Book Review: Six of Crows Duology

Well, this series took me on a ride. There will be spoilers — so if you have not read them yet, proceed with caution! The Six of Crows duology written by Leigh Bardugo was honestly amazing, but also very stressful. I will start with Six of Crows, and then go into Crooked Kingdom.

Six of Crows

Oh, man. Kaz Brekker…what an amazing character. Not only is he an awesome, badass character, but he also shows just how amazing Leigh Bardugo’s mind is. The schemes and plots that she comes up with for Kaz are just epic. I strive to have that level of organization in my books.

To dig into the story a little — the book follows along with six main characters, dividing up the book with their differing points of view. Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan are the incredibly well-rounded characters of the book. Each of their backstories was intriguing and kept me reading.

As for my favorites, obviously Kaz and Inej. I would argue they were the main characters if the book wasn’t told equally from all the points of view. Jesper was fun too, and his interactions with Wylan always left me wanting more from them. Matthias and Nina were a bit frustrating at first, waiting for their story, but they grew on me.

Six of Crows is about this rag-tag group of criminals and outcasts who have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist. The amount of preparation from the author that went into creating this heist and the dynamics of each characters roles is just amazing. I was kept on my toes the entire time, which is not always good because that kind of reading stresses me out.

But, I made it through to the end and was glad of it!

Crooked Kingdom

This is the second book of the Six of Crows duology. I had a harder time getting through this one, and rightfully so, since it is about a hundred pages longer. It started out with Kaz plotting to get back Inej (because she’d been kidnapped by Jan Van Eck — evil mercher). So, I had to get through that section first. Once Inej was saved, then came the plot to bring down Van Eck, because he had turned the entire city against Kaz’s group.

This is where things got interesting for me, but also stressful. Everything that could go wrong — went wrong. I was scared to keep reading, rather than excited to keep reading. But, I overcame it and pushed on. I am so happy I did because the last few sections of the book were my favorite.

Character relationships…

Jesper and Wylan finally got together. Kaz and Inej had their first intimate moment and it was heart wrenching. Matthias finally fully accepted Nina’s awesomeness as a Grisha and they were able to be together — for a few chapters anyway.

I was NOT a fan of Matthias having to die. I felt as if he was used as the Martyr for the book. As if they author was like — well not everyone can live. So she killed off Matthias. Like, rude, okay. I understand it, he had kind of fulfilled his role in the book, but he still wanted to help other Druskelle overcome their biases. He had more work to do. And then for him to ask Nina to do that for him — no. He should not put that burden on her, knowing that she would be most likely captured and murdered by any Druskelle she tried to change.

Onto Kaz and Inej…I was very satisfied with their ending. At first, I worried that they were going to go their separate ways, broken and never to be together. Which, that would have still made sense given their pasts. But, we were given a kernel of hope! They held hands — and this means so much for Kaz. It was a perfect end for them in my mind.

Rating

My overall review for the Six of Crows duology:

FIVE STARS! Even with my stress, I still enjoyed these books immensely. As I said, they kept me on my toes and there was a surprise around every corner! The characters were all great and enjoyable to read about. Each of their stories fit in so well with the puzzle that Leigh Bardugo created. She has a brilliant mind and I can’t wait to read more from her.

To read a book review of the Shadow and Bone series, check out that post here!

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