The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers: Six of Crows

We need more heist novels in YA because Six of Crows was one hell of a ride!

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court

(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage

(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward

(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first. -goodreads.com summary

“No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for 'good luck.”

INTRO

I originally read Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy a few years ago. I only made it through the first two book before stopping so I was cautious before reading Six of Crows. More than anything, I worried that I needed to have read the entire Grisha trilogy to read and understand Six of Crows. I’m happy to inform you that you DON’T have to have finished the Grisha trilogy, so you have no excuse not to go pick it up right now because Six of Crows was one of my favorite reads of the year so far!

THE GOOD!

The Plot: A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! Despite the high fantasy setting nothing ever felt bogged down by boring exposition and a slow moving plot. Things were constantly happening; keeping my attention, not letting me put the book down!

The Stakes: Too many YA novels these days have the fate of the world resting on the main character’s shoulders… this gets very cliché and boring. Six of Crow’s plot is more low stakes but that’s what makes it great! It gives more time for characters and their selfish motives for joining the heist.

Speaking of… The Characters: ALL PERFECTION! I love the anti-hero architype and it works so well here. None of the dregs (except maybe Wylan) are that great of people. They took this job for the money so they could use it for what they need, not the betterment of society.

And Finally… THE SHIPS: I LOVE that Six of Crows lacks a trashy love triangle, but instead gives each of our six main characters a romantic interest. Kaz and Inej are my favorite! Their constant denying of love for one another is hilarious, especially when you see how much Kaz would fall apart without Inej. Nina and Matthias grew on me a lot, especially when Nina’s sass and Matthias’s Hufflepuffness began to shine through. Wylan and Jesper are honestly just precious and I can’t wait to see where they go in Crooked Kingdoms.

THE BAD…

HA! Yeah I got nothing… I loved Six of Crows… GO READ IT NOW!

OVERALL
If you can’t tell from my rambling thoughts above, I really loved Six of Crows! The plot was nonstop and always kept me reading and the characters were different from many leads in mainstream modern YA. I highly recommend Six of Crows for everyone! It is a great novel to get you out of a reading slump, or if you just want something quick and fun.

BEWARE SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!

********************

***THE SPOILERS***

Just everything about that ending! Seeing Nina high on jurda parem was honestly really bad ass, but it was heartbreaking seeing her dealing with the addicting after effects. She’s such a strong and independent character, making it even more depressing when something like that happens. ALSO Kaz and the crew meeting Van Eck at the end was FULL of surprises. I was particularly heart broken when it was revealed that Wylan can’t read and all of his father’s letter to him were simply taunting him… that’s just not okay :(

Keep Reading…

Elise