Six Of Crows--Possible Unpopular Opinion and Spoilers
Hey all,
So recently I finished Six of Crows, which I know I am a bit late on, but with all these other books coming out I never got a chance to read it. As many of you know if you follow my Tumblr (magicalbooksandthings) that Leigh Bardugo's other books, the Grisha Trilogy, are my all time favorites since at least the ninth grade. They introduced me to the magic of fantasy and to the magic of reading in general. So as you can imagine, I've wanted to get my hands on these new ones for awhile, but I procrastinated mainly because I didn't want the books to be over and because I was obsessed with Sarah J Maas and all those books, which is pretty obvious from my other book talks. But I finally broke down and bought both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.
I knew from the start, just from hearing things and reading other reviews that most people adored these books and thought they were just absolutely fantastic. However, I was a little disappointed. The book itself I enjoyed. There were many phenomenal characters, each with amazing personalities and back stories. There was adventure, action, and suspense. It had pretty much the making of a GREAT novel. Where I thought it fell short was in the relationships the characters had and the fact that Grisha, even though the main conflict circulated around jurda parem, a drug used to enhance Grisha power, really were hardly discussed. To be perfectly honest, if I hadn't read the other books following Alina and that group, I would have been so utterly lost. So just a tip, read the other Grisha novels. I think really what disappointed me is that some of the magic the Grisha offer was kind of sucked away. I know that it isn't actually magic and all that, but even though it was more science there seemed to be a magical aura surrounding the whole idea. The overall tone of this book was just different, and I think one of the biggest reasons I was slightly disappointed was because it just wasn't what I expected, with everything being much more...real, rather than with that enchanting slightly mysterious feel that the Grisha books had.
Some other things I really didn't like. Kaz and Inej. UGH. Okay, so I'm not mad that they didn't end up together, actually I'm quite pleased with that (I know, I know, I'm lame). I actually liked them at first and thought that they had the potential to create some very interesting plot twists and such but nothing really ever...changed. From the very beginning I knew exactly how things were going to play out just from the very obvious and very frustrating dialogue. I felt that their relationship really jumped around and was kind of randomly placed just to have a romantic aspect, because as I previously stated there really wasn't much focus on that. I would have much rather in this situation just have had Mathias and Nina's relationship, as opposed to one that didn't make sense at times and seemed hopelessly doomed from the start. Another thing I just really didn't enjoy was how Kaz never showed anything toward Inej (though we the audience knew that he liked her, or at least wanted her) until the very, very end and then seemed confused for a second as to why she wouldn't return his affection. All in all, it was the dynamic of their relationship that was just really lackluster and predictable to me.
Okay, moving on to the many things that I did like about the book. If any of you follow me on Tumblr (this is where I post a lot of updates and such about what's going on and what I'm up to) you will most likely have seen my miniature review that I did, which basically encompassed everything that I really like. As a whole I thought the book was intelligent and riveting, with its fast paced action and numerous explosions, as well as having a very well thought out plot. I found most of the characters interesting and I was never really bored. The beginning was odd for me, but again I'm going to chalk it up to being because I was expecting more of the magical and mystical rather than the harsh and cruel reality of slum life that I got. I'm not saying this was bad at all, I just wasn't geared to take on gangs and such. This brings me to another point worth discussing. Obviously, Leigh Bardugo did loads of research into gang life; there's even a few sources of inspiration she listed in the acknowledgments (yes, I read those sometimes because I'm curious) and I just thought that was so cool. It also really adds to the realism that the book offers, though it takes place in an imagined world.
Final Impressions: Overall, I liked it, but it was different than what I thought I was getting into. Though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I was left disappointed in a few areas regarding some characters' relational aspects and partial lack luster fantasy qualities. I don't believe the hype was undeserved, I just think it was hyped for the wrong reasons. I'd probably give it about a 3.5/5. This may change with Crooked Kingdom, but for right now I am not wholly sold on this one.
Thanks for reading!! Keep up with magic by following the blog and my Tumblr (magicalbooksandthings). My next update will be discussing the Winterhaven trilogy and my ACOTAR coloring book! Feel free to comment your own opinions but please be nice and polite, I'm not hating on these books, just merely dissecting what I liked and what I don't! I think all authors are amazing for persevering and they deserve a lot of credit for what they do.
