Six of Crows (Six of Crows, 1)

4.5 Flashbacks LOST style Stars

Is Six of Crows a heist book? The answer is Yes but not really in the conventional way I look at a heist books. I really want to say that this is a perfect blending of Ocean’s Eleven trickery and LOST style flashbacks. Which for me is great since it gave me a clear idea of who each character was and their motivations. But that also means that most of the action is in the second half of the book. Not to say I wasn’t entertained in the first half, I was, I’m saying in the first half I had time to set the book down and make updates to all my Goodread’s friends and in the second half I did not.

A few good things:

1 - You do not have to have read the original Grisha Trilogy to read this book. There are some thrown in easter eggs and such for those who have but it isn’t necessary at all.

2 - Complex Characters…they are everywhere and LB describes them beautifully. Of the six members of the Dregg’s crew four get the most attention and damn I loved every one of them for different reasons.

Inej - The Wraith and Spymaster

That she was so very good at remaining unseen made her an excellent thief of secrets, the best in the Barrel. But the fact that she could simply erase herself bothered him. She didn’t even have a scent. All people carried scents, and those scents told stories—the hint of carbolic on a woman’s fingers or woodsmoke in her hair, the wet wool of a man’s suit, or the tinge of gunpowder lingering in his shirt cuffs. But not Inej. She’d somehow mastered invisibility.

Kaz - Dirty Hands the Thief and Magician of Sorts

"You’re a blackmailer—” “I broker information.” “A con artist—” “I create opportunity.” “A bawd and a murderer—” “I don’t run whores, and I kill for a cause.” “And what cause is that?” “Same as yours, merch. Profit.”

Matthias and Nina - Convict and the Grisha who is his distraction and destruction

In all his dreams he hunted her, sometimes through the new green meadows of spring, but usually through the ice fields, dodging boulders and crevasses with unerring steps. Always he chased, and always he caught her. In the good dreams, he slammed her to the ground and throttled her, watching the life drain from her eyes, heart full of vengeance—finally, finally. In the bad dreams, he kissed her.

3 - Worldbuilding. There wasn’t really a ton of it in the original Grisha trilogy but LB has put much more into the land, culture and structure of this world.

4 - The flashbacks…I LOVE THEM. I loved getting glimpses into the pasts of the crew to see how they ended up in prison, a brothel, leader of a gang etc. and what the driving forces are to the people they have become. The major events that shaped them gave complexity and depth to the decisions each made.

5 - The friendships. They might be deadly and tricky but to one another they would walk into hell and back, even if they don’t know it yet.

“I don’t know what your excuse is, Wraith. I’m the one who can never walk away from a bad hand.” She looped her arm in his. “That makes you a rotten gambler, Jesper. But an excellent friend.”

6 - THIS IS A DUET! LB doesn’t really like the term Dualogy but put simple that means there are two books to complete the story with this cast of characters. Six of Crows being the heist and the next one being a long con. THANK YOU! There are so many trilogies out there that I really think could have been summed up in one great book instead of three ho/hum ones. Two books is perfect sometimes and I wish more authors/publishers would use that format.

7 - The first half of the books is a lot of getting to know the people in the story and why they are going to be great at this. But the second half is a mad dash at times with way more Boom Boom Pow Pow WTF OMG and ahhhhhh moments. Not exactly in that order.

8 - Ships I want to jump on. While this isn’t really a romance book there is a clear indication that there might be hope for three couples to come out of this series (if they all live that is) and I SHIP THEM ALL. Plus no love triangle, thank god. But don’t be confused it is super on the back burner as they have to sneak into a fortress of sorts and rescue a scientist. Not a lot of time for any kissy kissy. But still I love all the slow burn potential there.

***“Kaz is … I don’t know, he’s like nobody else I’ve ever known. He surprises me.” “Yes. Like a hive of bees in your dresser drawer.” Jesper barked a laugh.“Just like that.” “So what are we doing here?” Jesper turned back to the sea, feeling his cheeks heat. “Hoping for honey, I guess. And praying not to get stung.” Inej bumped her shoulder against his. “Then at least we’re both the same kind of stupid.”

