Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Read Date: January 10, 2017
First off, I do want to say that it was tough for me to get over the Heartless hangover and I thought that a book that actually got 5-star reviews from ALL of my favorite reviewers would be the perfect way to move on.
I was wrong. I’m actually still not over Heartless, but I don’t think that that was a reason for my thoughts about this book.
I do want to acknowledge that I am VERY MUCH in the minority on how I felt about this. Everyone raved and said it’s one of their favorite books. It was almost like an Ocean’s Eleven with this incredible heist but with a team of six. There’s magic, there’s wit, there’s a heist. Sounds absolutely perfect. Except I found that I could have put the book down at any time and not ever cared if I picked it back up or not. It just never really grabbed my attention.
I understand that there was a trilogy that had come out previous to this book that would have helped me understand the whole “Grisha-verse” but not having read that, this was very confusing in the beginning. There is a lot of terminology that I didn’t understand, nor was it ever explained. I wish there was a glossary in the back so that way when I forget whatever made up word I had come across, I wouldn’t be completely in the dark. That’s what is tough when creating a different language, making it to where it won’t be too confusing. But the purpose is defeated when you use that language on a character who doesn’t understand that particular language and then it isn’t explained. So now that character is in the dark as well as the reader. It just gets confusing.
The strongest aspect of this book is definitely the dialogue.
There was rage on his face when he turned back to Kaz. “Always one step ahead, aren’t you?”
“Geels, when it comes to you, I’d say I have a running start.”
Nina crossed her arms. “I’m mad at you too.”
“Me? Why?”
“I don’t know yet. I just am.”
“You came back for me.”
“I protect my investments.”
Investments. “I’m glad I’m bleeding all over your shirt.”
My favorite:
“If Pekka Rollins kills us all, I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost.”
Brekker’s lips quirked. “I’ll just hire Matthias’ ghost to kick your ghost’s ass.”
“My ghost won’t associate with your ghost,” Matthias said primly.
I did enjoy the characterization to a point. Nina was definitely my favorite, I love how assertive she is, especially when it comes to Matthias. One thing that threw me off was when Jesper all of a sudden thought that Wylan was cute late into the book. We had had previous chapters from Jesper’s perspective discussing Wylan, but never did he mention he thought he was cute. It should have been talked about it earlier. Teasing is something friends do to each other. That doesn’t always mean that the person “like” likes another person. So when it was brought up that Jesper liked Wylan, I was like…where the hell did this come from?
I also found it hard to believe that these characters are kids (teens) pulling off running a gang and breaking into two prisons. If they were older, I think I would have found it easier to believe. But being the mastermind of a gang and masterfully plotting every step at such a young age was a little ridiculous. I understand how in a place where they grew up, they would have to grow up fast. Look at Carl, from The Walking Dead. We’ve watched his character grow up on screen over the years. He’s had to grow up fast, and I think he’s grown into a bit of a badass. But do I think he would be capable of being a mastermind like the teens in this book? No. If they were a little older, maybe, but the suspension of disbelief was tough for me here.
I’m also not a fan of flashback scenes in the middle of the action. Which ended up happening a lot during the main action. It completely strips away the adrenaline from the scene.
Ultimately, this book just wasn’t for me. I’ve tried thinking back on it to see if maybe I was being too hard, but I just didn’t care for it. The cover is gorgeous though, and the dip-dyed pages in black is stunning. I’d honestly pick up the sequel because it’s only getting the one other book and that one is gorgeous too. Those pages are red!
Thorough Edits 