Book Information

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Fantasy
Published: Orion, June 2016

About the Book

Criminal prodigy, Kaz Brekker has been offered a chance at a deadly heist: break into the Ice Court – a military stronghold that has never been breached – and retrieve a hostage whose knowledge could change Grisha magic forever. To succeed would mean riches beyond Kaz’s 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.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Together they might just be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

My Review

Six of Crows is the first book in a duology written by Leigh Bardugo, who also wrote the Shadow and Bone series (review coming soon!) and is part of the GrishaVerse. The book details the adventures of six dangerous outcasts, working together, as they go on a heist thought impossible. Matthias, the convict. Jesper, the sharpshooter. Wylan, the runaway. Inej, the spy. Nina, the Heartrender. Kaz, the thief. The crew have to face many struggles, and each member has their own mental and physical challengesas they try to reach the Ice Court without killing each other. While they aren’t happy about working together at first, they learn to do so. As they encounter danger and get into fights, they soon find out they need to stick together. There is even a possible romance between two of the characters!

I also really enjoyed the heist itself. I liked that the plan wasn't simple and that there were so many things that could go wrong. The different skills each character brought to the group made sense, and I enjoyed seeing how they worked together when things didn't go according to plan. There were plenty of moments where I wasn't sure how they were going to get themselves out of trouble, which kept me turning the pages. The adventure never felt boring, and there was always something happening.

This is another popular book online, so again I had high expectations. Those expectations were definitely met! I quickly fell in love with this book and wanted all the best for the characters. I must admit that at first, I was sceptical of a few characters, in particular, Kaz, Jesper and Matthias, but as the story went on, those thoughts were largely banished. I particularly liked the characters of Nina and Inej, as they were more level-headed than the boys and brought a sense of rationale to the group. I enjoyed learning about Wylan’s character and everyone’s background, but especially his. I think the only character I didn’t like was Van Eck. He was the one who proposed the heist in the first place and struck a deal with Kaz. Suspicion surrounded him in my mind from the beginning, and let’s just say, he’s not a very nice person.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was getting to know all six members of the crew. They are all so different, and each has their own reasons for being involved in the heist. I liked that we got to learn more about their backgrounds as the story progressed, rather than knowing everything about them from the beginning. It made me want to keep reading because I wanted to understand why they behaved the way they did. I also really enjoyed seeing the relationships between the characters develop as they slowly began to trust one another.

There is an insane plot twist at the end of the book, one I would never have expected, one that still leaves me thinking about it to this day.

Overall, the book is different from many other books I have read, but I loved it and cannot wait to read the sequel. The book is well written, and I don’t find it slow or that the adventure grinds to a halt at any time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think it belongs on the shelf for books I love and would definitely reread. 5 stars!