Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

120 reviews

kaitykriss's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

Cool world and story. Loved the magic and heist. I found one of the relationships to be gross and abusive which brought it down a whole star. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, and War

orionmerlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Characters: 8/10

The crew is cool—maybe too cool. Each member is distinct, and their banter is great, but let’s be real: they’re walking, talking archetypes. Kaz is the broody mastermind with a tragic past, Inej is the noble assassin with a heart of gold, Jesper is the charming gunslinger who shockingly has a gambling problem, and so on. It’s fun, but also predictable. And let’s not pretend the villains have any depth—they’re just there to be outsmarted. Still, the team dynamics are engaging enough to carry the book, even if some of the emotional beats feel like they were manufactured in a lab.

Atmosphere/Setting: 7/10

Ketterdam sounds gritty and immersive, but scratch beneath the surface, and it’s mostly crime-fantasy aesthetic. The city is a mishmash of Amsterdam and Dickensian London, but it never quite reaches the level of a fully realized world like The Lies of Locke Lamora or The Name of the Wind. It’s good enough to set the mood, but it often feels like the backdrop exists just to make the characters look cool rather than to function as a living, breathing place. Also, the Ice Court? Feels more like a conveniently designed heist level than an actual fortress.

Writing Style: 7/10

Bardugo’s writing is solid, but it sometimes leans a little too hard into “Look at how edgy and clever we are.” The dialogue is fun, but occasionally feels like it’s trying too hard to be snappy. The POV shifts are mostly smooth, but the frequent backstory dumps in the middle of tense scenes? Less so. And while the prose is engaging, it sometimes veers into melodrama—Kaz can’t just have a dark past, he must have the most tragic backstory of all time. Still, the book reads fast and keeps the intrigue alive, even when it stumbles.

Plot: 7/10

This is a heist story, which means it should be packed with tension, twists, and moments where everything almost goes wrong… except Kaz planned for it, because of course he did. The plot is good, but it’s also full of moments where it feels like the stakes aren’t actually that high. The crew faces obstacles, but the solutions always seem just within reach. Kaz is playing 4D chess while everyone else is playing Go Fish, which makes the whole thing feel less like a true gamble and more like a stylish flex. Fun? Absolutely. Believable? Not so much.

Intrigue: 9/10

Despite its flaws, Six of Crows is stupidly entertaining. Even when the story leans into its own clichés, I wanted to keep turning the pages. The shifting dynamics, character backstories, and ever-present sense of impending betrayal keep the tension alive. I was invested, even when I rolled my eyes at how absurdly competent these teenagers are. The book does a great job of making you care, even when it occasionally stretches credibility past its breaking point.

Logic/Relationships: 6/10

Kaz is practically a crime deity, Matthias’ Grisha-hatred gets resolved way too fast, and Jesper and Wylan’s chemistry is more because the plot says so than something that genuinely develops. Some relationships work (Kaz and Inej’s dynamic is great because it’s messy and unresolved), but others feel like they were written to fit a quota. Also, the world-building? A little wobbly. Magic rules and security protocols seem to adjust based on what’s convenient for the plot. There are moments when the book wants me to believe this crew is barely scraping by, but it’s hard to buy when their strategies always feel airtight.

Enjoyment: 8/10

I had fun. Annoyed fun, but fun. Yes, the book leans heavily on heist tropes. Yes, it sometimes feels like Ocean’s Eleven: YA Edition. Yes, Kaz’s “I’m always three steps ahead” shtick can get grating. But the snappy dialogue, high-stakes action, and found-family dynamics kept me engaged. It’s stylish, fast-paced, and entertaining, even when it occasionally feels a little too polished for its own good.

Final Verdict: 7.4/10

Six of Crows is like a high-budget action movie: full of great characters, thrilling moments, and slick dialogue, but if you think too hard about it, you’ll start seeing the cracks. If you’re here for an airtight, unpredictable heist with deep world-building, you might be a little disappointed. But if you want a fun, fast-paced adventure with a lovable crew of misfits, this is absolutely worth the ride—even if it sometimes feels like the safety net is a little too visible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, War, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

cultdionysia'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

4.5

Clever, fast-paced, and the perfect ensemble piece. I could write essays on how relevant Matthias Helvar is as a character, especially in 2025 (red pill bros, anyone?). If you don't find his arc emotional, I'm going to quietly guess you don't live in the US Bible Belt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual violence and Trafficking

Minor: Ableism

feenkanzlerin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Genocide, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

mxine_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

One of my all time favourite books but I think i popped at LEAST 70 braincells trying to picture what the Icecourt looked like

Still an amazing book read it now. It’s got a heist, a morally grey cast of characters, and a bisexual gunslinger what more could you want?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Rape, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Genocide, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Dysphoria

Minor: Slavery and Trafficking

maddy707's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is my second time reading this duology. Truly perfection. The universe, the characters, the relationships, they all have my heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

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.

jujuthenerd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

nonotyoshi's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry