Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Narrator: Brandon Rubin, David Ledoux, Elizabeth Evans, Jay Snyder, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Tristan Morris
Published by Henry Holt and Company on September 29th 2015
Pages: 465
Length: 15 hours, 25 minutes

Source: Purchased through Audible
Goodreads

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.

Thoughts:

I miss blogging, and the only way to get back into it is to just do it. I’ll post soon with where I’ve been, but for now I want to fangirl over Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

The Grisha Trilogy is one of my all time favorite series. I recommend it every chance I get and when I met Bardugo at a signing this summer I completely spazzed out and shouted “I LOVE YOU.” This does not happen to me. Ever. When I heard Six of Crows compared to Ocean’s 11, I couldn’t have been more excited for her new series-I watched Ocean’s 11 every day my junior year of high school.

Finally, Six of Crows came out. The school year forced me to savor the audiobook instead of binging on Candy Crush with my earbuds in. Unlike the Grisha trilogy, which is told from one perspective, Six of Crows has an ensemble cast. It’s a very different type of book in the same magical, political world. I missed experiencing the world with Alina, but loved seeing other countries in the same universe, and getting to know new characters.

The heist aspect of the book was very fun. I love a good heist story, but what is always exciting for me is seeing how the human element affects the plan. Probably the most fun were Matthias and Nina. I can’t say much without giving it away, but I never got what I expected with them. I also loved learning the background of each character, seeing how it brought them to the heist and how it affects their performance within the plan.

Thematically, Bardugo hits some heavy topics - What do you do when you start to question everything you were raised to believe? What do you do when the universe gives you a raw deal? These weren’t just kids stuck in a bad situation, these were kids who experienced trauma, learned to live with it, and hopefully rise above it.

I am delighted that Lauren Fortgang returned as one of several narrators. She absolutely made the Grisha trilogy books for me, and she was my favorite of all the Six of Crows narrators.

My only complaint is that the book left on a cliffhanger. How long must I wait to find out what happens next?

Favorite Moment: Is it cheating to say all of them?

O.o Moment: View Spoiler »