Ratings:
Star Rating: ★★★★★
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: PG-13
Review:
“No mourners, no funerals. Among them, it passed for ‘good luck.’”
I have no idea how to review such a masterpiece, but I’ll try.
Welcome to Ketterdam, the twisty, crooked city that bows to only one god: money.
You have guts, coin, and ruthless cunning, you could rule the city someday. Ask around. Ask about the current ruler of Ketterdam trade. Any merch or good honest politician will say Pekka Rollins.
But any real Ketterdam street rat will say Kaz Brekker.
Kaz Brekker’s the king of the Barrel, the side of Ketterdam built on crime, lies, and deadly knives. Kaz earned his crown by being the most feared, the most wicked of the criminals. They call him Dirtyhands; there’s no crime he wouldn’t commit to properly blackmail an unsuspecting merch, break into a Grisha treasury, or swindle a country. He’s Kaz Brekker, after all.
“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?”
Now, he’s got a new job coming down the line: a heist that promises millions. Unfortunately, this job is one he can’t pull off alone. He recruits five others:
Matthias, a convict with a thirst for revenge.
Jesper, a sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
Wylan, a runaway with a privileged past.
Inej, a spy known as the Wraith.
Nina, a Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
Together, they’re the Crows.
OH MY GOSH. I love this book. This whole story is an absolute masterpiece of literary perfection. I literally have taped quotes from this book to my wall (yes i know i’m crazy, we’ve established this already). Also, Kaz Brekker is now one of my favorite book boyfriends <33
The characters. WOW. The characters.
“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.
"You're all horrible," said Matthias.”
The plot could have been complete trash (which it MOST CERTAINLY was not) and the characters would’ve saved it. Because Kaz, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Jesper, and Wylan are some of the most well-developed, multi-faceted, gun-slinging characters I have ever seen. Now, these six are not heroes. They’re not princes and princesses. They’re not even good, upstanding citizens. All six are criminals. They love money and ambition. They want revenge on those who hurt them. They'll sell you to your worst enemy in a heartbeat if it would make them a couple extra coins.
“Greed is your god, Kaz."
He almost laughed at that. "No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.”
These characters are the villains of any traditional story.
But this certainly isn’t that story.
“What about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.”
In this story, the monsters get to become their own heroes. In this story, they get the chance to overcome their challenges, fight their demons, heal the wounds that turned them into villains. I love how they still bear the scars of those experiences. Some curses can’t be cured, not even in a happily ever after. They are broken and they are beautiful.
Now, let us not forget to mention the plot. The plot was also perfect.
Throughout the heist, this found family of thieves learning to trust and love each other as much as they can is beautiful and tear-worthy (the family love and the romance are both so perfectly bittersweet)
But, as we all know, nothing’s perfect in real life. Plans go wrong. New ones have to be made. The team disagrees. Mistakes are made. Someone slips. Everyone’s got their own agenda, their own hopes and dreams that seem far out of the reach of a criminal.
A happily ever after where everything’s perfect and wonderful and nothing bad happens ever again is completely unrealistic. But happiness isn’t necessarily when the hero wins over the girl or the villain dies.
Throughout the entire book, I felt like I was racing down crooked, grimy alleyways, ignoring the stench of soot and smoke in the air. Leaping over balconies and swindling the merchers all in one breath. Slipping past the man I’d conned last week out of his priceless DeKappel because I’d sold it back to him at twice the price. Avoiding the swirl of magic from the docks, because the Council of Tides isn’t known for welcoming visitors.
It was one of those books where you feel physical pain as you pull your head back into reality from a thousand worlds away.
It was gorgeous.
I guess this book was happiness to me.
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Recommendations If You Liked This Book:
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (the sequel to this book)
Cruel Prince by Holly Black
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