Six of Crows Duology | Leigh Bardugo | Review

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.

If you missed it, this month's Book Club book is The Language of Thorns, by Leigh Bardugo. It's a short story collection with beautiful images throughout, telling the fairy-tale-like stories from the Grishaverse. What's the Grishaverse, you ask? It's this incredible land that Leigh Bardugo has created, and subsequently has written quite a few tales about.

While I read and loved the Grisha Triology (Shadow and Bone, Seige and Storm, Ruin and Rising), the Six of Crows Duology are now probably two of my favourite books. Instead of a review of both books in this duology, I thought I'd give you my over feelings about a few different aspects, treating the story as done, rather than two.

Setting

Being a part of the Grishaverse we get to dive right back into this incredible, but it's based out of a city we didn't get too much of in the Grisha trilogy: Ketterdam.

If you've ever fall into a fantasy world and struggled to get out of it, then  you the wonders of returning to a land you're familiar with, just with different characters, plot and tone. That's what it was like for me returning in Six of Crows. I already loved the world that Bardugo had created when I read Shadow and Bone so coming back to that was such a treat. The hustle and bustle of Ketterdam is different than that of the other cities, it's a bit rougher, the people are a bit more suspect and the feeling on the whole is a bit darker. But just as epic.

Characters

The characters in Six of Crows duology are absolutely brilliant. Kaz is the leader, but he's not quite the typical leader you might expect - he's got an attitude like no one else, he can be a bit of you-know-what at times, and he has a physical disability and walks with a cane. But he's an excellent, strong leader, with a sharp mind and incredible scheming skills. The others in the group all have their backstories, their quirks and their strong personalities. There's a lot of growth over the course of the story, and it was a joy to read.

Plot

Both books involve a getting-in and getting-out quick kind of story line. They're engaging, and entertaining, dangerous and full of challenges that you're just hoping the team can get through. It's a fantasy heist story like no other, and it's one that I want to re-read, for sure.

Have you read the Six of Crows Duology?