AND

“Jer molle pe oonet. Enel mörd je nej afva trohem verret.”***

I love this line so much but you will have to read the book for the translations…mewwahhahaha

9 - The Plot…I love a good heist story so and this one has enough twist, turns and bad guys to keep you guessing. But the short of it is Kaz and crew are offered a lot of money to break into an impenetrable fortress to rescue a scientist who can make a super drug. Each member of Kaz’s team is going for a different reason and not all of them agree. But it is certain that if caught they will all die.

10 - It’s so pretty. Seriously I don’t buy a lot of hardcover books (I live for ebooks and audio) but this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve seen and well worth getting the hardcover. Also just to note the audio was really good. There are 7 yes you saw that right 7 narrators. One for each PoV and they are all so good. They gave each voice a really distinctive tone and each one was done so well. I’m totally partial to Matthias’s PoV though because Jay Snyder is the bomb.

A few bad things:

There aren’t many but just a couple things of note. Since the first half has the majority of the character development it might feel a little slow if you just wanted chases and things blowing up. Nothing really for the heist starts to happen until the halfway point. Not a big issue for me but I’m letting you know anyway.

The Grisha aren’t explained really well. Maybe I only think that because I read the original trilogy. I think if you haven’t read the Grisha Trilogy you will totally be fine, but maybe since I know many more Grisha things I was looking for just a little more in this area.

Also there is a little bit of a cliffy at the end. I’m not saying it is so cliffy that you will want to pull all your hair out waiting for the next book maybe just a few strands. The epilogue made me desperate to find out what Kaz has planned because Dirty Hands has come to play and I really want to see how dirty he can get.

But seriously I’m totally nitpicking here. I very much enjoyed this book and really can’t wait for the sequel.

*May contain spoilers

Six of Crows is one of those books that I could truly kick myself for waiting so long to read. Now that I’ve finally finished reading it, all I keep thinking is what a fool I was to deprive myself of one of the most original and amazing fantasy stories I’ve ever read. I feel like I’m not even going to begin to do this book justice, but hopefully, since I’m pretty sure I’m one of the last people on the planet to actually read it, you guys will all just nod your heads in agreement because you already know why Six of Crows is such a fabulous read.

For those unfamiliar with the basic storyline, Six of Crows follows Kaz Brekker, a teenage criminal mastermind, who has been offered an opportunity to achieve wealth beyond his wildest dreams. How? By completing what can probably best be described as Mission Impossible. He has to break into the Ice Court, a heavy guarded military stronghold that has never successfully been broken into before. Once inside, his mission is to locate and smuggle out a scientist who is being held hostage there because he possesses knowledge on how to amplify and weaponize magic. Kaz knows enough about the dangers of the Ice Court to know that, without the right team, this heist is going to be nearly impossible, possibly even a suicide mission. Lucky for Kaz though, he knows exactly who the right team is: a deadly gang of young thugs, thieves, and runaways who are just desperate enough to agree to be part of this crazy mission.

LIKES

What I loved most about Six of Crows are the characters. Leigh Bardugo has crafted some of the most fascinating and unique characters I’ve come across in YA fantasy. I always enjoy stories that feature an anti-hero and with Kaz and his “Crows,” we have 6 anti-heroes! I love anti-heroes because they’re always such complex characters and these characters are no different. What each of the Crows have in common is that they have no family and they’ve each had to do some pretty awful things in the name of survival, including resorting to thievery and murder. Through flashbacks that give us backstory on each of the characters, however, Bardugo manages to make this gang of thugs so sympathetic that you can’t help but fall in love with them. I also liked the angle that each character seemed to have their own, sometimes selfish motives, for wanting to be a part of Kaz’s mission and it added an element of suspense at times, as I wondered if someone would sabotage the mission to serve their own needs.

It’s hard to pick a favorite character because they’re all so badass, but Kaz is definitely near the top of my list. As I’ve already mentioned, he’s a criminal mastermind. Even though he’s a teenager, his reputation precedes him and he is feared by many in Ketterdam, the city where the story takes place. Kaz can be as greedy as he can be cruel, but he’s also so brilliant, brazen, and daring that you can’t help being drawn to him. Kaz is also haunted by events from his past that left him alone and destitute, and he’s highly motivated by the desire for revenge against the man he holds responsible for what happened.