Au Revoir,
NM Black
So recently I finished Six of Crows, which I know I am a bit late on, but with all these other books coming out I never got a chance to read it. As many of you know if you follow my Tumblr (magicalbooksandthings) that Leigh Bardugo's other books, the Grisha Trilogy, are my all time favorites since at least the ninth grade. They introduced me to the magic of fantasy and to the magic of reading in general. So as you can imagine, I've wanted to get my hands on these new ones for awhile, but I procrastinated mainly because I didn't want the books to be over and because I was obsessed with Sarah J Maas and all those books, which is pretty obvious from my other book talks. But I finally broke down and bought both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.
I knew from the start, just from hearing things and reading other reviews that most people adored these books and thought they were just absolutely fantastic. However, I was a little disappointed. The book itself I enjoyed. There were many phenomenal characters, each with amazing personalities and back stories. There was adventure, action, and suspense. It had pretty much the making of a GREAT novel. Where I thought it fell short was in the relationships the characters had and the fact that Grisha, even though the main conflict circulated around jurda parem, a drug used to enhance Grisha power, really were hardly discussed. To be perfectly honest, if I hadn't read the other books following Alina and that group, I would have been so utterly lost. So just a tip, read the other Grisha novels. I think really what disappointed me is that some of the magic the Grisha offer was kind of sucked away. I know that it isn't actually magic and all that, but even though it was more science there seemed to be a magical aura surrounding the whole idea. The overall tone of this book was just different, and I think one of the biggest reasons I was slightly disappointed was because it just wasn't what I expected, with everything being much more...real, rather than with that enchanting slightly mysterious feel that the Grisha books had.
Some other things I really didn't like. Kaz and Inej. UGH. Okay, so I'm not mad that they didn't end up together, actually I'm quite pleased with that (I know, I know, I'm lame). I actually liked them at first and thought that they had the potential to create some very interesting plot twists and such but nothing really ever...changed. From the very beginning I knew exactly how things were going to play out just from the very obvious and very frustrating dialogue. I felt that their relationship really jumped around and was kind of randomly placed just to have a romantic aspect, because as I previously stated there really wasn't much focus on that. I would have much rather in this situation just have had Mathias and Nina's relationship, as opposed to one that didn't make sense at times and seemed hopelessly doomed from the start. Another thing I just really didn't enjoy was how Kaz never showed anything toward Inej (though we the audience knew that he liked her, or at least wanted her) until the very, very end and then seemed confused for a second as to why she wouldn't return his affection. All in all, it was the dynamic of their relationship that was just really lackluster and predictable to me.
Okay, moving on to the many things that I did like about the book. If any of you follow me on Tumblr (this is where I post a lot of updates and such about what's going on and what I'm up to) you will most likely have seen my miniature review that I did, which basically encompassed everything that I really like. As a whole I thought the book was intelligent and riveting, with its fast paced action and numerous explosions, as well as having a very well thought out plot. I found most of the characters interesting and I was never really bored. The beginning was odd for me, but again I'm going to chalk it up to being because I was expecting more of the magical and mystical rather than the harsh and cruel reality of slum life that I got. I'm not saying this was bad at all, I just wasn't geared to take on gangs and such. This brings me to another point worth discussing. Obviously, Leigh Bardugo did loads of research into gang life; there's even a few sources of inspiration she listed in the acknowledgments (yes, I read those sometimes because I'm curious) and I just thought that was so cool. It also really adds to the realism that the book offers, though it takes place in an imagined world.
Final Impressions: Overall, I liked it, but it was different than what I thought I was getting into. Though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I was left disappointed in a few areas regarding some characters' relational aspects and partial lack luster fantasy qualities. I don't believe the hype was undeserved, I just think it was hyped for the wrong reasons. I'd probably give it about a 3.5/5. This may change with Crooked Kingdom, but for right now I am not wholly sold on this one.
Thanks for reading!! Keep up with magic by following the blog and my Tumblr (magicalbooksandthings). My next update will be discussing the Winterhaven trilogy and my ACOTAR coloring book! Feel free to comment your own opinions but please be nice and polite, I'm not hating on these books, just merely dissecting what I liked and what I don't! I think all authors are amazing for persevering and they deserve a lot of credit for what they do.
Au Revoir,
NM Black
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