The story is captivating, full of whirls and cliffs. It got me excited and wanting more, all the way until the end. The development of the characters is so well done, that you can't just finish the books and not fall in love with a few of them.

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. Each and every character in this book were likable and bad-ass, and they literally felt like real characters. me: okay. school's amping up. extracurriculars are starting. the internship search is well under way. what should we do first? 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. So let's talk about some special things from The Dregs... six to be precise. (This list is pretty much spoiler free. There's not much you won't get from the first few chapters of SoC)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. I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost.” They hadn’t even left Ketterdam, and Wylan already seemed completely out of his depth. He wasn’t much younger than Kaz, but somehow looked like a child – smooth-skinned, wide-eyed, like a silk-eared puppy in a room full of fighting dogs.” A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who has become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse." Kaz Brekker the MC everyone in this world/universe is in love with is the male version of Alina. Yeah kudos to you. He is also known as Dirtyhands *chokes on vomit and dies* There is not a single thing i like about him. NOT ONE THING. The entire point of having Kaz there is for the readers to drown themselves in romanticized idealizations lmao.

I guess I can elaborate on that, but really it’s going to boil down to the same thing. Which is me screaming. Jesper!!! I love Jesper and his pistols and sarcasm... and how he flirts with Wylan! He also has a gambling problem, unfortunately. I wanted to shake him by the shoulders so many times. I LIVED for his chapters. we have a team of six, whose directive is to break into a heavily-fortified prison and smuggle a prisoner out. for a lot of money. what will happen to the prisoner afterwards, well, the team is a little split on that decision. but that can be sorted later, for now, it is mission impossible time:I am a loyal fan of the GrishaVerse books, and the main reason why is because of how Bardugo does her worldbuilding. She takes inspiration from real countries and places from around the world, which is one of the reasons the world she's built feels so real! She describes the surroundings of the characters so beautifully. I can easily picture myself on the streets of Ketterdam or in the Ice Court. 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.

The first ones had better be 'Thank you, oh great Nina, for dedicating every waking moment of this miserable journey to saving my sorry life'." 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. and then the filler starts which we have to read for half the book until the real heist begins which is less of a heist and more of a "explosions, fights and alarms ringing." Do not bend," Nina snapped. "Do not leap. Do not move abruptly. If you don't promise to take it easy, I'll slow your heart and keep you in a coma until I can be sure you've recovered fully."

I think the use of third person was extremely effective in Six of Crows. It allows us to view all these characters equally and also allows us to be constantly surprised. 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. 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? When she looked up at him, the expression on her face was a bleak map of loathing and fatigue. In it, he saw the shame that came with gratitude, and he knew that in this brief moment, she was his mirror. She didn’t want to owe him anything either.”