Bardugo's prose is awesome, and there are some truly gorgeous quotes from here. Then again, it doesn't feel as if she's trying too hard or using purple prose. Ocean's Eleven set in a Game of Thrones-esque world ... The result is a pacey read with electric prose and well-drawn characters ( THE INDEPENDENT)

Let go, Inej. Her father had taught her to climb, to trust the rope, the swing, and finally, to trust in her own skill, to believe that if she leaped, she would reach the other side. Would he be waiting for her there? Let go, Inej. Should she jump now or simply wait for her body to give out?My mind is spinning. I tend to prefer simplicity in books. I hate a ridiculously complicated plot. I hate unnecessary characters. For the Young Adult genre, this book can best be described as epic, because. It. Is. Huge. It is complicated. It's like Ocean's Eleven for the YA fantasy crowd in the very best of ways. I must say, that since a special someone "pitched" this series of books to me, and ramble about it non stop, I knew it was worth reading. when you can see that spark on someone as they speak about something that they love. You can't push that aside and ignore it.Ahhh, now we are at big grumpy Matthias. My favorite Fjerdan! He's really just a giant teddy bear. (Okay, he's actually not but I can pretend.) He and Nina are perfect for each other... even though they are kinf-of not-really mortal enemies. Oops. Matthias pressed his forehead once, briefly, against Brum’s. He knew his mentor could not hear him, but he spoke the words anyway. “The life you live, the hate you feel – it’s poison. I can drink it no longer.” Also, the dialogue here absolutely rules. You have no idea how many times I had to hold in laughter. So I took my shot, and bought the books. Started reading, and just couldn't stop. The universe itself is so vast and full of possibilities. I must admit I took my breaks, not because I got bored of the book, but because I idn't have enough energy to read everyday, and I wanted to give the book my full and undivided attention when reading it.

I couldn't picture them as teen so I didn't. In my head Kaz as 30, Jasper 29, Mathias 32, Nina and Inej in mid-twenties. Everything makes more sense that way and I can't think of reason to put characters in their teens except to appeal to YA consumers. jesper fahey. the way he had so much hidden depth, masking his true feelings with banter and humor and sarcasm and wit? i — that hit far too close to home, and that’s probably why i kinda get him. he’s one of those characters no one can help loving. but he also loves shooting at his enemies, so he isn’t just a character who’d lighten the mood, he’s one of those who’d kill people for you if you were his friend and that type of loyalty is something else. i wanna be friends with him 👉👈 the suspense in this? the thrill i got from each and every single reveal? the tension i had in the second half? unmatched. i was so scared for all of their lives. i was wondering which would be the moment they’d get caught; they’d be sent to prison; they’d be killed. but the six crows were always one step ahead and i should’ve had more faith in them, probably. 😌 the world building was so beautifully done — there wasn’t any info-dump moment, because everything is delivered to us few details at a time and it’s so rich and intricate. i loved the way kaz, inej, nina, matthias, jesper and wylan overcame all the odds and became more and more dangerous and showed their hidden sides as the heist became tougher. i absolutely adore the creativity of this entire book and i’m in awe.

Matthias a former Druskelle, soldiers from Fjerda. He has history with Nina as the two of them helped each other after a storm destroyed their ship, with the two of them developing a trust. Nina betrays him which causes him to hate her, but he also loves her. Handwritten ANNOTATIONS by Leigh Bardugo with thoughts and insights in the first book, Six of Crows

This is the moment where I take the liberty to inform you that the characters section is going to be full of spoilers. So yeah, tread carefully and don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;-P we have a team of six, whose directive is to break into a heavily-fortified prison and smuggle a prisoner out. for a lot of money. what will happen to the prisoner afterwards, well, the team is a little split on that decision. but that can be sorted later, for now, it is mission impossible time: 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.” It’s everything the genre should be. It’s creative and immersive and unique. It’s stylistically great without being overly stylized. The plotline is nearly nonstop exciting. There is a MAP. Next, Kaz recruits Jesper Fahey. He is the crew's sharpshooter. Jesper is a lighthearted and sarcastic character, who enjoys gambling a bit more than he should.Matthias totally not a walking stereotype yeah yeah la-di-dah. Broody type, doesn’t laugh at jokes, ken-doll hair albeit a little longer, outstandingly handsome, has abs. inej ghafa. the moment she said “i like it when men beg” i was sat. she could stab me and i’d take it happily because it’s her. she’s just so badass, fierce, loyal and deadly while at the same time so kind and compassionate, so silent, so ready to save people she cares about at the risk of her own life. Each and every character in this book were likable and bad-ass, and they literally felt like real characters. God that woman is so fierce and has the heart of a lion!!! Nina is so compassionate and lovely and I immediately loved her for it! She’s never afraid to say what she’s thinking and she’s loyal to a fault. I just adored her for being so passionate and I was so sad when Matthias rejected her at the beginning. Not that this would have had any visible impact on her, after all she still had a sharp tongue and made sure to use it. *lol* ;-P Judging by what I read about this world to be one of the Grisha isn’t easy, but Nina nevertheless always somehow managed to stand her ground! me: okay. school's amping up. extracurriculars are starting. the internship search is well under way. what should we do first?

All things considered this book was amazing and beautifully written! It’s a piece of art that kept me captivated from the beginning to the very end and I think throughout this journey I actually became a part of the crew! And if Inej was kidnapped/whatever (i forget) at age fourteen and lived in a whore house for one year and now she is sixteen then SHE BECAME A SPY IN ONE YEAR AS IF CELAENA SARDOTHIEN BECOMING THE MOST FEARED ASSASSIN IN SIXTEEN YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH NOW WE HAVE INEJ AS A SPY, FULLY SKILLED AND FEARED IN ONE YEAR. She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and got drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him. But there is a lil thing I mentioned in there that I need to talk more about. And it’s not my potential kleptomania. (Although maybe I should talk more about that too. In a different format.) and then the filler starts which we have to read for half the book until the real heist begins which is less of a heist and more of a "explosions, fights and alarms ringing."Seriously, I felt the need to give this an entire section of its own, because the romance here is SO good. But the romance plots never overtake the book; I have an annotations list for these books, and there are twice as many good character moments and gorgeous quotes as there are romantic moments. Okay! I'll admit it. Nina is my favorite character. I love her strength and her love for waffles and her ability to be bright and happy in her gang of dark criminals. And her grisha powers as a Heartrender are amazing. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Together they might just be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.