From Goodreads: "Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
-Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached)
-Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world)
-Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it)
Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first."

I don't know how it took me so long to get to this book, but I'm so glad I finally did. This was the first book I read in 2018 and also the first book I was able to pick up and finish in several months. Putting into words how much I love this book and how much it means to me is difficult, but here I am about to try my best.

Plot:
At its core, this book is a heist story. But really, it feels like so much more than that. Sure, the characters have to break into a military stronghold that's never been broken into and basically kidnap someone to prevent something bad from happening, and that's a big part of the book. But there's so much more going on beneath the main plot. There's various character development happening such as Inej really accepting that she's the Wraith and kills people (and also has feelings for a certain someone), Wylan adapting to life outside of his rich comfort zone and becoming who he really is, Kaz seeking revenge for the loss of a loved one (also getting paid and trying to sort out his feelings for someone). So readers get the main storyline and each characters motivation for wanting the heist to be a success, but you also get to follow their individual stories as they grow and change throughout the book. This is such an incredibly well-developed book that beautifully blends multiple stories into one while never making the reader feel like there's too much going on. You're drawn in and eager to learn more about this world and these characters and before you know it, you've read the final page and are dying for more. It's moderately paced, never lagging or feeling like something is dragging on for too long. You'll never find a dull moment within these pages and will find yourself flying through this book before too long. With a wonderfully balanced mix of action and slow burn, Six of Crows is an instant favorite and will stick with you long after you've finished reading.


Characters:
The characters in this book absolutely made the book for me. There were several points of view throughout and while I'm not usually a fan of multiple POV books, I can't imagine reading this book any other way. There were six main characters: Kaz, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Wylan, and Jesper. As the book progresses, you read from each of their perspectives and get to see the heist from their point of view and also get some backstory from a few of the characters. As I said, I'm generally not a fan of books that have more than one perspective as I tend to get the characters mixed up and forget which point of view I'm reading from. With Six of Crows, I had no issue keeping the characters separate from each other. All six of them had their own unique voice and I absolutely loved getting to read their stories. Leigh Bardugo did an incredible job bringing these characters to life and giving them their own voices!

I also really enjoyed the character development that happened throughout the book. All six of these characters go through some pretty great changes as the story goes on and I loved watching (reading about?) them grow from their experiences. There was also a wonderful amount of backstory woven in and it was so wonderful getting to know even more about these characters. While pretty much all of their backstories were sad, it was still enjoyable to get to know what happened to them and the things that led them to where they are now. Every character was different and unique in their own way, but seeing all six of them interact together was like they were made to be this ragtag group of criminals.

Hands down, my favorite character was Nina. She was so unapologetically herself and didn't care what people thought. The scene that made me positive that Nina was my favorite was when she was talking with Kaz in her room and was eating cake and getting crumbs all over her chest and she did not care a bit because she wanted to eat her cake. Nina is confident, sassy, loving, strong, and everything I've ever hoped to find in a character. She's everything I wish I could be. If I ever have the opportunity, I'd like to thank Leigh Bardugo for creating Nina because she's created such a beautiful and honest character that I have absolutely fallen in love with.

Writing:
This is my first Leigh Bardugo book ever and all I can really say is wow. This woman has a talent for writing, and that's putting it mildly. She drew me in with no problem at all from the first chapter and had me turning pages for hours trying desperately to get more of this story. The writing in this is absolutely magical and paints the clearest picture in your mind of what is going on. The world of the Grisha is beautiful, brutal, scary and I'm so interested in reading the Grisha trilogy just so I can learn more about the world. The descriptions were so intricate and really allowed me to put myself in Ketterdam, in the Ice Court, and everywhere in between. I just could not get enough of this story and found myself in absolute awe of just how amazing every single thing was. The plot was exciting, the characters were fantastic, and the writing just pulled everything together and made my overall reading experience one that I will never forget. I've officially decided that I will read anything this woman writes because, really, how could you not? Leigh Bardugo takes you on a journey that will make you laugh, cry, fall in love, and fear for the safety of the characters somehow all at once, and it will be the most incredible reading experience you'll ever have.

If it wasn't already glaringly obvious, I loved this book. The plot was exciting, the characters were loveable and very well written, and the overall writing was some of the best (and probably some of my favorite) I've ever read. I finally understand all of the hype surrounding both the author and this book and I can't wait to read Crooked Kingdom as well as the Grisha trilogy!