In addition to Kaz, there are also two badass female characters, Inej and Nina. Inej, known as the wraith, has a reputation for being somewhat of a ninja. Kaz calls her his spider because she can climb her way pretty much anywhere and can do so undetected, a very handy skill in their line of “work.” She’s also very skilled with knives and is perhaps the most murderous member of Kaz’s team. I just loved watching her in action as she cut down anyone who posed a threat to the team. What made Inej especially fascinating to me was the connection between her and Kaz. As much as Kaz tries to be all business, all the time and never show any emotion or weakness, it’s clear that he has a soft spot when it comes to Inej and her safety. It’s also pretty clear that there’s a good chance the feeling is mutual.

Nina is what is known as a Grisha, which means she possesses magical abilities. For the purposes of Kaz’s mission, Nina can use that magic to do useful things like slow people’s heartrates down until they lose consciousness. She can also use her powers for healing purposes, also handy when you’re on a super-dangerous mission. As we learn from her backstory, Nina’s people have been persecuted for years because of their magic -- imprisoned, tortured, and even burned at the stake. Because the Grisha are the ones whose magic would be weaponized, Nina has personal reasons for wanting to take part in this mission.

Matthias is one of the characters that intrigued me the most. At first, I couldn’t stand him, but the more I got to know about him, the more I just grew to adore him. Kaz recruits him by breaking him out of jail and offering him a pardon for his crimes in exchange for his help with the mission. Kaz sees Matthias as one of the biggest assets to the team because he used to work in the Ice Castle and can therefore give them the overall layout of the place, how the security works, etc. Matthias is torn because he knows he should be loyal to the Ice Castle, but at the same time, how can you turn down a chance to be pardoned so that you can get your life back? What makes the whole situation even more complicated is that he and Nina have shared history and he holds her responsible for his imprisonment. Tension, much? I swear I was convinced those two were going to kill each other for about half the book! Beneath all that hate they seemed to have for each other though, you could sense there was something more, an almost smoldering attraction for one another. Let me tell you – I’m not usually big on romance, but I was shipping the heck out of Nina and Matthias!

Jesper and Wylan. While these two guys were clearly assets to the team as well with their knowledge of weapons and explosives, respectively, what I loved most about Jesper and Wylan was that they provided a bit of comic relief where the other characters were so intense all the time. Jesper and Wylan teased each other relentlessly and their banter was just hilarious at times.

The world building in Six of Crows is also top notch. Bardugo paints a vivid picture of Ketterdam with its rival street gangs swarming around duking it out for power. It’s a dark and gritty world, as well as a dangerous one, filled with assorted thieves, predators, and traitors. It’s hard to know who, if anyone, can be trusted. The atmosphere definitely creates a sensation that all of the characters are vulnerable to attack by anyone anywhere so they have to be in survival mode at all times.

The Grisha magic system is also well thought out and vividly drawn. I went into Six of Crows without having read the Grisha series, which was probably a mistake as I’m sure it would have further enriched my understanding of the Grisha magic and their history, but even without having read it, I still felt like I completely understood the magic and why it would be such a valuable weapon if it could be amplified and harnessed. Imagine practically indestructible armies of Grisha fighting on your behalf. You’d be unstoppable.

Action, Action, Action! As I’m sure you can imagine just based on the details of their mission, Six of Crows is truly action-packed. There are endless twists and turns, obstacles that need to be overcome, enemies that need to be taken out, plans that fall apart and then need to be improvised. Although the novel starts out at a fairly slow pace as we are meeting each character and establishing the world of Ketterdam, once Kaz and his gang get started on their missions, it’s like jumping on a thrill ride that doesn’t stop until the final page.

DISLIKES

I can’t really say this is a dislike of the book, but it did take me about a hundred pages or so to really become invested in the characters and get sucked into the story. Again, I’m chalking up my slow start to needing extra time to understand the Grisha magic and how it worked because I didn’t read the Grisha trilogy first. Once I did get sucked in, however, there was no stopping me. It probably took me 3 or 4 days to get to page 100, but then I inhaled the last 300 or so pages in another day and a half. I guess my advice would if you are struggling to get into it, stick with it until they actually get started with the planning of their mission. It might be a slow build in the beginning, but it’s a wild ride from that point to the very end.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I truly loved pretty much everything about Six of Crows, hence why I’m kicking myself for having waited so long to read it. Up until now, Victoria Schwab’s Shades of Magic series has been, hands down, my favorite YA fantasy series. I have to say though, Six of Crows is seriously giving it a run for its money.

