Six of Crows is the first book in a duology by Leigh Bardugo. Just like Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy – this book is set in the Grisha universe – a fantasy world where witches exist and are persecuted as either ungodly or as slaves. Six of Crows takes place in Ketterdam, a bustling city run by trade and filled to the brim with pleasure houses, gangs, and illegal gladiator arenas.

Kaz Brekker, a member of the Dregs gang, is a crippled boy nicknamed “Dirtyhands” who can (and will) do any job. One day, Brekker is given a job that could make him richer than any other teen in Ketterdam; all he needs is a crew. Luckily, he already has one in mind.

I was enthralled in this dark fantasy the entire way through. If you are sensitive to things like swearing, addiction, slavery, and other mature subjects, I wouldn’t suggest this book. For anyone else looking for an all-around brilliant read, this book is for you.

Leigh Bardugo is a skilled author; her writing is excellent and the plot is exciting and suspenseful. You can’t help but hang onto every word. However, the best part of this novel is the cast of characters. They all  have unique, in-depth personalities and back-stories. Their views of the world, their opinion, and their emotions are all vastly different. For example, two of the characters come from countries that are at war with each other over the controversial topic of Grisha rights. One character comes from a country that uses these people as soldiers and the other comes from a country where they are slaughtered. The conflict and character development truly enriches the novel. 

This book does have some flaws. The biggest drawback is that if you haven’t read the Grisha trilogy, this novel can be confusing for the first two and a half chapters. Again, this story is dark and can be very sad at times; if you aren’t up for that, then this novel isn’t for you. I must also point out that there are many words and names in the novel that are confusing and hard to pronounce. The addition to the name glossary in the second book is a big help, especially for names like Inej (in-ezh) and the like. A glossary for the other words in the fantasy languages would have also been a huge help.

Overall, I would still strongly recommend this book. Six of Crows has 4.5/5 stars on Goodreads and, according to Google, 96 percent of readers liked the novel as well.

If you are a fan of fantasy and aren’t scared of a dark story, Six of Crows should be your next read.