Reviews

Seis de Cuervos by Leigh Bardugo

Only show reviews with written explanations

v_larr's review against another edition

5.0

No mourners.
No funerals.

I would like to warn anyone reading this review that it will be full of comparisons, as I read Six of Crows shortly after finishing Ruin and Rising and long after watching the Shadow and Bone TV series.

The first thing that really stood out to me reading this book was the writing style. I've determined that there are some genres that simply work best in third person, past tense. Fantasy-action books such as Six of Crows is one of them. I'm not sure what it is about third person, most likely the omniscience of it. Even if you're writing from a certain character's point of view, there's other things you can describe that occurs to the character or around them. And when the perspectives change, it's a lot more of that omniscience, but just for the reader. While each character may be unaware of something, the reader learns through all those perspectives just what that thing is. I think that's what makes for a really effective change in perspective. Irony and characterization. I've read far too many books in which perspective shifts really just ruin the energy of the story, and gives less to the characters and more confusion for the reader. This book is not one of those books. I was really wary at first, realizing that the reason each chapter started with a name was because it was a different point of view. But I found myself enjoying it, each chapter adding a richness to each character while also maintaining consistency in style. I couldn't help but compare to Shadow and Bone, first person. One of the many issues I had with the trilogy is that by having only Alina's perspective, it felt like I was learning more what she thinks others think about her, rather than what they ACTUALLY think. So in Six of Crows, learning what everyone else thinks and how they think really helped in terms of reliability in narration. I mean, not that unreliable narrating is bad, but it didn't work out in Shadow and Bone (at least for me) so I'm glad there was this difference. And the prose was just beautiful. There were so many times where I read a paragraph (I'm thinking of Inej thinking of her family while climbing up the incinerator, I'm thinking Kaz and his ambition to find Inej at the very end) and just had to stop for a second just to admire the way it was written.

It's not just the writing style. The whole vibe shifts in Six of Crows. To be perfectly honest, this book shows to me that the Grishaverse is so wide and diverse, and honestly? Bardugo could probably spend the rest of her years writing different stories in different countries, different time periods, all in this universe. I mean, that's intense worldbuilding. That's like Avatar: the Last Airbender level worldbuilding. All these different nations with different religions and cultures and overall vibes. I mean, watching the S&B series was freaky in the way it contrasted between the YA fantasy of S&B and the old school crime vibe of SoC while also managing to keep them together and weaving them together in an intelligent way. But anyways, I'm not here to talk about the show, I'm here to continue talking about the book.

I keep thinking about the VIBE of the book but I can't seem to explain what I mean exactly. Why do I like the idea of Six of Crows so much? Let's see, I'm the kind of person whose favourite Buzzfeed Unsolved episodes are about the heists and robberies and people making quick getaways and prison breaks. Maybe it's because no one explicitly dies (at least, usually), or maybe it's because heists are COOL. I mean, if I were to want to pull off a major crime, it'd definitely be a museum robbery or something (if I end up a suspect I would like to go on the record saying I wouldn't be smart or courageous enough to pull off a heist and so I am innocent). My friend had told me ages ago that this was a book about heists, beating the odds, playing the cards right and man, was I intrigued. I'm glad to say that this book was exactly what I hoped it would be. While the characters caught me off guard, I was glad it was a book about intelligence and sneakiness but also mishaps and mistakes. The backstories of all these characters though? Damn. I'm not a fan of the whole gang thing in general so I was a bit thrown off, but I liked how it worked here, especially to continue the series.

I had mentioned something about characters. So, let's begin.

I love them. I mean, if you have a team of misfits, you've got to have some great characters and then you've got to have some great dynamics. Obviously, the dynamics will fail if each individual character is weak. Yet this book is famous for its banter and relationships, so naturally, the characters must be fantastic. And they are!

The diversity of the cast is incredible. And I don't just mean gender and sexuality and in-universe ethnicity. Every character has such a distinct personality, distinct character design, backstories, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, and each character does not conform to one particular stereotype or archetype. The ruthless leader with a tragic backstory and secret softness to him happens to enjoy sleight of hand. The assassin with a silent walk wants to become a pirate. I mean, they're all so different, like pieces in a puzzle that fit together to make an incredible picture. And every character's backstory is so rich and wonderful.

