He needed to tell her… what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn’t pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he’d begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near. A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse. Six of Crows follows six teenagers living in the city of Ketterdam, a city of slums and crime lords. I couldn't picture them as teen so I didn't. In my head Kaz as 30, Jasper 29, Mathias 32, Nina and Inej in mid-twenties. Everything makes more sense that way and I can't think of reason to put characters in their teens except to appeal to YA consumers. There is romance, but so little of it, and what little there is felt natural and unobtrusive. A blossoming from grudging tolerance to like, to possibly something more. But I consider this a great book, because the romance is not intrusive in any way. Every time she moved, the reindeer cloak parted, revealing a flash of round calf, white skin, the shadow between her breasts. It was deliberate. He knew it. She was trying to rattle him. He needed to focus on the fire. He’d almost died, and if he didn’t get a fire started, he still might.

Inej who is supposed to be “The Wraith” at the age of sixteen (cringefest at my home : FREE INVITATIONS AVAILABLE NOW) who is given a pass because she is a person of color. Yeah right. Look it’s good to see people of color in novels but I am freakin’ tired of “I am awesome because I had a tragic past” trope. You might think you know what coming, BUT YOU WILL BE WRONG! So many well planned out plot twist. So many ground shaking moments. So many heart crushing scenes. And that ending!!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO PEOPLE!!! You can't leave us hanging like this!!!! OMG and I didn't even get to mention the romance!!!! I want to talk about it. Oh goodness do I want to talk about it! But I wont, and if you've ever read any of my review you know this is unheard of. I love love and not wanting to talk about it must only mean one thing... That it's really really good! Even with the massive amount to sexual tense and stolen glances it still doesn't even overshadow the plot. I'm not just talking about the romance with a certain pair, I'm talking romance among several. Like I can't even believe how much gooey lovey dovey moments she gives us and yet didn't drown us in it. Perfect just perfect. Jesper and Wylan are just cute for most of the book. They got some cute relationship build, but I wasn't that invested. And then that One Line at the end of the book shows up and they KILLED me. Really, Bardugo? You could've left me heart intact instead, but?? not so much. Also, side note, but I don't understand how anyone was surprised they're a thing in book two. I know heteronormativity is a thing that exists, but how can you read "not just girls" and mutual blushing in a heterosexual way? BUT ANYWAY this is a five star review and that means I don’t have to complain!!! Who knew!! All new to me. God that woman is so fierce and has the heart of a lion!!! Nina is so compassionate and lovely and I immediately loved her for it! She’s never afraid to say what she’s thinking and she’s loyal to a fault. I just adored her for being so passionate and I was so sad when Matthias rejected her at the beginning. Not that this would have had any visible impact on her, after all she still had a sharp tongue and made sure to use it. *lol* ;-P Judging by what I read about this world to be one of the Grisha isn’t easy, but Nina nevertheless always somehow managed to stand her ground!He is the brilliant leader of the crew and also known as “Dirtyhands” or “The bastard of the Barrel”! After reading the second chapter I was already in love with his sharp and intriguing mind and damn me but that boy’s intelligence is hot as hell!!! XD Alone his scheming face! *lol* I love characters that are driven and have some inner strength and Kaz definitely didn’t disappoint me. He’s so strong but vulnerable at the same time and I swear when I read about his past and saw how much he struggled my heart actually ached for him. It was so hard to watch him while he tried to keep his composure and whenever I read his POV it felt like his anxiety choked me. There is so much more to Kaz than initially meets the eye and I can’t believe that no one of his crew ever bothered to see past his disguise. Not even Inej…. *sigh* the suspense in this? the thrill i got from each and every single reveal? the tension i had in the second half? unmatched. i was so scared for all of their lives. i was wondering which would be the moment they’d get caught; they’d be sent to prison; they’d be killed. but the six crows were always one step ahead and i should’ve had more faith in them, probably. 😌 the world building was so beautifully done — there wasn’t any info-dump moment, because everything is delivered to us few details at a time and it’s so rich and intricate. i loved the way kaz, inej, nina, matthias, jesper and wylan overcame all the odds and became more and more dangerous and showed their hidden sides as the heist became tougher. i absolutely adore the creativity of this entire book and i’m in awe. First Editions. 15 volumes in 16 books. complete. 1 - Nye, Elwood F. 'Marching with Custer.' 51pp. Oblong octavo [24 cm x 31 cm] 1/2 blue cloth over white boards. Better than very good. Prospectus laid in. "This work, the first in this highly collectable series, was a distinct departure in format and design for the company. A handsome publication, it contains the very rare work on this important facet of the Little Big Horn story." - Clark & Brunet 192. Luther 180. 2 - McClernand, Edward J. 'With the Indian and the Buffalo in Montana, 1870-1878.' 176pp. Octavo [26 cm] Gray cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "McClernand's narrative appeared first in the Cavalry Journal, 1926-27, and now rare in this edition." - Clark & Brunet 176. Luther 54. 3 - Overfield, Lloyd J. II. 'The Little Big Horn, 1876.' 203pp. Octavo [25.5 cm] Gray cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "An unabridged compilation of twenty-six documents of prime importance to students of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Complete Muster Roll rosters include detailed names and identification for enlisted men and officers." - Clark & Brunet 200. 4 - Clark, Robert A. 'The Killing of Chief Crazy Horse.' 152pp. Octavo [26 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "The unique tri-focal nature of the accounts provide a special focus to this important figure's death." - Clark & Brunet 50. 5 - Hedren, Paul L. 'First Scalp for Custer.' 106pp. Octavo [26 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "Three weeks after the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Fifth Cavalry won a small fight on Warbonnet Creek which served as a much needed psychological boost for the military and nation following the frustrating series of failures by the army in the spring and summer of 1876. William F. Cody played a major role in this exchange, and he was declared (most often by himself) as the hero of the episode." - Clark & Brunet 139. 6 - Frost, Lawrence A. 'Some Observations on the Yellowstone Expedition of 1873.' 164pp. Octavo [26 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "The unpublished narrative of James Calhoun, detailing this important expedition, is the centerpiece of this collection. Also included are the official reports of Custer, D.S. Stanley, and Fred D. Grant. The Yellowstone Expedition of 1873 was formed to complete the survey for the Northern Pacific Railroad." - Clark & Brunet 101. 7 - Carroll, John M. 'I, Varnum.' 194pp. Octavo [26 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. "Varnum as chief of scouts for the 7th Cavalry, played an active and important role in the Little Big Horn battle. This is the first publication of the autobiography, with thorough editing by Carroll." - Clark & Brunet 44. 8 - Anders, Frank L. 'The Custer Trail.' 148pp. Octavo [24 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "This posthumous publication was arranged by John Carroll, the noted researcher, scholar and collector of Custer and frontier military material." - Clark & Brunet 8. 9 - Frost, Lawrence A. 'Boy General in Bronze.' 173pp. Octavo [26 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "A study of the memorials to Custer. Included is the previously unpublished account by Elizabeth Custer of the dedication of the Custer Memorial in Monroe, Michigan." - Clark & Brunet 100. 10 - Carroll, John M. 'The Arrest and Killing of Sitting Bull.' 186pp. Octavo [25 cm] Light blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "This volume gathers a number of Documentary accounts detailing the death of this important Sioux chief." - Clark & Brunet 42. 11 - Liddic, Bruce R. and Paul Harbaugh. 'Camp on Custer.' 189pp. Octavo [24 cm] Light green cloth. Near fine. "From 1908 to 1919, respected railroad engineer Walter Camp roamed the northern plains interviewing surviving participants of the Little Big Horn battle for a planned history of the Indian wars." - Clark & Brunet 169. 12 - Hardorff, Richard G. 'Walter M. Camp's Little Big Horn Rosters. 230pp. Octavo [24 cm] Blue cloth. Near fine. Prospectus laid in. "Camp's endeavor resulted in a fairly accurate set of muster rolls representing the personnel of the regiment as it appeared in June of 1876." - Clark & Brunet 133. 13 - Brizee-Brown, Sandra L. 'For All to See: The Little Bighorn Battle in Plains Indian Art.' 187pp. Octavo [24.5 cm] Blue cloth. Near fine. "This study discusses sixty-one Sioux, Cheyenne, and Crow pictographic drawings of the battle." - Clark & Brunet 31. 14- Williams, Roger L. 'Military Register of Custer's Last Command' 432pp. Octavo [26 cm] Blue cloth. Near fine. This is the most extensive work available on the 7th Cavalry. With its exhaustive bibliography, it will stand as a definitive resource for historians and enthusiasts. 15- O'Keefe, Michael F. 'Custer, the Seventh Cavalry, and the Little Big Horn' Two Volume Set. 899pp. Octavo [26 cm] Blue cloth. Near fine. This two-volume bibliography of Custer literature is the first to be published in some twenty-five years and the most complete ever assembled. Landmark set on Custer and the Plains Indians Wars of the the latter 19th century, that began with the massacre at Sand Creek and culminated in the slaughter of Custer and his men on the hillside above the Little Bighorn River. This set is uncommon and was produced over four decades. Let's start with characters. All of them are in their teen which makes little sense. They don't behave like teens (mostly) nor does their age fit the story.

