Book Blog #226: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
# of Pages: 621 (ebook)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his 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. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Review: I wish I read Six of Crows closer to when I read Shadow and Bone.

What everyone says is definitely true; you do not have to read the Grisha trilogy to read the Six of Crows duology. However, since they take place in the same universe, it would have been nice to start the book having already experienced the world building (so I could concentrate on getting to know the characters instead). Also, I would have liked to compare this book with Shadow and Bone; everyone seems to believe Six of Crows is worlds better, but I can't remember it well enough to make a fair comparison (I wouldn't be able to tell you if the four stars I'm giving this book right now is actually four stars or more like the 3.5 stars I gave Shadow and Bone).

I did not think I was going to like this book. The first chapter had me hooked, but it should have been labelled as the book's prologue instead because the characters don't really appear again in the rest of the book. The second chapter, on the other hand, was extremely confusing; not only is the reader just thrown into the world without any background, but there are a bunch of new characters who are introduced all at once. This is a risky choice; I bet there were a handful of readers who were put off from the book after reading this second chapter.

The following chapters were much better. This is definitely one of those books that gets better as you read. Something I noticed right away was something I also dread: POV switching. If it was first person POV switching, I might not have read the book at all. However, by the end of the book I found  I was pleasantly surprised. There are many authors who mess this up. What I usually don't like about it is how POVs tend to overlap (the book might be thick, but it's actually covering the same time period from multiple perspectives). However, Bardugo doesn't do this. Sure, every once in a while some of the POVs overlap. But for the most part, one POV picks up from where the other left off. If each chapter wasn't labelled with a different character, Six of Crows could have been a book told in third person (I wouldn't have labelled it as a book with multiple POVs as I distastefully do with so many others).

There was such a distinct cast of characters in this book. Although not all of them are explicitly together, the pairings are obvious.

Kaz and Inej: The "protagonist couple." Bardugo makes sure the hints are obvious. Although they don't get together at the end of the book, Kaz's not-so-hidden affection for Inej is the reason why there's a second book. Six of Crows delved deep into both of their backstories, but for some reason I feel like I know more about Kaz than I do about Inej. Since Inej is the quiet "spider" type, I always picture Inej to be younger than she is, and I'm never quite able to picture correctly in my head. Yes it makes sense that she has an acrobatic background, but personality-wise, I don't know what to think of her. Hopefully her character and her relationship with Kaz is more fully developed in the second book.

Matthias and Nina: The "second couple syndrome" couple. Every story with a lot of characters seems to have one (see Finnick and Annie in Hunger Games and Seo Dae-Young and Yoon Myeong-Joo in the k-drama Descendants of the Sun). This relationship is the only one that is truly "a thing" by the end of the book. What I love about their relationship is how solid it is; they've already fought (about some pretty serious topics too) and yet their love for each other is still as strong as ever. If this couple has survived each others' "betrayals," this couple can survive anything.

Jesper and Wylan: The "closeted gay" couple. Of course the author is not going to introduce these characters as LGBTQ+; she's going to ease these characters into the plot and make the reader wonder what their purpose is before the slow reveal that they're meant for each other. It's so subtle, some readers may miss it entirely (and for this book's conservative readers, it can be ignored entirely...for now). But the chemistry between these two characters is definitely there, even if they're not sure what their relationship is themselves. For example:
1. Wylan tells Jesper he's doesn't like a lot of things, but he likes math, numbers, and equations. Jesper then replies,

"If only you could talk to girls in equations." There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they'd created in the link, Wylan said, "Just girls?" Jesper restrained a grin. "No, Not just girls."

If that isn't flirting, I don't know what is.

2. Wylan has been transformed to look like the Kuwei, and Jesper is upset because he might not be able to change back. Wylen asks,

"Why does it matter?" "I don't know!" Jesper said angrily. "Maybe I liked your stupid face."

Jesper doesn't even understand his own feelings. Hopefully Wylan will help him with that in the next book.

Would I read this book again? Probably not; I had a very entertaining read, but I don't think I need to read this book again. Would I read the second book? I'd be willing to give it a shot; I want to know what happens to these characters? Would I recommend this book to someone else? Yes and no. Six of Crows reads very much like a young adult novel to me (although it's story is unique, it still contains the same-old hints of romance and standard dramatic structure), so if you are interested in reading an interesting YA book, this is for you.