This book is ALIVE <3 <3 <3!!! That is the best way I can think to describe it. The story starts in media res, and doesn't get bogged down in world building. Instead, it throws you into a /built/ world: Nations, religions, different languages, rival gangs, and various ne'er-do-wells with shady histories. Where is my Grishaverse roleplaying game?! Because I was immersed in this world for 462 pages, and it wasn't nearly enough! I need to spend months campaigning, walking the streets of Ketterdam, earning my tattoos and my shiny signature weapon... This book transports you, and I am ALL here for that!!!

The absolutely stunning powerhouse in this book is the ensemble. Every single character has something sympathetic or understandable about them. They are all conflicted morally, with personal obstacles to overcome. And their interactions are genuine and true to character, so much so that it's entertaining to root for ships or double-crosses, either way doesn't detract from the richness and realness of the character. That is a MONUMENTAL achievement. My greatest complaint about the Shadow and Bone trilogy was that I didn't find the male protagonist, Mal, sympathetic until the final book, and therefore his "fated" romance with Alina felt forced. Six of Crows blows all the petty jealousies of teen angst WAY way WAY out to sea, and gives us a cast of damaged and surprisingly emotionally mature young people. Their experiences are darker, their challenges greater, and their ability to trust and love and overcome DESPITE all that is /that/ much more compelling.

And can we talk for a minute about representation?! This is something I felt was lacking in Shadow and Bone too, see my previous complaint that Genya's not being a lesbian. But *MWAH!* Shadow and Bone has protagonists of color AND on the LGBTQA spectrum!! And a mix of different religions (and atheists) too! I know the lands and religions are made up, but after the sameness of Ravka's ragtag heroes in the orig trig, the diverse cast of Six of Crows is welcome - nay, I was jonesing for it! This upgrade satisfied my soul. Plus a million stars for diversity!!!

And SPOILER ALERT, this book gives us a female protagonist whose story arc has her realize that she don't need no man! AH!!! I cannot express how refreshing that is! After Alina, whose whole trajectory was about which boy she would choose to be with, it is so rewarding to have a girl realize that her dream can be about /her/ empowerment, boy or no boy! Yey, girl power!

Six of Crows is a goliath of YA fantasy achievement, and a glowing testament to Leigh Bardugo's progress and maturity as an author. I am so so SO in love with this book! <3 "No mourners. No funerals."

This book deserves ALL the hype!

It's not the most universally quotable kind of book (until the last 50 pages or so), but it has a depth of detail and characterization which makes it alive and tangible in a different way. I believed in, and felt for, all the characters. Nobody is a "Chosen One". Nobody suddenly monologues their sob-worthy backstory because "Hey, I know I've only known you for two days, but we've almost died a bunch, and we hit 100 pages into the book, so I guess I ought to spill now?" Nobody is excessively catty or emotional or cagey, to the point of jeopardizing lives. The characters have emotional depth, they are damaged and complicated, but they don't let their emotions overrule strategy, common sense, or good teamwork. And in a very real way, the characters answer personal questions /as/ they feel comfortable, and withhold other answers for a later date; there is no info dump about any one person. Their grounded-ness, combined with the book's meticulous nautical knowledge, made me feel - despite the slight amount of supernatural/fantasy power in this 'verse - that the risks and rewards were /real/ in this book. I cared <3 <3 <3! That is the highest praise I can give a book: When it makes me /feel/ something.

Cannot wait to see what's in store in Namesake! Adrienne Young whittles magnificent story-crafting, revealing a world piece by intricate piece. I cannot wait to read more by Young <3. Mwah! Masterful!

PS - Score one for representation!!! Ah!!! <3 <3 <3

This book played tug-of-war with my heart:
It has tons of courtly intrigue... whiiich is kind of negated by the heroine having mind-reading magic.
It scores major points for diversity... whiiich it then loses for having a bunch of character tropes, too. (The gay guy is an actor. Really. Really?!)
It's an immensely interesting not-quite Earth setting with unique magics and religions... orrr it would be, if the book took the time to BREATHE. Describe a setting. Devote a paragraph or two to explaining the warring religions. Have a map, a glossary, anything! I was swimming in nouns with no descriptions.
Most of the characters weren't likeable. Thank goodness Ren was human; her silent-suffering from being /too/ empathetic is a real struggle a reader can relate to... Buuut she largely doesn't know WHO she is - almost as if she has amnesia - and therefore she doesn't grow from her struggles, only sinking deeper into her martyrdom. And Castian SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER is only likable because a bunch of minor characters /say/ he's likable, up until the last 5 pages of the book. Mendez was complex and his dynamic with Ren was interesting... SPOILER SPOILER and was majorly retconned and watered down by the end of the book :(.
And the book itself sets a frantic pace. Something about its sentence structure, or first-person perspective, combined with its timeline, makes every sentence an action sentence. "I do this. I do this. I do this... etc." This isn't Game of Thrones, with months and years to unravel the mysteries surrounding a character. It's adrenaline-filled days, with little to no chance to stop and describe a setting, a feeling... very little literary craft. Some motifs, but few metaphors or descriptors... Just constant DOING. A story is more than just what the characters /do/.
But for every nagging point that causes me to walk back on this book, I'm ultimately pulled forward, because all the good IS there too <3. Scores for diversity, creativity, mysteries and surprises and dangers aplenty.
A book worth reading, even if it's also a book worth tweaking.

Another beautiful tie-in to the Grishaverse; the paintings alone are STUNNING. It was intriguing and creative to see how:
A) There are saint stories across the whole world, implying that magic is universal and the borders which divide our heroes are manmade and arbitrary.
B) Our heroes either get turned into stories themselves, or follow in the footsteps of known stories, ensuring that the legends and the magic remain alive.
C) Some stories even crossover with Language of Thorns, implying that the subjects of fairytales and religious works alike were real people in this universe. Maybe even foreshadowing that we'll get to see them in other Grishaverse novels...

But the book gets a little too "real", a little too like the holy books which inspired it. It becomes a list of silly vinettes. Some have universal messages, not all. And they're not as powerful as the stories in Language of Thorns. It's a book best sipped, not binged, because trying to read all the saint stories at once gives it a sing-songy, we've-heard-this-before, kind of lulling rhythm, despite how well its written.

A darling, dark little book, sort of the mashup of A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Princess Bride. The narrator is a little bit "too cute", a little too distracting with all of the fourth wall breaks. But an excellent mechanic for kids, warning when the more disturbing content is about to drop. And the book did have some great quotes/moral insights for every reader who's ever been disillusioned with the people they trust, and had to find their own strength. The blending of fairytales was fun, insightful, and sinister - all things you want from a good story ^_^.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to score this book. It's terrifying, in that it's way too close to plausible, given everything that's happened in the USA these last few years. I wonder if it was considered a more sci-fi read back when it was first published. The book is atmospheric, philosophical... it offers a conversation, but no answers. And with real politics of the day hemorrhaging what was fantastical about the novel decades before... now I'm unsettled to not have answers, to not have a clear heroine who saves the day and triumphs over overwhelming odds. There is less to debate any more, less enjoyment in the safety of fiction. A similar regime is real for some reader, somewhere, and I don't just want to hear the problem, I want to work towards the solution. I can see why the show took the story MUCH further, and focused on the Mayday resistance.
While it may have come up short in the adventurous plot department, it certainly excelled in the writing style. This anonymous woman is confessing, unraveling, romanticizing, daydreaming - all in an effort to remain human - and her associative storytelling, swirling past and present, really clicked. This book felt over too soon, I was that invested. I'm glad I have Testaments to look forward to.

I didn't find the conclusion as compelling as the first book in the duology. Most of the supporting characters were dragged along for the ride, and the fact is pointed out in universe with zero consequences. Even the "villains" don't take many actions against our heroes, remaining vague threats and potential political opponents (who are easily out-maneuvered, turns out!). The plot was a little boring, our crew isn't in the same level of danger as the first book, there are no tragic deaths or noble sacrifices. At the end of the day, this book was mostly melodrama: Fable being naive, Fable being more upset about lying than murder, Fable just wanting her Daddy and her boyfriend to say "I love you" to make everything okay, Fable being rescued instead of taking agency... At one point, I realized I was just reading to get it over with, there was no more suspense or joy carrying the plot :/. Disappointing.

This book takes OFF from the first page, and is relentless with the emotional gut-punches. It's brilliant for how much it makes you feel for these characters. I admit, I was NOT prepared for the book I was getting into; I thought this was a thriller, but it's more of a drama. The book digs down DEEP into the topics of grief, young love and expectations versus married life and reality, abuse and cycles of abuse, the damage secrets/lies by omission can do in any relationship (friendship, familial, or romantic)... This book had a LOT to talk about, and spending so many pages/hours living through the same pain as these protagonists was heartbreaking. Too real! ;___; <3 Amazingly written.
That said... as a mystery, it falls flat. There is no surprise twist waiting at the end, like I thought there was going to be. A bunch of sad things happen...and then the book ends. I don't feel satisfied for chasing clues. It's mostly a drama or a tragedy, and drops the statement that life is terrible sometimes. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Tons of discussion potential, but not a lot of re-readability.

One minor issue I took with the book was its supreme Whiteness XD. Pretty blonde ex-cheerleaders and football studs having beautiful babies, working high-power jobs, living in an expensive cul-de-sac, sending their kids off to private school... I was so disgusted by all the "White Girl Problems", that I actually started actively recasting the characters in my head to be more ethnically diverse. And the book carries ALL of the same emotional weight with people of color. Moms are moms, wives are wives, and losing a child or the love/trust of a spouse is a universally understood pain. Or at least, a pain which transcends race. I think the book could have been stronger had it been diverse, to put the emphasis that their struggles come from their strained relationships, not from their privilege being tarnished.

A beautifully written book that will break your heart and make you wish for an ethnically diverse Netflix adaptation... and a few more mysteries to uncover. Boom.

Read the illustrated edition with my 5 year old son ^_^. It's so fun to see him fall as in love with this world, and these characters, as I did. But it's also kind of tough to go back and reread these books, and realize where they fall short. The characters can be bullies or narcissists. The representation is poor, even judgmental. The writing can be REALLY long-winded, and over-explain things... Having grown up enough to be objective about the series, now, it's hard to watch my son fall in love with it. I want him to love it AND recognize its short-comings too, I don't want him to emulate the cruelties in this book.