Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

"Bardugo has created a wildly imaginative story of six young people who have been commissioned to pull off the greatest heist of all time." 

~Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK 

~About the Book~

Title: Six of Crows {#1}

Author: Leigh Bardugo 

Publication Date: September 29th, 2015

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Length: 465 pages

Source:  Purchased

Description: "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 are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first."

~Review~

This is the first book that I have read by Leigh Bardugo, and what can I honestly say without fangirling my heart out. Bardugo created this Grisha world, and it's stunning in every single aspect. I give Six of Crows 9.2 out of 10 rating. Everything about this book was well crafted and intriguing beyond belief. I know that this is not the first book Leigh has created within this Grisha world, and for some it probably would be easier to read that trilogy first to fully understand all the names being dropped, but I hadn't read that trilogy yet and I understood the general story line perfectly.

For starters, I would like to point out the turn this book took for the actual perspectives itself. Each chapter had a character name stated at the top. So at first I thought that meant that this book was going to be alternating between six different characters POV's, at that point I had gotten a little scared. However that's not the case at all. The names at the top of each chapter stated which character the chapter would generally focus on and then it would be told in a third person perspective.

The thing that pulled me in right from the start was the blurb on the back, it was solid gold. Everything about it made the story sound so intriguing. I think my favourite part would have to have been this:
"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."

This little part already generally informed you of the kinds of characters we as readers would be reading about. My expectations were completely met and fulfilled when it came to the story line. There was enough suspense, tragedy, and subtle romance to go around and even then some. The story started with a bang, and ended with an even louder bang at the end. I am eagerly anticipating Crooked Kingdom's Fall 2016 release.

Throughout the book the story line focused around six main characters. Each played an important role that helped the story shape and mold into it's ending. There are however a couple who stuck out in my mind, but before I get to that I want to share a quote with you that highlights kind of the way each character thinks.

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.
"You're all horrible," said Matthias.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows"

This little scene was definitely one of the many that made me love each and every character individually.
The first outstanding character is Inej.. the things that girl was put through were not only heart stopping but also quite exciting. I always loved her counter words that would seemingly fit perfectly to sightly argue what Kaz was saying. The amount strength Inej had as a character was amazing, and what amazed me even more was her character development in the way she pushed herself. She was so brilliantly crafted.
The next character I most certainly must mention would have to be the brilliant "monster" and master mind behind the heist.. Kaz Brekker. Kaz was quite the character. He's very closed off to even those he keeps semi close, however I did see the development between him and Inej's friendship. So that was quite refreshing. Another thing I really enjoyed about him were his one liners, they were smart, totally right, and funny all at the same time.
Overall, I would mention each and every single character because they all had such unique components to bring and add to the story, however then my review would be pages long.
An applause to Bardugo is deserved for creating such magnificent characters.

In Conclusion, if you have read Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy then I totally suggest you check out this duology. However, you don't need to really read that trilogy first because I am only starting it now and Six of Crows made prefect sense to me. If you do pick up this book, I do hope you enjoy because I definitely highly recommend this book.