Book review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Book: Six of Crows

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult, fiction, fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5

Format: Hardcover

Favorite Character: Kaz Brekker


So when this book came out, I had just finished the Grisha trilogy and was excited to read something in the same universe. For some reason though it took me forever to finish this book, though. Most of the difficulty came in the first third of the book when everything was being set up. I just could not get into it and ended up setting it aside ans reading several other books. Finally after finishing Signs Point to Yes I picked it up again. And boy I don't know what happened because I couldn't put it down.

(Spoilers)
I feel like all the interesting things in this book happened at once. Kaz and Inej and their adorableness. An explanation of Nina and Matthias and back story for everyone. Also just the adventure of the heist. I could not stop reading. I feel like there was a lot of depth put into all of the characters, and each one was always facing something new. Inej had to deal past in the Menagerie, her feelings for Kaz, and her future; Al while climbing a hot-as-hell ventilation shaft. Jesper has a serious gambling problem and makes some serious mistakes, but he is also gay and totally into Wylan. The thing I like most about that is that it does not define him as a character in any way, like in most stories these days. Its mostly just a string of off-handed comments and actions that make you realize. Matthias makes me angry, but I can understand why he is that way, and he comes around in the end. Nina ties this story to the Grisha trilogy which I thought was pretty cool. As a character, I hated her for what she did to Matthias, but settled down after she explained herself. I have no real opinion on Wylan, other then I hope him and Jesper get together. 

I knew right away Iw ould like Kaz. He is just the type of character I swoon over. Calm, calculating, clever, always a step ahead, but with a dark past and flaws just like anyone else. I liked that he was played more than once, as it made him more human.

Overall this book was awesome and I'm anticipating the second one. Slow start, but totally worth it.

September wrap-up

So after a rough July and August I was able to read a lot in September. Having a series helped, and I also read six novellas that were super easy to get through. 

I started out with A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I listened to this book and ended up buying the paper copy because I loved it, and the book is beautiful. I really enjoyed this story and the world it created. I thought it was an interesting use of magic and dimensional travel, and I'm excited about the second book.

I then started the Grisha trilogy with Shadow and Bone and fell in love. I had a little trouble starting out but once I hit the halfway point I couldn't stop and bought the other two. I took a brief break to read through Claudia's Story, which didn't take very long since it is a graphic novel. I really loved the art and the glimpse into Claudia's screwed up tale. Then back to Ravka! Banged through the next two books and the novellas. Overall I really liked this series. I, of course, loved the Darkling because that's the way I roll. I also loved Nikolai because he is just fantastic. Alina pissed me off a lot, but most female leads in YA do. The last book gave me so many feels. I was crying so much through that book, for almost every character. 

Ended the month with I Am Princess X, which was a quick but thrilling read. It was tense in parts, and I found that fantastic. Then I read the Red Queen novella Queen Song. Meh. It was interesting to learn more about Cal's mother, but I felt the book dragged. It had also been a while since I read the book, so I was a bit lost at first until it came back to me. 

Overall I think it was a good month. I've started off October with Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, but I'm only about 30 pages in. I love that it takes place in the same world as the Grisha trilogy two years later, but has nothing to do with the previous cast. Though, I mean, I kind of wish it did. 

Onward and upward!