Kaz? Oh my sweetheart Kaz. Sweetheart is definitely not the word for him but I shall use it anyways. He's just been broken. Poor boy, forced to grow up so fast and for what reason? I mean, I assume everyone reads this book and thinks "What a terrifying piece of work, that one is," but I can't help but feel bad. I mean, he's my age and I can't imagine going through what he's going through, can't imagine being as clever as him or as experienced or as traumatized. Where's his childhood gone? I feel so horrible for this poor boy. But ugh! No more of my pity! He's intense as hell! Ripping a man's eye out of his socket for what, lying to him and hurting his ~~friend~~ investment? Not hesitating to bringing down anyone who so much as thinks of betraying him? Outsmarting those who think they'd outsmarted him? What a character! I love the ones who are always one step ahead of everyone else, because when they're finally outsmarted, all hell can break loose. To be completely honest, I can't get the image of Freddy Carter out of my head when picturing Kaz. Alas, the setbacks of watching the movie/show version first. I can't picture my own version. But I like to think I've changed him up a bit. He's definitely a lot more ruthless in the book. And a lot younger. Anyways, I love the bit with the gloves. Everyone thinks he's Dirtyhands, covered in scars or blood or something, but the truth is he just doesn't want to risk touching people, so he has those gloves. What weakness! Perhaps he isn't as terrifying as everyone thinks. Definitely horrifying, but not so much. And it's important to have disabled characters who, while definitely weakened at times, aren't considered hopeless or something. You can be a strong character with a disability! Welcome, Kaz, to my group of disabled badass characters whose disabilities don't define them, featuring Edward Elric and Toph Beifong!

Let's see. Who's next? INEJ! Oh Inej, Inej, step on my face and carve thin blades into my chest. For what reason? Oh, you decide, darling. I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove the spy/assassin trope okay. The whole "silent and quick and gone before you even realize she was there" type of character. But I love how...Oh, how do I explain it? I love her way of thinking, I guess? She's definitely meant to represent certain religious beliefs and she does so in a way I can respect (unlike someone...screw it, I'm name dropping. Matthias, your beliefs suck). Her backstory also FRICKING HURT. I want to harm that Helen lady so damn bad for what she's done to Inej. Poor girl didn't deserve it, she didn't deserve any of it, she was just a little girl why would they break her like that? I love her drive and her...oh her character! But not like character in a book, I mean the other kind of character. She's the type of person I would love to have as a friend just because I know her presence would make anyone feel safer. When I mean anyone, I mean her allies, cause damn if she can't be incredibly dangerous too. You'd be dead before you realize she'd snuck up on you with a knife!

Speaking of people I want as a friend: NINA! Nina, I adore you. I might have actually fallen for her. She seems like such a fun person to be around! I can't really explain what I love about her until I get to the "Relationships/Dynamics" part of my review, so I'll have to come back to her later. Except for one thing. WHY DID SHE TAKE THE PAREM. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I mean, good on her for sacrificing herself then almost obliterating all those druskelle, but goodness, what long-term effects will it have on her?? Please be okay, Nina!!!

And...Matthias. Man, is he a poor conflicted fella. I get it, I mean, everything he's worked for and believed in turning out to be wrong? Sad, I feel bad for him a bit. But man, does he need to loosen up! I mean this all in a fun way, I mean, of course we need the big strong oaf who needs to learn what fun is. Of COURSE we do. I'll continue talking about him later.

Next up is....JESPER. Gotta admit, I am a little bit disappointed. Again, I watched the show first, and I'm obsessed with Kit Young's Jesper. Like I've fallen and I can't get up. I mean, it's okay that Jesper in the books isn't exactly the same, he's still super fun. Perhaps I was expecting a bit more flirting from him or something (not because I personally wanted to picture it no no not at all) but hey! If anything it just made the moments when he was flirting a lot more memorable (God I wish I was Wylan God I wish I was Wylan God I wish I was Wylan God I wish-) anyways. Poor guy can't walk away from a gamble, can he? Sweetheart, you know you'll get set up for failure with an addiction like that. I can change him I bet. He's so fun though! And man do I like picturing him shooting guns everywhere (I don't even like guns! I hate them! But now it seems my list of "people with guns I DO respect and definitely Am Not In Love With" has now increased! Riza Hawkeye, have a friend why don't you?). I can't believe HE was the one that ratted them out, and thank GOD it was accidental because if not I would have THROWN HANDS. I WAS SO MAD FOR A MOMENT. Now I just know he kinda has to keep his mouth shut (I can help with that wink wonk. Just kidding.)

