Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

25 reviews

oldemort's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

This is my second time reading this book. 🙃 I only first read it a few months ago, but I’ve been missing the characters. 🥹

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! 😍 All of the characters are so amazing and perfect and I wish they were real and that I could be friends with them. 🥰 KAZ AND INEJ ARE SO AHHHHHHHHHH! 🤩 (That was a scream) 😘 I also love the found family in this book. 🥹

The

whole ice court

plot got a bit confusing for me near the end, so I was just there for the vibes. 🙃 Which were amazing of course! 😌 I loved learning about the character’s back stories, especially Kaz’s. 🥺 There are so many plot twist and even when I think I know what’s going to happen… BAM! 💥 Plot twist. 😱

Anyway, if you couldn’t already tell, I absolutely love this book and the universe. 🥰 My rating is 4.5 ⭐️!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

hazeydaze24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ashley_reya's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Very cool heist story with plenty of suspenseful moments. I really enjoyed the world building that surrounded the Grisha and learning the different cultural perspectives of how they are treated (people, devils, weapons, etc.).

Another aspect I really enjoyed about this story is how Bardugo balanced character backstory versus plot advancement. Two things that are not mutually exclusive. However, there was a base level of trust established that if something was important to the character it would be explained. Specifically in the history between Nina and Matthias before they got to the group. Referenced in their tense reunion and eventually explained further on. Or Kaz’s history surrounding his brother and his rise to power amongst the Dregs. Even though the story drops us in the middle of their lives, it doesn’t leave us with unanswered questions. 

I look forward to seeing what the gang does in the next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Classism

angorarabbit's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

TLDR: I really have enjoyed some YA Lit, this wasn’t one of those though. 

 

Context: I am aware that there is controversy regarding this author. I am not on X nor have I watched the Netflix series so there are others who can talk about that with more knowledge than I have. My rating of the book does not reflect these controversies. 

 

Written in 3rd person with the pov changing from chapter to chapter. Chapters are titled with the pov so it is easy to keep track of whose head you’re in. We come to know the characters by their actions and the flashbacks we are privy to. Unfortunately there are no chapters for Wylan. (We find out why in the next to last chapter.) The action is clear and exciting. Ketterdam and the Ice Court are well described including sounds, colours and odours. So what’s my problem? 

 

Ketterdam is basically Amsterdam sometime is a hazy past. The words are Dutch or bastardised Dutch, the port, the rich merchants all of that was basically no work at all to imagine. The Ice Palace is a little better, but is still mainly a rip off from the many fantasy novels before it. At best this is lazy world building. 

 

The crew is diverse as far as their ethnic backgrounds, but what is ethnicity in the context of a fantasy novel? Is Inej coded Roma because she is a talented acrobat as well as a cat burglar, assassin, and a former forced sex worker? Or is she simply given a certain colouring so that the novel ticks the diverse box? And talking of former sex workers, given the criminality of the Barrel, why is it only female characters who were involved in sex work? The lqbtqaa+ diversity is only hinted at. 

 

And then this whole Grisha thing. A deus ex machina supremo. In a jam?, get the character who isn’t doing much to be a hidden Grisha. Need healing?, presto your Heartrender can mend too. No wonder everybody and their maiden aunts are enslaving them. Question is why are they so bad at defending themselves when they can stop a heart before you even see them? 

 

It was the ending that really burnt my toast though. A novel needs a beginning, middle and end. I expect the first book in a duology to leave open endings but I need some sense of completion too. Six of Crows ended with all cliffhanger and no satisfaction. And the truth is I really don’t care enough about this band of teenage thugs to read another 500+ pages to see how they finally get themselves out of the jams they keep putting themselves into.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

While there is no sexual content there are frequent references to sex work and sex workers. Graphic gambling and gambling addition.

wise_old_fishie's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

my favourite book and my comfort book I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS SO MUCH you just wait IT GETS EVEN BETTER IN CROOKED KINGDOM.
Bardugo's writing is great and she builds a wonderful world that mixes magic and truths about the world we live in. She also creates an amazing cast of characters who are all so different and yet have something to fight for together as the bond, fight and help each other discover who they truly are.

I was personally instantly hooked within the first few chapters, where there were already captivating plot-twists and interesting world building that had me hungry for more, and the whole book pulls you in and makes you fall in love with the characters, and the world they live in! I think it has a good balance of plot and character, with interesting backstories that change how you view their positions, and make you see their actions and thought-processes differently. The characters are very lovable, and there is no 1 protagonist, as we see the story unfold from 5 very different points of view, through the lenses of different culture and backgrounds and also different traumatic experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Drug use and Sexual content

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

AHHHHHHHH!

Ends on a cliffhanger

Anyway, AHHHHHHHH! 100% lives up to the hype. Found family is amazing! Everyone has a devastating backstory! It’s just perfect! 

Do check trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Misogyny and Sexual content

vzarlb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

as good as i remember

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Torture, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kelsokake's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.5

surprisingly not overhyped, Six of Crows is an incredibly tense, funny, emotional, and well-written story about found family committing an insanely impossible heist.

the relationships between all of the characters felt so real and while i wish the cast was aged up (in their twenties instead of their teens) i throughly the way they spoke to each other. all of their relationships felt real (even with the contention) and the successes and happy moments felt incredibly well-deserved. 

i can’t wait until i can get my hands on the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent

renewed_reader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

gaycatsand_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-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? No

5.0

SOOO GOOD! FAV BOOK EVER

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic