"A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who has become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse."

This book is the first of an adventure packed fantasy duology by Israeli American author Leigh Bardugo, but is the fourth book set in the Grishaverse. This time the setting resembles an alternate Netherlands instead of Russia, with the book beginning in the port city of Ketterdam in Kerch. I had not read the prior trilogy which may have given more background on the different lands and magic, but it was also fine without.

Kaz Brekker is the merchant gang leader of the Dregs, somewhat of an antihero, feared by all despite a walking stick and a limp, due to his ruthlessness, courage and cunning. A meeting with one of the powerful merchants on the council sees him tasked with a near impossible quest. Kaz is to venture to the impregnable Ice Court in the country of Fjerda and rescue an imprisoned scientist Bo Yul-Bayur, who has created the deadly drug Jurda Parem. This drug has the power to turn the Grisha, who possess some of their own magic, into fearsome battle weapons, ultimately destroying them in the process.

Kaz chooses his band of six for an Ocean’s 11 type heist and sets sail for Fjerda. His team includes Inej a dark-skinned and sure-footed Suli wraith, the light-hearted weapons expert and gambler Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck the dyslexic son of a merchant and Nina Zenik a curvy redheaded Grisha from Ravka with the powers of a Heartrender. Nina’s abilities means she can slow someone’s pulse to either relax or incapacitate them. Lastly they stop to release Matthias Helvar, a Fjerdan witch killer or Drüskelle from a gladiator style imprisonment. He reluctantly joins the band, having been brought up to hate and kill Grisha, not to fight for their safety. Despite his upbringing and prejudice he finds himself unwillingly drawn to the beautiful and fierce Nina.

This is a rollicking adventure with characters you find yourself rooting for. Allegedly they are teens but feel much older. All of them have a back story and some of their prior tragedies come out in flashbacks throughout. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. There are also touches of romance throughout, but not enough to distract from the story. I liked Inej’s blueprint for romance:

“Many boys will bring you flowers. But someday you'll meet a boy who will learn your favorite flower, your favorite song, your favorite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won't matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart.”

Overall a great read, which leaves you on somewhat of a cliff edge hunting for the next installment. 4.5 stars for me. ( )

Heist gone wrong cliff hanger. ( )

This review is for the complete Six of Crows duology (Six of Crows; Crooked Kingdom) by Leigh Bardugo:

This is a heist story, with one young and rising criminal mastermind from the Ketterdam underworld being offered an incredible sum of money in order to accomplish an impossible rescue, almost a suicide mission. A team is assembled and they go for it, getting involved in a complex plot involving magic and international politics.

I liked the story, the worldbuilding and the characters. It's YA, for those who care about labels, but it's quite well-written. I enjoyed that we got to know the back stories (sob stories) of all members of the team, and that they all were interesting, and I liked the dynamics of the team. The romantic elements were integral to the story and did not feel like an unwelcome distraction. The story is rather character-focused. The city of Ketterdam is inspired by Amsterdam, but it did remind me of Venice, and there were other foreign powers inspired by imperial Russia and others. And the story was good: even if I'm not a big fan of heist stories, this book had enough epic to have me entertained, with a plot involving the discovery of a drug that greatly potentiates Grishas' abilities (Grishas are people with certain magical abilities, who are often exploited and/or persecuted) at the cost of quickly destroying their minds, and that many countries are trying to control.

One thing that bothered me is that we are continually being told how evil and ruthless Kaz is, but we only see him act in an honorable manner. Well, with a roguish code of honor, but a code of honor nevertheless. For me that was the main YA tick. And there's no grimdark here: the heroes, albeit criminals, are good guys.

All in all, an enjoyable and easy read. ( )

This book ends on a cliff hanger, so I'm glad that I have the next book ready.

It took me a bit to get into the story (maybe about 10%), but then I really liked it. The characters are likable, and we get to see things from almost everyone's perspective, which really helps me connect with the characters. The heist is really interesting, as well as the characters relationships. I'm excited to read more in Crooked Kingdom. ( )

As a leader of the Dregs, Kaz has contacts, associates, and even a handful of what he might (if pressed) call friends across all the lowest places in the city of Ketterdam. Of late, there have been rumors of a new form of jurda parem, a mind-altering substance, which has been endowing magic-users with previously unimagined power and whose presence threatens to alter the economy in potentially disastrous ways. Accepting a task to lead an ill-advised rescue into the unforgiving neighboring land of Fjerda in exchange for a reward too tantalizing to pass up, Kaz begins to assemble a small team of misfits to take on this impossible mission.

This is a book I wanted to savor and was disappointed when it ended — on a cliffhanger, no less. I had heard such good things about it and was anticipating an immersive experience, so I saved it for while I was vacationing. I was immediately captivated and had difficulty putting it down after just the first few chapters. I loved that the world-building kept me guessing, with some aspects familiar and recognizable and others stretching my brain in a way that was welcome. Eagerly anticipating the next in the series. ( )