I finished Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, a duology written by Leigh Bardugo around the time school started.  Saying that these books are creatively written is an understatement.  Each one is filled with plot twists, humor, action, and adventure.

The Six of Crows Duology takes place in the bustling fictional city of Ketterdam.  The story follows criminal prodigy, Kaz Brekker.  He can crack any lock and outsmart anyone who dares to present a challenge.  Kaz is part of a mafia-like organization called the Dregs. He also runs a well known gambling den known by locals and tourists as the Crow Club.  When Kaz is offered an unbelievable sum of money to rescue a mad scientist who created a concoction that could have major effects on Grisha and life as they know it; he simply could not refuse the mission.  However, the genius Kaz needed to get was locked in the most guarded prison in the world.  With this, Kaz knew he could not accomplish this feat alone.  He gathered five of the most talented and ruthless individuals he could find.  Inej, a religious acrobat with daggers named after saints.  Jesper, a sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.  Nina, a well-known and bilingual Grisha Heartrender.  Matthias, a strong misunderstood prisoner out for revenge.  Finally, Wylan, an educated runaway with a particular fondness of chemistry.  These six people formed a seemingly unstoppable crew… as long as they didn’t kill each other before the rescue.

Overall, the Six of Crows novels are unlike any other.  They display the importance of friendship and loyalty, the effects of trauma and twisted pasts, and show that you meet the person you’ll grow to love most when you least expect it.  The books contain lines such as, “Better terrible truths than kind lies,” from Kaz.  Secondly, a quote from Matthias, my favorite member of the group: “There’s so much in the world you don’t have to be afraid of, if you would only open your eyes.” The characters and the fact that they are so different from one another is my personal favorite aspect of the plot.  Readers get to delve into the story through each character’s point of view; therefore, they get to know and understand every one of them as if they are real. The characters can also be found in the show based off of the prequel of the Six of Crows.  This series is called Shadow and Bone that can be found on Netflix.

I highly recommend these books for fantasy readers with a love for diverse characters, constant action, and out of this world (literally) writing.  I can confidently say that this duology will go down in history as two of the best books I’ve ever read.