ARC Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

First off, thank you to Henry Holt and the lovely people with ABA White Box for providing me with this review copy. 
Disclaimer: All images are property of their respective copyright holders. Book image and synopsis taken from Goodreads

When I went to Book Expo this year (my first time), I noticed the hullabaloo around Six of Crows. There were outrageously long lines about an hour before Bardugo was even signing. Needless to say, I stayed on the less populated side of the Expo! I hadn't read anything by Bardugo, so I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, anyway.

A couple months later, a Six of Crows ARC shows up at the store, and naturally I'm intrigued. When I flipped it over and read the synopsis, I realized that it was a fantasy heist novel. SOLD.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first. 

A lot of things I liked about this book are spoilery, so I will try to avoid any important plot elements while telling you why you should read it.

That summary basically tells you that there are six outcasts on an impossible heist in a fantasy world. What it doesn't tell you is that Six of Crows is a fast-paced, well written fantasy novel with six very different POV characters. Though it's in third person, you are allowed a peek into each of the scurrilous (some more than others) characters' tricky brains.

Reasons to Read Six of Crows:

1. Two Words: Heist Novel. Six of Crows delivered everything I was hoping for in this regard. Impossible job? Check. Impenetrable fortress. Check. Disguises? Check. Characters who don't trust each other. Yes. Sharp rocks at the bottom? Most likely. Bardugo handles the actual job masterfully, deftly balancing the characters' twisty interactions, private agendas, and helps you follow the actual plan without giving away too much. And of course, plot twists.

2. Morally ambiguous, truly unreliable characters. I love unreliable narrators and characters who keep me guessing at their true motives. Even if I'm not rooting for them (like Moriarty), I love clever characters to death. Especially with Kaz Brekker, Bardugo manages to make us sympathise, pity, and root for a character who isn't always sympathetic. He's a hardened criminal (albeit damaged), and he never apologises for any of it. In fact, he finds ways of turning his weaknesses into strength.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love character development and redemptive character arcs, but YA fiction is populated by "bad boys (and sometimes girls)" who pout, crack some off color jokes or smoke, lounge around brooding, and moan about how bad they are, and then they turn on "knight in shining armor" mode (usually for the love interest). Real life isn't like that. In the case of Six of Crows, Ketterdam (with very 16-18th century Amsterdam influences!) is a cesspit of wealth, poverty, and corruption. Kaz and crew fit into this world, and have been authentically shaped by it. I loved the constant clash of ideals, beliefs, and motives that this very diverse group went through. On the other hand, this meant that I didn't connect with all the characters as much as I might have, and sometimes their interactions were a tiny bit fatiguing.

Inej (the Wraith) and Kaz were the true standouts. Their arcs were the most developed, and I connected to their characters. I would have been happy to read a book about either one of them, exclusively, though the rest of the crew added a lot of conflict and humor.

3. The world. At the risk of being the most redundant reviewer ever, I'm going to praise yet another fully developed world. What can I say? Races, cultures, histories, beliefs, and customs are as varied in the world of Six of Crows as they are in reality. The Grishas fascinated me (which means I'll have to actually read that series!), and I loved how the interaction between Grisha Nina and Grisha-hunter Matthais revealed so much about their worldviews, culture, and the difference that made.


4. THE WRITING. Beautiful, beautiful prose. As a writer, I was in reading heaven. Bardugo manages to be both descriptive and elegant when depicting a world that isn't very pretty. And yet, it never comes across as glamorous. It's raw, yet polished.

5. There's something for everyone. It's epic fantasy, there are thieves and outcasts, a bit of humor, romance and swashbuckling, there's a story, there will be sequels. If you like Firefly, Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay, and Mistborn, then Six of Crows should definitely be on your to-read list.

Overall: 4 out of 5 Stars. This is a thrill ride of a heist novel, but it is considerably darker than many of its young adult contemporaries. The characters are well done (especially Kaz and Inej!), nuanced, and diverse, and the world is beautifully drawn. I don't feel an intense need for an immediate sequel, but I will definitely read it when it comes out (and I'll check out the Grisha trilogy as well).

Do you plan on reading Six of Crows? Do you like heist stories? Why do you think we all like clever thieves so much, but really hate being stolen from in real life? Do you prefer roguish characters, or characters with better motives? 

Beautiful People for Writers

Image Credit: http://paperfury.com/beautiful-people-9-may-edition/

via photobucket.c

Today is Thursday, so I am trying something new (to me)

It is a fun meme over at Paper Fury and Further Up and Further In, called "Beautiful People for Writers." According to them, you answer a group of questions about one of your characters. Find out more here.

