#rohreads

So, I watched Mockingjay Part 2 (The Hunger Games) last week and it was alright...mainly because it was missing Katniss’ commentary from the last book. It didn’t need to be that long...

I also started and finished Winter (The Lunar Chronicles) a few days ago and it was alright. Maybe I’ll expand more in a proper review but main thoughts: Luna should have been expanded on more if the revolution was supposed to take place on it...

I asked for either the first three books in the Falling Kingdoms series or the first two books in The Bone Season series from my secret santa and I got my first pick! So, I’ll probably start Falling Kingdoms either tomorrow or during the new year!:)

Six of Crows (The Dregs #1) by Leigh Bardugo

My Rating: ★★★★★

This series is a spin off series from the Grisha Trilogy. Although, I’m a bit iffy about authors writing spin off series, Leigh Bardugo didn’t let me down. Usually, authors don’t live up to the hype surrounding the first one (that’s me talking about the Heroes of Olympus series and Bloodlines series). They just never seem to do the original series the justice they deserve. With Bardugo, however, this wasn’t a problem. In fact, it was quite the opposite for me.

I’ve never been too much of a fan of the original trilogy. It wasn’t my cup of tea, you could say. Six of Crows, on the other hand, was simply put: beautiful. It was wonderfully crafted and all of it felt so real. I am so glad I read the Grisha Trilogy only because I probably wouldn’t have given Six of Crows a chance (maybe I would’ve because the book itself is so beautiful, who knows).

I, also, don’t like too many point of views, even three point of views is a bit over the top in my opinion. The main reason is because I feel like authors don’t do a great job of making the characters seem real enough if they have to focus on so many different characters. Leigh Bardugo, on the other hand, didn’t seem to run into this problem.

Although, I never fell in love with the Darkling, Alina, or Mal the way some fans have, I grew to like Genya by the last book (Ruin and Rising) and the only one that I really truly liked was Nikolai (and he wasn’t even introduced until the second: Siege and Storm). With Six of Crows, though, I fell in love with all of the characters by the end of it (because some, I wasn’t overly fond of in the beginning).

These characters (Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan) aren’t your typical black and white characters (like Alina and the Darkling in the Grisha Trilogy, in my opinion). These characters all belong to the grey, which is my main reason for loving them. They do things simply to survive that characters in other YA Novels just wouldn’t do. Short and sweet: they kill people because it’s either them being killed. So great on you, Bardugo, for making characters that are real.

I’d say out of the six main characters, Kaz and Inej are by far my favourites. Kaz, or better known as a thief with a gift for unlikely escapes, is the crippled boy who is surrounded in myth and puzzles to the outside world. He refuses to let his injury define him, too. He sought to build The Dregs into a formidable group to get his revenge on Pekka Rollins and although he hasn’t got his revenge yet, he still got the first part of his plan into motion. So, good on you, Kaz, especially with all the terribleness you had to endure with your brother and everything else. His whole outlook on life is getting the revenge that he feels like he needs to put Jordie’s (his brother) soul to rest. He is the boy who will do anything (and I mean anything) for the right price and he does just that. He isn’t known as Dirtyhands for nothing.

I’d say that I like Inej just a bit more than Kaz because she’s not just a spy known as the Wraith. She’s a girl who doesn’t let her past define her and she used it to her advantage even though it was as if she was reliving it again. Although, she respects Kaz and follows through with his demands, Inej doesn’t bow down and out of his way like the others (probably because the others would be dead before they could even try). She’s smart enough to understand the things that Kaz refuses to say and she understands that in the end, it’s her against the world, even if Kaz saved her from her past. She doesn’t belong to him and even he knows it (and accepts it). Inej Ghafa belongs to herself and no one else.

Jesper is not just a sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager but a comic relief with lots of witty comebacks. He reminded me so much of Janco (from the Study Series), who I completely adore. Wylan is a runaway with a privileged past that grew on me by the end, mainly because he’s such a big nerd and loves to learn how the world works. Nina is a Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums and a girl who refuses to bend or break for any person and uses her powers as a Grisha to get the results that she needs. Lastly, Matthias is a convict with a thirst for revenge that took longer to grow on me because of all his prejudice towards the Grisha.

The beginning was a bit confusing because all the characters and their stories needed to be set up but by the end of it, I was clamoring for more. I’d say that if you haven’t read the original series but want to read this one, just do it. It’s not necessary to read the original series because this is a whole new one that stands on it’s own feet (or spine, technically).