RATING: 4.5 STARS

Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally read Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows and it was simply put, incredible! I have heard nothing but good things about this one for the past year and despite all that I still couldn’t bring myself to pick it up just then. And the way people said it ended, not necessarily with a killer cliffhanger, but a cliffhanger nonetheless, I decided I would wait until the following year and binge what I soon learned was meant to be a duology. And I am thanking myself for this now because I plan to start Crooked Kingdom as soon as I am finished writing this review!

What some people started wondering after learning that this series takes place in the world of Shadow and Bone, just in a different country, was is it necessary to read that trilogy first, in order to better understand this one? The answer, in my opinion, is no. I have read the Grisha Trilogy already, binged that one two years ago, and naturally can’t remember much about it…despite having a serious crush on The Darkling! LOL! So not really remembering the world and its rules fully pretty much marked me as a noob for this new spinoff series. But since we basically have a new cast of characters, new country, it’s pretty much like a fresh new start to this world.

This is likely my first real heist book and it’s pretty clear that all others may never live up to my expectations from this point on! This was such an exciting and awesome read! I was a bit worried when I learned we had six main characters, that can be a lot to handle, but it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Mostly because we stuck with just four of these main characters in their chapter points of view, Jesper gets his own chapter occasionally, but not nearly as much and I felt like his were shorter too. But let’s discuss these awesome characters!

Kaz is the leader here, he runs his own part of the city—and let me say that names, especially in fantasies are always killer on my memory recall! I tried taking notes, but I usually don’t stop to write these trivial things down because I am eager to read! LOL!—and he’s got a past, one we’ll learn slowly but surely. He’s offered a particular job that will bring it a lot of money, but he knows he can’t pull it off on his own and he decides to hire a crew, one that will cover all the necessary bases. Inej is someone you could call his friend. He rescued her from her “prison” and she does the odd job for him, she’s called The Wraith because she can move so quietly that you never know she’s there. She’s silent and pretty deadly too! She’s amazing! Then we have Nina, she’s a Heartrender Grisha and can basically control your body, heartrate, temperature, consciousness, that sort of thing. Matthias is what you would call a witch hunter and basically hunts and executes Grisha believing them to be unnatural and all that. He and Nina have a history between them, one I’ll touch on in just a bit! Then we have Jesper who’s a gambler and in debt, but can also shoot like nobody’s business! He’s another sort of friend of Kaz. And finally there’s Wylan, he’s the one we don’t really know much about because he doesn’t have any chapter point of view time, but I’ll just say he plays an important role in the crew as well!

Now onto that Nina and Matthias connection. These two have a past history together and it’s not all sunshine and roses. They are pretty much the epitome of love-hate relationship material. Then it seems Kaz and Inej may or may not have connection going on as well. But being that they are both somewhat criminals feelings are not their finer points. More so for Kaz than Inej as she was more feeling like before tragedy struck her down. And that’s one thing these characters have in common. Tragedy struck them down at some point. They all have pasts and those pasts helped shape them into who they are today! We also get to see what those pasts were through a series of well timed flashbacks. I likened it to Lost in a way. There are just those moments in the present where you know the characters are remembering/feeling something and then bam! Flashback time! And as I said, they are well timed and really help to give us some idea on who these characters are!

The heist itself was quite the thing to read! It happens maybe midway-to the third quarter point! There’s lots of planning going on, issues to work through for the characters and it seems like there’s a lot of “busy” words going on before the actual heist portion of the story, but never once did I feel bogged down by this! In fact, I couldn’t read fast enough! And of course real life had to keep getting in my way! It’s dreadful being an adult, I tell you! But this was quite possibly one of the most exciting and thrilling reads I’ve read in awhile! I suspect the sequel is going to top all of that, because as I said, while things are necessarily cliffhangery to the point of I’m going to die waiting—all of 20 minutes while I write my review—but it is still one where you are left wondering what is going to happen to…everyone?!! A lot of things leave you hanging in the balance over what will happen to these characters you quickly grow to love, even if they seem heartless. They fast attached themselves to your heart and you want them all to be in their happy ending, whatever that shall be!

