Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Oct 06, 2018 Jacqie rated it liked it

Shelves: sirens-2018

This was fine, but I don't feel compelled to seek out more by this author.

I've been reading a lot of YA lately for a reading challenge, and I'm finding that it has to be pretty damn transcendent YA for me to really like it. I'm at the age where reading about a bunch of teenagers who are all amazingly accomplished and just the best at everything (better than anyone else in the world!) begins to annoy. Teenagers have boundless energy, powerful emotions, and young bodies that can recover from physi This was fine, but I don't feel compelled to seek out more by this author.

I've been reading a lot of YA lately for a reading challenge, and I'm finding that it has to be pretty damn transcendent YA for me to really like it. I'm at the age where reading about a bunch of teenagers who are all amazingly accomplished and just the best at everything (better than anyone else in the world!) begins to annoy. Teenagers have boundless energy, powerful emotions, and young bodies that can recover from physical exertion and abuse. These things do make them interesting characters. But I'm a bit tired of the "being young makes you the best, and those old folks are never going to know what hit them!" trope that seems to be part of so many of these books.

Take Kaz. He's seventeen, but he's the best thief in all of Ketterdam, with the wiliest crew, and the best information network by far. Better than any other master thieves!!!! Bleh. Kaz also uses a cane, but at times he can still sprint like the wind. He's the best at sleight of hand, never backs down from a challenge, and knows the city better than anyone else. Then there's Inej. She's (I think) seventeen, and is the best spy acrobat thief assassin in all of Ketterdam! She's also Kaz's wingman. And because this is YA, there must of course be a tortured romance between them that neither of them ever talk about. That's a lot of mileage for two teenagers, and that's before I even start on each of their backstories.

So, I still thought this was a decent book- there's a lot of interesting world-building, and the cast of characters was interesting, if of dubious possibility. I'm not sure it worked as a heist- I never felt a lot of tension in any scene because I was waiting for Kaz to do something that would solve the whole problem every time, because he knew everything and always predicted accurately what everyone else would do. The double-crossing sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. I just am a bit burned out on YA superheroes who aren't officially superpowered, if you know what I mean. That's probably not this book's fault. ...more

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Mar 21, 2017 Penny rated it liked it

3.5*

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Jun 30, 2021 Roxana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-shelves, owned-fancy, queer-ya, owned

A HIGH four stars, honestly, but I just can’t with Matthias’s redemption-through-love arc. Other than that, loved it!

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Oct 12, 2022 Karisa added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2022

An interesting and imaginative story, with intriguing, likable (criminal) characters… but it’s also pretty dark, with more violence than I would prefer. So, as the audiobook dwindled down to the last disc, I was a little sad to be almost done, but mostly looking forward to seeing how everything would wrap up and glad to close out this book and move onto something a little sunnier. Unfortunately, all those hopes were dashed with an ending left dangling with far too much unfinished business to be ...more

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Sep 15, 2021 Joy rated it liked it

I think I'm YA-fantasy-ed out currently. I should have liked this one better but I just couldn't get in to it. Perhaps it was the audio format that made it difficult to keep up with the characters and names? Too much conflict? ...more

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Feb 09, 2022 Duygu rated it liked it

Shelves: popsugar-2022, aty-2022

I almost gave up after the first few chapters. I was sooooooooooooo confused. All the new terminology, world-building, etc. I am glad I stuck with it. But be forewarned, don't get caught up in the words, just keep on reading and the story will take a hold of you. ...more

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Feb 18, 2017 Mina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ps-challenge-2017

Took me a hot minute to get acquainted with all the characters and landmarks in this one. However once I had my bearings I loved the ride. Twists and turns throughout. I'll be reading the next one for sure. Enjoyed it a great deal. ...more

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