And WYLAN. I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS BOY AND I DON'T KNOW WHY. Why did I end up loving him as much as I do? I can't even tell! It feels like his only job was to get riled up by Jesper and yet I love it. I don't know why but I pictured him as younger (or, well, more naive) than the rest of the group and so I feel I must adopt him. But at the same time, I want to rile him up toooooooooo he seems so cute!!!! And my gosh, I can't believe he ended up being Jared, 19, at the end (shall I add him to the list with Kaz and Ed and Toph then?). I mean who cares he can play the FLUTE and he knows how to DRAW and MAKE BOMBS. What a legend. He's just a pretty rich boy who needs to learn the ways of the streets. No doubt he's already begun, and he's already started changing (Look what you've done, Jesper. You've corrupted a perfectly good Wylan). Anyways. I've only known Wylan for five days, but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in the book and then myself. I still can't reaally figure out why I love him so much. One day I will. (Update: he is math music bisexual boyfriend. I figured it out)

Am I done with talking about the crew? Time for the next best thing: DYNAMICS! Look, this group is full of chemistry (romantic and otherwise) and while I am not a fan of everyone in a friend group pairing up, I will let it slide because even the relationships are diverse and full of different tropes that I LOVE.

Let's start with Kaz and Inej. I mean, wow. What was the quote I had saved? "Brekker would drag the girl back from hell himself if he had to." I mean, that's some foreshadowing right there. There are so many more quotes I can put in for this poor pining soul.

The harbor wind had lifted her dark hair, and for a moment Kaz was a boy again, sure that there was magic in this world.

She'd laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have.

Those happened within paragraphs of each other, by the way. I am not okay. And man, am I heartbroken by the whole no touching business. I mean, ships don't need to kiss or have sex to be good, I've said this many many times before. But it's clear they want each other (Kaz literally says it) but trauma keeps them apart. I hope they can work on themselves before they decide to be anything together. Also, I am so mad that Kaz's feelings for Inej became a "weakness" right at the end. I know I wanted him outsmarted, but NOT LIKE THAT.

Next up, by far the most interesting ship of the bunch, Nina and Matthias. I wasn't expecting their relationship to be the same as it was in the series, considering the other Crows, so I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVE their enemies-to-reluctant partnership-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-reluctant partnership again-to-conflicted feelings-to-almost lovers. But what I like is how different they are. He is SUCH a prude, and that makes it so much easier for her to tease him. I'd feel sorry for the guy, but I love Nina too much and personally? She was right. Yes~evil Grisha~corrupt him with your seductive ways and your lack of misogyny! OoooOOOOOoooOOoooOoH!!! Yes, I was being sarcastic in the way Nina acts all sarcastic. And I love the way their relationship is set up. It's clear the show is writing it to be more linear, but I find the flashback format of the books is effective. It keeps you on your toes, wanting to know what did Nina do to Matthias? Why did she do it? Who knows? You'll find out soon enough. And I love how she makes him question everything. Obviously the reader knows not every Grisha is bad, but Fjerdans just don't like them. This is almost some Romeo and Juliet situation, if you think about it. He betrayed everything he believed in for her. To be fair, the Fjerdans kinda really suck in the way they treated Grisha. Not to screw on fictitious religions but honestly? Yikes. They're sweet together though and I hope they end up happy.

Okay and then there's Jesper and Wylan. I LOVE THEM. They're not all serious like the other ships are. There's no super mega pining or conflicted morals. they're just flirty and fun and I love that for them. Like I said, I love how Jesper gets Wylan all riled up (whether by flirting or just simply annoying him) and I like the few moments when Wylan says or does those little things to Jesper too. Anyways. Jesper and Wylan I am free Friday night are you free Friday night to go on a date Friday night when I am free?