A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse.” Now it was risk filling up his nose and mouth, making him feel giddy and invincible. He loved it, and he hated himself for loving it. The Dregs are such an amazing squad all together. Their banter owns my heart. Jesper and Inej especially have one of my favorite friendship dynamics of all time; their banter and their genuine trust in each other and their lowkey joking about their mutual crush on Kaz. Inej and Nina stand out as well; extra credit for passing the bechdel test with flying colors. There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they’d created in the link, Wylan said, “Just girls?” look, i know it's completely unreasonable to demand the second part of a series when the first part isn't even out for another five months, but i'm not in the business of being reasonable. i want it. now.The characters in this book are so fantastic. Our gang is made up of six people, whom I will now list here as if it’s even slightly possible that anyone hasn’t read this book yet. They are: Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Matthias. Bardugo's prose is awesome, and there are some truly gorgeous quotes from here. Then again, it doesn't feel as if she's trying too hard or using purple prose. When I first read this book, I loved it. Absolutely aDORED it. I five-starred it and participated in the hype and probably googled fan art exactly one time, which is as far as I ever get in terms of joining a fandom. Edit update or whatever I watched the Netflix show I'm on episode four and oh my god it's really good. It's really really fun and I can feel my brain leaking out of my ears whenever I see Inej and Kaz interact with each other. Matthias and Nina were honestly not that big a ship for me here. I absolutely understand what's appealing about their dynamic; they're sweet and have amazing relationship development. But they don't appeal to me personally; I don't have to lie down for twenty minutes when I read their scenes.

Wow! I did hope for the hype to be real with Six of Crows but this is incredible! Everything about this book was awesome: plot, characters, world-building, writing. I'm having a hard time imagining Six of Crows ever getting a critical review from a reader of any taste. The never ending scheming of Kaz Brekker, supported by the most unique crew imaginable, unfolds one of the most entertaining and original stories I've ever read. Handwritten ANNOTATIONS by Leigh Bardugo with thoughts and insights in the first book, Six of Crows Jesper is witty and an absolute delight to get a POV chapter from, but he's also incredibly sympathetic as a former farm boy who fell from grace. He likes living on the edge, and he's aware of the pain his own actions have caused him, and he's trying to work through it. That being said, some fans of this book have commented under my review and told me that they loved my review and it made them laugh even though they liked this book and THAT is being understanding. THAT is being open minded. THAT is being a person who knows others have opinions (i have a special place in my heart for these people btw). Wylan is the son of a merchant. He serves as the brains of the operation. Wylan is an intelligent engineer and inventor. He's very shy and awkward because he's been isolated for most of his life, but slowly warms to the other members of the crew.inej ghafa. the moment she said “i like it when men beg” i was sat. she could stab me and i’d take it happily because it’s her. she’s just so badass, fierce, loyal and deadly while at the same time so kind and compassionate, so silent, so ready to save people she cares about at the risk of her own life.