Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo*

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*2nd Re-Read + Annotating for my cousin as a book exchange. This book will feature in my “How I annotate” blog post.

P.S. I just figure out I can add gifs to my posts, I am unstoppable. ANYWAYS.

While this gif has nothing to do with the actual book that I will be reviewing, I needed to insert this in because isn’t Freddy Carter the most perfect representation of Kaz ‘Bastard of the Barrel’ Brekker? Man’s really stepped out of the book, lemme just say. Moving on…

If you really don’t know what Six of Crows is about, with all due respect, have you been living under a rock? I’m kidding. I understand that there are many who do not read Young Adult and hey, you do you.

Six of Crows is basically about Kaz Brekker and his crew of…misfits if you will. We have

Kaz Brekker, the mastermind

Inej Ghafa, his right hand also known as “the Wraith”

Jesper Fahey, the best sharpshooter you will find

Nina Zenik, a Heartrender Grisha

Matthias Helvar, a druskelle, someone who coincidentally hunts people like Nina and

Wylan Van Eck, a runaway with a privileged past.

Here’s the general info-dumping:

Grisha: People with magical powers. There are several “orders” and depending on your power, you have a specific title and you have a specific coloured kefta (a sort of long robe). We have Corporalki, Order of the Living and Dead. These are Grishas that can control bodies. Nina is a Heartrender, she can control people’s organs and bones. Genya Safin, a Grisha mentioned in the book, is a Tailor, meaning she can alter people’s appearances easily. We have Etherialki, the Order of Summoners. Alina Starkov, the main character in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, is a Sun Summoner. Etherialkis are Grishas that can summon either the air (Squallers), fire (Inferni), or water (Tidemakers). Sun Summoners were so rare that many people thought they were myths. Then we have the Materialki. These are part of the Order of Fabrikators. There are Durasts, those that manipulate metals, textiles and glass and there are Alkemi, those that can manipulate poisons and explosives.

Saints: Usually Grishas with incredible power and those that did something that landed them as a renowned figure. Alina Starkov, the protagonist in Shadow and Bone, becomes a Saint at the end.

Ravka: The mainland, based off of Imperial Russia. Ruled by a King.

Fjerda: A land full of ice and cold. Based off of Scandinavia.

Druskelle: Grisha/Witch-Hunters

Shu Han: Territory to the South of Ravka. Based on China and Mongolia.

Kerch: Small island, west of Ravka. The capital is Ketterdam. Based on the Netherlands

Novyi Zem: Country across the True Sea. Based on American colonies and Australia.

Suli: Nomadic people, not pertaining to any country but technically are citizens of Ravka (according to the Grish Wiki website). Based on the Roma people and South Asian cultures.

Ice Court: Impenetrable place. Or is it really?

Ketterdam: Where Six of Crows starts and ends and where Crooked Kingdom takes place. It is the home of the Crows (and the Dregs) and the Crow Club. The Dregs live in the Slat, which is in the Barrel. I will have the official SoC map down below in case you’re confused.

With those ever-confusing terms out of the way, here is my review:

I loved it, even more, the second time around! I think annotating it really enhanced the experience because really, I annotated a book I really loved and cherished so if anything, it added another level of emotions for me at least.

With fantasy, it’s often hard for me to sometimes understand descriptions and sometimes even the plot. Yes, I am one of those people that imagined someone with green eyes and then suddenly when they’re described as having brown eyes, it completely throws me off. This one was even harder, there was a whole HEIST that I had to deal with. I did understand the heist a tad more and could probably tell you what happened, to some extent but I am truly no Wikipedia.

I don’t have much to really say about the book but yes, I feel like the more I read it, the better it gets and it is very close to knocking The Lightning Thief off the “comfort book” pedestal. Close, but not close enough. It’s definitely a book I would read if I needed a real escape since Percy Jackson is low fantasy and is set in the real world whereas Six of Crows is set in a whole other made-up world. Also, Percy Jackson definitely is a lighter read because there are no complications of a heist, just a fun adventure of 2 12-year olds and a satyr who travel across the country basically to save Percy’s mom (and not get killed by various creatures on the way, such as Medusa). But that’s a whole other discussion

Overall, highly recommend it even if you haven’t read the Shadow and Bone trilogy (or you can read it beforehand to get context to the world and the events).

You can get the book here!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Love,

Mila