I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Dregs #1
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on September 29, 2015
Pages: 480
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

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.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

After binge reading the entire Grisha trilogy, I was super pumped to dive right into Six of Crows. I had extremely high expectations for this book, since I loved the Grisha trilogy so much – and Six of Crows more than delivered! With incredible world-building, epic characters and Leigh Bardugo’s gorgeous writing, this book was everything I hoped it would be and more!

First of all, I love this world. I love that we (those who read the Grisha trilogy) know this world – it’s established and we know the rules and laws, but it’s also a different side of the world we know and love. It’s darker and heavier, yet it still has moments that make you laugh out loud. Bardugo’s world-building and writing skills have gotten even better since she did the Grisha trilogy and since that trilogy was insanely amazing, it’s hard to believe she could get even better than she already was!

I also loved these characters. They have so much depth and richness – I was immediately and completely invested in them and their story. They were insanely awesome and had such great chemistry, I just shipped everyone with everyone!

Kaz is incredibly cocky, sarcastic and bad-ass. He had nothing and no one and he had to build himself up and, essentially, start from scratch. He needed a roof over his head, a source of income, a way to ensure his safety and reputation – and he did all of that and more. He’s fiercely loyal to the Dregs and his friends, yet driven by revenge

I had a major girl crush on Inej. I loved everything about her – her background, who she was to the Dregs and Kaz, her attitude and personality, how badass and loyal she was – absolutely everything. She’s a trained fighter and capable of holding her own. In those regards, she reminded me of Alina and Celaena.

I 100% shipped Kaz and Inej. They were just perfect together. They were both loyal and bad-ass and they could both hold their own in a sticky situation, yet they still watched each other’s backs, kept each other’s secrets and were concerned beyond words for each other’s safety when things looked grim. Yet they still butted heads over a number of things and the tension between them was insane. My heart completely broke for them at the end of this book and I’m anxious to see what happens next for them.

I wasn’t really crazy about Jesper in the beginning, but then he grew on me. He and Wylan (one of my favorite characters) were hilarious and perfect together. It’s hard to pick who my OTP was, between them and Kaj & Inej, but I can definitely say that they were one of my absolute favorite ships in this book!

For the most part, I liked Nina. She was hilarious and I loved the role she played in the group, but I never fully trusted her – She had her own agenda and I was always waiting for her to stab them all in the back, to do what she had to in order to fix the messes she found herself in.

Matthias was an okay character, but he wasn’t stand-out for me. What he did was brave and it showed that he DOES know right from wrong and he CAN learn to do the right thing. But I wasn’t crazy about his background or his personality. And I definitely did NOT ship him and Nina, which made me very sad because I had heard a LOT about this ship prior to reading the book and everyone loved them. I wanted to like Matthias and I wanted to ship him and Nina but I just couldn’t. Not after the things he did and how many times he betrayed her or hurt her. He reminded me of the Darkling – I wanted to like him, but I could’t forgive the things he did.

Normally, this many POVs in one novel would annoy me – Unfortunately, too many multiple POV’s (greater than three) are almost always done because it’s the only way to kept the story moving and without them, there would be less plot and a shorter novel. But Bardugo made it work and I loved seeing inside everyone’s heads! I also felt the pacing was pretty spot on. Some people found it slow to get going, but I think that’s because Bardugo really took the time to develop this world and these characters and, as a very character-driven reader, I really appreciated and enjoyed that. For me, nothing felt like filler – it all felt relevant and important to the overall story. Others might disagree and that’s okay! But I do suggest pushing through the potentially slow beginning – it’s so worth it for the epic cliffhanger ending!

And, my goodness, was that cliffhanger epic, intense and insane! This book JUST came out a week ago and I’m already dying for the sequel! So many revelations, so many plot twists, so many crazy character developments… My poor heart couldn’t take it!!! I really don’t want to say more for fear of spoilers, but trust me, it was ridiculously good!

Overall, if you couldn’t tell from my rambling-filled fangirl review, I LOVED this book, I LOVE Leigh Bardugo and I CAN’T wait for her next book (both in this series and in general). I can’t get enough of this world, these characters or Bardugo’s crazy-good writing! I HIGHLY recommend this book, whether you read the Grisha trilogy or not (Side note: You DON’T have to read the Grisha trilogy before you read Six of Crows – they’re companion novels and can be read together or separately; however, I HIGHLY recommend you read both the Grisha trilogy AND Six of Crows because both are amazing beyond words), give this one a chance! It’s filled with amazing characters, an epic plot and a rich, well-developed world – So, basically, it has everything that makes an amazing book!