: audio, 2016-reading-challenge, fantasy, young-adult, it-s-not-you-it-s-me

I finally finished reading this book last night. I don't say finally lightly, either. This book took a lot of time, patience, and energy to read. I enjoy Leigh Bardugo's Grisha books, so even though I don't read much YA anymore and even though I'm not a big fan of heist stories, I picked this up. Maybe I'm just not the right audience, because of those reasons. While I loved Inej and was thoroughly in her corner, the others took time to grow on me, if at all. I came to appreciate Jesper and Kaz a I finally finished reading this book last night. I don't say finally lightly, either. This book took a lot of time, patience, and energy to read. I enjoy Leigh Bardugo's Grisha books, so even though I don't read much YA anymore and even though I'm not a big fan of heist stories, I picked this up. Maybe I'm just not the right audience, because of those reasons. While I loved Inej and was thoroughly in her corner, the others took time to grow on me, if at all. I came to appreciate Jesper and Kaz a bit, although everyone had had to be so cold and calculating in order to survive that even after they became more sympathetic, I still didn't really like them. Matthias and Nina were really annoying for much of the book--the main reason that I set the book down for several weeks at about the halfway point was because I couldn't deal with their bickering (which means they love each other) anymore. It turns out that if I had persevered just a few more pages, I would have come to another section of the book and the action would have resumed. So if you feel yourself reaching that point, press on. It settles down eventually.
Also, I do not recommend the audio version of this book. While the book might have benefited from being read by a diverse cast with accents similar to the cultures they represented (basically Scandinavian, Dutch, Russian, and perhaps Romani? I couldn't tell what Jesper's culture paralleled to.), it did not have that. Instead it was read by a bunch of bland American actors who added nothing to the story. I read through much quickly when I picked it back up later, in paper format.
Partly because I could skim. Action scenes, mostly. They didn't hold my interest very well--but that may once again be my problem. I love the rich and culturally diverse world Ms. Bardugo has created, with its lifelike cities (especially Ketterdam) and vibrant cultures. I just wish I'd found the story and characters themselves more engaging.
Will I read the next book? It's hard to say; probably not for quite awhile, if ever. I would like to know what happens to Inej, though--I want to know if she can ever achieve her newfound goals, and if Kaz can ever beat his demons enough to attain his heart's desire. So maybe I will, eventually. Not as an audio book. When I have plenty of time to read it. ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Roman Colombo rated it it was amazing

While it had a really slow start, this was a really good heist novel. Once I got into it, I couldn't wait to listen to more. The characters are wonderfully developed.

On the audio side...eh. They used a lot of different narrators, but they didn't match up characters well--this just made things really confusing. I liked the idea, but they needed a director to make sure their character's voices sounded the same. ...more

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Sep 12, 2017 Meghan rated it really liked it

FINALLY!!! I found a fantasy book that isn't dragged down by too much exposition and world building. Instead Bardugo wisely turns her eye to the gorgeous complex characters, their relationships, and her page-turning rocket of a heist story. The book drew a lot of comparisons to Oceans 11 for that reason, but honestly, Soderbergh's characters are so much flatter than those found here in the barrel. Read this one now, and thank me later. No mourners, no funerals. ...more

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