Book Review | Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo

“No mourners. No funerals. 

Among them, it passed for 'good luck.” 

― Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows

__________________________________________________

 

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)
by Leigh Bardugo

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first.

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2)
by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

After pulling off a seemingly impossible heist in the notorious Ice Court, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker feels unstoppable. But life is about to take a dangerous turn—and with friends who are among the deadliest outcasts in Ketterdam city, Kaz is going to need more than luck to survive in this unforgiving underworld.

___________________________________________________

It took me a while to finish the first book in this Duology. And when I say it took me a while, I mean it took me 2 weeks to finish it. It kinda started slow for me because the beginning of the book didn't catch my fancy at first plus the fact that I had a lot of adulting stuff in my mind (work, bills to pay, kid getting sick, etc). I only got some serious reading in about 2 days ago when I finally got to my day off, and boy did I love every minute of this duology. It only took me around 6 hours to finish the 2nd book and these are not thin or short books.

Let me tell you how awesome these books are:

1. The characters are not your typical "heroes". We have Kaz who is a Gang Barrel Boss (he used to be the go to man but eventually he actually became a boss), Inej or The Wraith who gathers every kinds of secrets and shadows Kaz wherever he goes; Jesper, sharpshooter and a member of the Dregs; Nina the Grisha Corporalki and Mathias the Fjerdan Druskelle, natural enemies by birth and belief; and Wylan, demo expert and Merchling (son of a Merchant). They come from the underbelly of the city where gang life, gambling, pleasure houses, and death are a norm. Heroes they are not but they did end up doing a lot of "Hero" stuff.

2. Every chapter is action packed. Even the parts where they are just planning what to do or sneaking around, I felt the excitement of what was happening. I don't remember any boring parts in these books, at all. I love the description of their world as well, their countries and cultures - it's a mixture of Victorian, Steampunk, and some primitive like magic. I have this idea or understanding of the Grisha in my head that I don't know how to put in words so I used primitive. The pace of the story was very well written as well.

3. The Twist at the end. I don't want to give out spoilers.There a was a death I foreshadowed a little bit but it still saddened me that it actually happened after all they went through.  All I have to say about the end is that Kaz is a genius. 

“Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.”

I know there are 2 books and usually I would write separate reviews for each book, but this duology didn't feel like it was 2 books. There was no time in between the 1st and second books and the transition was seamless. Good thing I read them now that they are both available and not when only book 1 was out. The wait would have killed me.

I would definitely recommend these books. I might read the Grisha Trilogy after I'm done with the next 2 books I got from authors for review. More on that soon.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