Synopsis

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

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Audiobook Review

 

“Brick by brick, I will destroy you.”

6 stars

I know that I am very late to this bandwagon but the wait was so worth it!

First I want to praise the narrators. Yes narrators plural as we got the luxury to have a whole cast for that crew of misfits! Jay Snyder, Brandon Rubin, Fred Berman, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Tristan Morris

This story is I think known by most of you but …humor me here as I want to talk about the cast and briefly about the plot.

The plot is set up in the Grisha world or rather in Ketterdam going to the Ice Court.  Kaz Brekker, one of the most famous thieves of Ketterdam, got a very lucrative deal to retrieve someone from the Ice Court. But he won’t be able to do it alone… he’ll need gifted accomplices.

Kaz Brekker “A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes”  is our crew leader. Cunning, scheming he has quite a reputation among the thieves and mobsters of Ketterdam.

I loved how Leigh distilled the truth about his past and tragic story, bit by bit throughout the book. It kept my interest and made me want to read and read just to know what had happened to make Kaz like he is now!

Kaz is very smart. Street smart.

“I’m a business man,” he’d told her. “No more, no less.”
“You’re a thief, Kaz.”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”

He also is unshakable …until something happens by the end of the book to someone he has feelings for!

To accomplish his impossible task to break and enter the Ice Court, better defended than Fort Knox he needs the help of first-class misfits!

Jesper is our “ sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager”.

Sarcastic, adrenaline junkie and a gambler. He seemed like a second-class side character compared with Nina, Inej and Matthias but he had surprising secrets of his own! Many I did not see coming!

Wylan is our runaway with a privileged past

Again, he had not a big role for most of the story but the big reveal will take place at the end of the book!

Inej is the spy known as the Wraith.

She is incredibly agile, silent and can climb walls like none other.

“Besides, she was the Wraith – the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.”

 Always shadowing and protecting Kaz, she is his master spy. Kidnapped by slavers she ended up in Ketterdam, sold into “the menagerie”, a brothel and will be rescued by Kaz. She dreams of earning her freedom and fighting slavers.

And now, we get to my favorite characters, Kaz aside. I am probably in the minority but I loved

Matthias the convict with a thirst for revenge.

He should never have been landed in Ketterdam, nor be imprisoned and even less collaborating with Kaz! Matthias is a Druskelle, member of the Ice Court. Big, blond with blue eyes he’s been raised to despise the Grisha. They are “unnatural” to him.

With his Druskelle mates, he hunted Grishas to have them “judged”.

But we’ll later discover that what was done to the Grishas was an abomination!

He captured Nina, our Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

Without giving details, they’ll both have to survive together and it will open Matthias’ eyes. Or at least show him that not all Grishas are bad.

Yet you don’t erase years of beliefs in a heartbeat!

Nina is also my favorite. She is smart, kind, strong. She also tried to free Matthias from his prison for one year now. When they’ll be finally reunited their encounter will be …violent!

I loved that Leigh let me guessing all the time at their relationship and feelings. I never knew what Matthias thought or felt for Nina.

“It’s not natural for women to fight.”
“It’s not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall, and yet there you stand.”

And being the big romantic that I am, I rooted for them and wanted a happy ending for these two!

“Oh, I see. I’m the wicked Grisha seductress. I have beguiled you with my Grisha wiles!”
She poked him in the chest.
“Stop that.”
“No. I’m beguiling you.”

 

You have a quest. You have dangers. You have high feat and audacity. You have betrayals. You have sacrifices. You have twists and turns. You have extremely well-developed characters and an interesting fictional world. And a cliffy from hell!

Recommend it? Well absolutely!

PS here is a fun quiz to know which character from Six of Crow you are! I am …Kaz!

http://grishaverse.com/extras/which-six-crows-character-are-you/

Have you read this series?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie