To Be Read Pile: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

Blurb

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker 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.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist.

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

Best Line:  The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive.

What a ride! Ocean's Eleven with magic and more charm than even George Clooney can muster. Kaz Brekker is a street rat from the Barrel. A con man and a thief with greed as his master and a love of puzzles. When he is presented with the ultimate puzzle with a tantalising reward at the end, how can he be expected to say no?

So much happens in this book. It's a rollicking charge through a plot that never lets up. This book isn't just about a heist. It is the heistiest of heists. It is the heist-master other heists hike up mountains to learn from. If anything can go wrong it will, and the best laid plans are the ones that definitely aren't going to work out the way you want them to.

Every character in this is fantastic. I love characters with huge, obvious flaws they can't get past and everyone here scratches that itch for me. And the banter. The banter. This is Buffy-worthy levels of dialogue and the group dynamics are played perfectly. I found reasons to love all of the characters and reasons to be irritated by all of them in turn. They felt not only real, but like the kind of people I would happily hang out with for a few hours. Albeit with all of my valuables safely locked away on another planet.

I think my favourite thing about this book is how far it is willing to go. There are multiple times when a scene is set up and there is no possible way for the characters to get out of the situation, until it all clicks into place and suddenly the most unthinkable, horrible perfect thing is the only way things are going to go forward. I spent a lot of time screaming the word 'NOOOOOO' while I read this book.

If you like YA that is fast and smart with killer characters and killer twists, this is the book for you.

Get it here https://www.amazon.com /dp/B01175KE0M/