Six of Crows was freaking amazing! If you’re looking for a great adventure kind of read with a cast of characters who are not the usual heroes, then definitely pick this one up! Now is the perfect time, because the entire series (all two books!) are out! You can do what I am doing now and binging the duology! Best decision ever!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

REVIEW: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Published September 29th, 2015 by Henry Holt and Co. Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy Edition: Hardcover Source: Purchased Pages: 465 Rating: 5/5 stars

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.

From the moment I heard the description of this book, I was intrigued. A band of thieves attempting to pull off a huge heist? Sign me up! I was counting down the days till it released. I had such high expectations for this book. And believe me, they were met. I couldn’t put this book down. I loved every minute of it. Now, it is one of my favorite books of all time, and I’ve read a lot of books. I titled this “review”. In a review, you usually find criticism of the book. But since I loved this book, it’ll mostly be me gushing about all my thoughts. I just want to run up to people, shove this book in their face, scream “READ IT”, and then go and reread it by myself.

the plot

It was so interesting! I loved the whole heist. Something was always happening, and it was always interesting. It kept me surprised: PLOT TWISTS!

the characters

The characters were probably my favorite part of this book. We meet six that, by the end of the book, I had come to love. They’re all so unique. I loved reading from each perspective, that way I got to know the characters a lot better.

“No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for “good luck.”

Kaz- The leader.

“Greed is your god, Kaz.” He almost laughed at that. “No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.”

“A liar, a thief, and utterly without conscience. But he’ll keep to any deal you strike with him.”

Nina- She’s so brave, snarky, funny, and just an amazing strong female character. I loved that we had a Grisha in the group.

Inej-MY FAVORITE. She’s an ex-circus performer who now is a spy known as The Wraith. She struggled between her dedication to the gang and her desire to see her family again.

“Besides, she was the Wraith-the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.”

Jesper- the sharpshooter, who added so much to the story. The chapter told from his point of view are really great, because you see the other characters how he does, and I think he sees them how they truly are.

“Take good care of my babies,” Jesper said as he handed [his guns] over to Dirix. “If I see a single scratch or nick on those, I’ll spell forgive me on your chest in bullet holes.”

Wylan- He was this adorable, innocent, little boy at first. But his character changed/revealed as the story went along, and I LOVED it. I wished we could have gotten chapters from his POV, but Leigh said there will be in the 2nd!

“Always hit where the mark isn’t looking.” “Who’s Mark?” Asked Wylan.

Matthias- I loved how he struggled with loyalty to his country and his love for Nina, and I also loved seeing the backstory of how him and Nina met.

“And what did you do, Matthias? What did you do to me in your dreams?” “Everything,” he said, as he turned to go. “Everything.”

the romance!

I loved how the story was not overpowered by the romances in this book. It was a side plot that made the story more interesting. It wasn’t as prominent as the action part, but it was there. And it was amazing. I won’t spoil anything, but let me just say, I have 3 new OTPs just from this book.

the setting

In Bardugo’s previous trilogy, which I loved, we get to know the world a little, but it’s mostly set in Ravka, one country. Six of Crows was in a different country in this world, Kerch, and the group travels to a new country, Fjerda. I loved getting to know this world better. Also, the characters are from different countries so we get to know their view on their country and the others.

the writing

Her writing, like always, was incredible. It flowed beautifully. Some people have said it starts out slow, but once you pass the first 100 pages, things start picking up and getting really interesting. (I was interested the whole time, of course. I loved it from the very beginning.) But if you’re not enjoying it as much, I’m begging you. Keep trying. It’s SO worth it. There’s so many amazing quotes! I literally have notes and notes full of them.

This book is funny! It made me laugh out loud a lot (and I was in public, so people stared at me.)

“Jesper knocked his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. “Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost. Brekker’s lips quicker. “I’ll just hire Matthias’ ghost to kick your ghost’s ass.” “My ghost won’t associate with your ghost,” Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.”

This book is so gorgeous! The cover is beautiful, but my absolute FAVORITE thing about it has to be the black edged pages. And the maps!! There’s two beautiful maps. TWO!

what I didn’t like

I honestly can’t think of anything I didn’t like in this book. I tried to come up with something, but I loved it too much.

