Quick Read - Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

Hello all! Welcome to my first quick read of 2023. This month, I decided on the first book of the duology spinoff of the Grishaverse Trilogy, Shadow and Bone. Whew, that was a mouthful! Anyway, as a girl who absolutely loves heist movies and shows, I loved this book so much. I loved that the vibe was so different from its predecessors while still feeling like it was in the same universe. I also really liked that it was very lightly a love story because we all adore a good love story but sometimes we wanna focus on the action. And boy howdy does this book have action!

This book has everything! It has spies, it has guns, it has vaguely British street gangs. I know this is so much stuff, but don't worry, I'm gonna walk you through it. So, first, we have an impossible heist because, as everyone knows, that is the only way to catch the attention of the masses. No one cares about heists that someone like me could accomplish because it would just be me trying (and quite possibly failing) to steal a cookie from the cookie jar. People want a maximum security fortress in the middle of icy nowhere filled to the brim with incredibly formidable guards and 30 thousand big ones on the line. It's me. I'm people. Well, people, It's your lucky day because this book has that and more. In addition to the impossible heist, Mommy Leigh blesses us with a broody, tall-dark-and-handsome with a taste for vengeance, and two more incredible, leading ladies who men clearly can't help falling in love with. Or at least strongly care for but won't admit it to them or themselves because they need therapy and have the emotional capacity of a teaspoon and are themselves as complicated as their relationship with the women they have caught themselves falling for...

The relationships in this book are definitely complex with no good surface-level labeling that seems appropriate. Friends? No. Business partners? Not quite. Enemies? Kinda but not anymore sorta. These guys absolutely need to figure their lives out but, hopefully, not just yet as it is super entertaining as a story element. The fact that not one of these "couples" shares a kiss throughout the entire book is refreshing because it makes it clear that this is not a love story with a sprinkle of fantasy pixie dust but rather a suspenseful adventure novel with a sprinkle of unrequited and ill-timed love.

Speaking of fantasy pixie dust, we still get to see some impressive albeit limited Grisha action. The Shadow and Bone trilogy was very heavy on the existence and power of the Grisha in Ravka while Six of Crows has the enlightening juxtaposition of the rest of the world's views on the Grisha just a hop, skip, and a jump from Ravka's borders. Before, I was unaware that Grisha being not only revered but in some cases even canonized as saints was very specific to that region. However, now I've learned that Grisha in other parts of the world are either in hiding, employed for their magical services, experimented on, hunted and killed in the name of Djel, or worst of all and the driving force behind the 30,000 kruge, are given drugs that turn their powers up to eleven allowing them to do miraculous things before slowly eating away at them from the inside out for the entertainment of rich people. Talk about a wake-up call.

Typing this blog post has made me realize that there are parallels between the Grishaverse and the real world that I had not previously noticed. For example, people in the US often get accused (rightly so) of being ignorant of cultures outside of their own and I definitely felt like that here. After reading this novel, being 3 books deep in the values and traditions of Ravkan society where Grisha are honored to be called to serve their country in the Second Army, I experienced a bit of culture shock upon finding how horribly the Grisha are treated throughout the rest of the world. This makes me want to reread the Shadow and Bone trilogy and continue reading the rest of the Grishaverse books to try and catch any more sociopolitical commentaries Mommy Leigh has bestowed upon us lowly sheeple.

-K thx byeee,

Ceraya ✌🏿