What are some other stuff I was thinking? I feel I've said so much but there's things I'm missing...
-I knew Nina was doomed walking with Brum (was that his name?)
-Bo Yul-Bayur (did I get it right?) being dead was unexpected but not surprising. I like how often that happens in this book, unexpected but not surprising. I think, when there's no one you can really trust, that's the best you can hope for. Unexpected but not surprising.
-Loving the references to the original trilogy. Ravkan civil war. Mentions of Zoya and Genya. Sankta Alina. Pretty chill.

I think my only issues with the book was its difficulty. People say this is a book that'll latch on to you and not let go until it's over. I personally find books like this difficult to read through in one sitting. I would've loved the feeling of sitting down, starting, and being glued to it up until the very end, but that just didn't work for me. I binge romances with easy writing styles and shojo manga with no complicated panels. A book like this requires picking at bit by bit, reading chunks and taking a break despite wanting to continue. At least, that's how it was for me.

That's enough! I shall now stop myself. There's plenty more to be said, but I've written for far too long. 4.6-4.7 stars, likely due to me joining a bandwagon of fans. Granted, it was an amazing book, and I'd start the second book immediately if my eyes weren't drooping.

namimerijaan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

shannonbrunyee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mar10flo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

nika_nix's review against another edition

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5.0

Rereading Six of Crows was the best decision I could’ve made! It was a bit terrifying to realise I remember almost nothing from the first time I read it last Novmber but I had such a great time reminding myself of everything. Now I can peacefully make my way through Crooked Kingdom and finally finish the duology.

The premise of the book is amazing – six misfits attempting to pull off an impossible heist. It’s exactly how it sounds, an action packed story with a lot of twists and a great set of characters. The plot has everything that makes a fantastic story: great balance of action scenes, flashbacks that allow us to understand characters better and slower scenes where interactions betwen characters are everything. If you thought The Grisha trilogy was well plotted, you will be blown away after reading Six of Crows.

Characters are definitely the strongest aspect of the book. Not only all six of the main characters have very distinct personalities and backgrounds, they also represent diversity in many different ways. Kaz is my favorite, of course. I don’t think there is a person who read this book and doesn’t love Kaz. He’s very different from any male (or female) lead I’ve ever read about. He’s supposed to be a hero but has a personality of a villain and if he’s not the best written character of all time, I don’t know who is. My second favorite character is probably Nina. I love her personality, I love her attitude and all her decisions made perfect sense. She and Inej are the perfect example of a strong and badass female character and I loved how important part both of them played in the entire heist. My least favorite of the six is definitely Matthias. I didn’t really connect with him nor did I root for him in any moment. If someone was supposed to die, I wouldn’t mind it being him.

The writing. It’s impeccable. Leigh Bardugo keeps confirming the status of one of my favorite authors and I will read anything she ever publishes. The Grisha world (Grishaverse) she created has become my favorite fictional world and even though some people say it’s confusing and too detailed, I couldn’t agree less. She throws us into the world and we learn about it as we read which is my favorite type of world building. Her characters are well developed and fleshed out, with unique voices and distinct reasons behing their choices, morally grey but still loveable and amazing. Plot twists are thought through and believable while being completely unexpected and occasionally mind blowing. Do you need more reasons to pick this book up? Well, here we go.

Diversity. I already mentioned that the characters in Six of Crows are quite diverse and let me give you examples without spoiling anything. This book features: a phisically disabeled character, characters of colour, gay characters, a character with a learning disability, characters who suffer from different forms of PTSD, a character with a gambling addiction… told you they’re diverse. And it’s so well done!

Please, read Six of Crows if you haven’t yet! It deserves all the hype it gets, it really is that good. Probably my favorite book ever. And I don’t give that title away easily. Just read it. I promise you’re going to love it.

melike's review against another edition

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5.0

i can’t really find the words to describe how much i loved this book so i‘m just gonna keep it short: this is a masterpiece. wow. it literally left me speechless over and over again, and it could not have been a wilder, yet fantastic ride.