I highly, HIGHLY recommend you check this book out. It brings all the feels. I need the second book, Crooked Kingdom, NOW. Also, if you haven’t read Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy, you should. A lot of people have asked me, “Do I have to read the Grisha Trilogy before Six of Crows?” My answer has been: No, you don’t have to. Of course I would recommend that you do, as it is one of my favorite trilogies. If you don’t, you might be a little lost in the world, and there are some characters mentioned in here from that trilogy that you wouldn’t understand, but you could understand the story. There are minor spoilers of the end of Ruin and Rising in Six of Crows, but there is also some misleading. If you read the Grisha trilogy, you learn more about Ravka, where Nina is from, which helps you understand her better. Plus, it’s just an amazing trilogy. You SHOULD. But no, you do not have to.

Okay, I’ll just conclude my ramblings now. Go read this book, please. This review took so long to write, because I had so many good things to say, and I reread Six of Crows while writing it.

Ava Bookishnessandtea.wordpress.com

I went in to this book, as we all do with books of this magnitude, a little apprehensive. I didn’t want to hate it or find that it wasn’t nearly as good as most people were claiming, but dear god guys the hype for this book is so well deserved! It is AMAZING! This is my first Leigh book and my god did she deliver. I’m seriously going through so many withdrawals right now that I just need the second book right this instant. The beginning half of this book is a bit slower, but I liked that Leigh took so much time introducing characters. As well as adding in some flashback scenes so we got a better sense of who each character was and the motivations that drove them to agree to this crazy scheme. And man were these some amazing characters! I’m not going to go in to detail but I loved each and every one of them. Usually when reading a book with multiple POVs there’s always one or two characters you don’t connect with/don’t like/just outright hate, or there are some authors who just can’t do multiple POVs, but with these characters I found I loved each one. And I came to find, for me, while each character was written by the same author, they all had their own unique voice. It is amazing what some authors can do and I just have to applaud Leigh right now for writing such interesting, diverse characters. One’s that I miss now that I’ve finished the book and am seriously tempted to reread just so I can spend some time with them again. And let me just say this feeling has only happened to me one other time and that was with The Raven Boys.

And the world! It was fantastic. It was so beautifully developed and done that I couldn’t help but picture myself in there right alongside the characters. I didn’t want this book to end at all. For those of you that don’t know (like that’s possible) Six of Crows follows six criminals who have been tasked to retrieve something. A mission they might not come back from. There’s Kaz the leader, Inej the spy, Jesper the sharpshooter, Nina the heartrender, Matthias the convict, and Waylan the runaway. Can’t you just picture this in movie form? Because I definitely can! This is a group that can barely stand each other, but has to learn to trust each other if they hope to make it out alive. I could not have asked for a better cast of characters. Kaz is someone who seems horrible and like someone you could hate, but as we delve deeper and deeper in to his past you see just why he does what he does. Inej, well I’m just gonna say this I loved her right from the very start and same with Jesper. They are two of my favorite characters. Nina was amazing! She was funny and sarcastic and always had such great banter with the other characters, but mostly Matthias. Who by the way I love. He is a man of honor who only wants to get back to his home, and the only way to do that is to help Kaz in this scheme. And while he may do things that make you question him, he always comes through at the end of the day. Waylan, now I thought he was geeky and adorable and I loved that he and Jesper became friends. It’s such a great friendship and I can’t wait to see what happens in the second book!

I AM ABOUT TO HAVE A MOMENTARY FREAK OUT.. PLEASE SKIP IF NEED BE…

Another thing I need to say this moment… I SHIP the hell out of Nina and Matthais, their interactions were some of my favorite parts to read, Inej and Kaz, I mean YASSSSS GIVE IT TO ME, and Waylan and Jesper, the adorableness.. I just can’t even deal. Are you guys with me on this one?

ALRIGHT FREAK OUT DONE…

I have never been more in love with a setting or a cast of characters then I am with these six. I am so glad that I have this one pre-ordered. Not only was this world amazing and so brilliantly done, but the set up and the way that Kaz always seemed to have a back-up plan for his back-up plan was awesome. This is definitely a world I see myself visiting time and time again. I did hear that this was going to be a duology, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not? Have you guys heard anything about that. Anyways, this one hasn’t come out yet but I suggest going and buying it if you haven’t already or putting in a request at your library. Any way you can get your hands on this book, as long as it’s not illegal, DO IT. The hype surrounding this book is very much deserved and one that I think will be a favorite on many many many peoples list. So do yourself a favor and buy it. You will not be sorry!