It sounds fun, so here we go. The character I decided to pick on  is Madeleine (Mads) Capot, the protagonist of my current project. She is twenty-seven years old, and she owns a coffee shop in the last human settlement in a post-apocalyptic world. She has an uncanny knack for predicting what drinks people will order before they do it, but she tries to think nothing of it. When Mads is inadvertently kidnapped by a mysterious bounty hunter in pursuit of the galaxy's most notorious (dancing) criminal, she finds herself far in over her head in a deadly world of thieves, killers, magical relics, and really bad coffee.

1. Do they get nightmares? If so, why or what of?
    No. Mads doesn't really have nightmares, and she rarely remembers her dreams. After she is kidnapped, things change a little [she realizes that the world is bigger than she liked to think, and that there is real suffering outside]. After that, she doesn't sleep so easily.

2. What is their biggest guilty pleasure/secret shame?
   Mads is pretty straight-laced and disciplined. She has a huge weakness for sugar, so that's her guilty pleasure. As for a secret shame, she discovers that instead of being horrified by her own kidnapping, the danger and excitement, and the thought that she matters, is pretty addictive.

3. Are they easily persuaded or do they need more proof?
  Why are you asking her this question? What are your motives? Mads is stubborn and suspicious, and you basically have to use her store or family as leverage to persuade her. She needs a lot of proof before she trusts someone. On the flip side, she also needs quite a bit of negative proof before she'll denounce someone.

4. Do they suffer from any phobias? Does it affect their life in a big way?
  Mads doesn't like a lack of showers, and she is beastly without coffee. She is more afraid of what's in front of her (knife-wielding alien, bounty hunter with a bloody sword, giant tough) than any particular thing. So no, no phobias. Actually, before she leaves her isolated life, she didn't really have anything (other than bill-paying, taxes, and health inspectors)* to be afraid of.

5. What do they consider their “Achilles heel”?
   Her store. Mads will basically do anything to keep her business afloat. She will ignore her solid morals and her own principles at times. The family legacy, her pride, and her livelihood are tied up in it, so it is the one place where she can really be hurt.

6. How do they handle a crisis?
  Mads is pretty calm, but she can freeze up in a crisis. If her friends or family are in danger, she will act immediately and without thought of consequences.

7. Do they have a temper?
  This is related to #6. Mads has a legendary temper, but she knows that and she has learned to keep it under wraps. If she starts getting acerbic and snappish, you're on your way to a level 1 Hulk-out.

8. What are their core values and/or religious beliefs?
    The apocalypse happened, surviving life went on, and Mads has had several generations between the survivors and herself. She doesn't know what she believes about the universe, and she is pretty focused on her life and shop. She has a very strict moral code, and she usually listens to her conscience. Religion and spirituality have very little to do with her life, until she runs into a death cult, and has to confront her own vaguely unnatural abilities.

9. What things do they value most in life?
    I think this is pretty clear from the other answers, but Mads values her family (best friends and grandmother) and her shop/land more than anything else. She also values her life and lifestyle. She is threatened by anything that might change it.

10. What is one major event that helped shape who they are?
      Mads mother died when she [Mads] was very young. Mads father left before she was born. Mads has struggled with this in various ways all of her life. Even as an adult, she has trouble understanding and forgiving her parents, after all, she never knew them. Instead, she was raised by her grandmother, a vain, but kind and well-meaning woman who is free in all the ways Mads never has been, so the parent dichotomy has always been a bit on its head. Mads obsessively mothers the people around her, and she is both responsible and reliable.

There, I did it! Sheesh, Mads sounds a little stiff (she is). However, don't let that deter you. If getting kidnapped taught her one thing, it's that no one is ever who they say they are . . .

Smooth criminals always seem to end up in my books somehow. It's amazing that I didn't discover White Collar until last month!

So that is Madeleine Capot, fearless barista and local food enthusiast. My book (tentatively titled as "The Last Coffee Shop"), is a sci-fi adventure/parody, and I started it for NaNoWriMo 2014. It has exploded beyond my original intentions, and the storyline got way more complicated. I work in a coffee shop, so I am finally writing what I know (like teachers always advise)! I just added aliens, magical relics, super-criminals, and the apocalypse. Not a stretch, right?

Are you writing a novel? Check out the links at the top if you'd like to participate in the fun meme.

Happy Thursday!

Footnotes:
*These things are scary. Anyone who thinks otherwise is selling something.