And I want to ramble and gush incoherently about it all, especially with regards the character, but I can't think straight right now. Opinion No. 2: This book would've been better if all characters had been older. YES i know it's fantasy and the author can do whatever they want but didn't that beloved show of y'all's favvvvvv book cast actors which were ranging from 25-30?? I didn't see anyone screaming then about how they're older. Everyone was just happy. But when the critics of this book say that the characters should be older, then we're "attention seekers" bah.

As I mentioned, the characters are so so good. We have the leader - Kaz - who is an intimidating criminal prodigy with a secret past. We have the mixture of drama and humour offered by Jesper and Wylan. And there's the totally badass Inej: 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."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. The adventure continues in the first book of this explosive duology. Young King Nikolai Lantsov confronts the dark magic within him that threatens to consume his very soul. To vanquish his inner demons, he will undertake a journey through the realm to where the deepest magic survives—and risk everything to save his country and himself. Rule of Wolves

Handwritten ANNOTATIONS by Leigh Bardugo with thoughts and insights in the first book, Six of Crows Bardugo nails character work here. Every single character grows, every single character develops, every single character owns my heart. okay maybe not Matthias quite as much but w/e Next, Kaz recruits Jesper Fahey. He is the crew's sharpshooter. Jesper is a lighthearted and sarcastic character, who enjoys gambling a bit more than he should.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. The ship listed gently. The laterns swayed. His eyes were blue fire. “Everything,” he said, as he turned to go. “Everything.” It’s everything the genre should be. It’s creative and immersive and unique. It’s stylistically great without being overly stylized. The plotline is nearly nonstop exciting. There is a MAP. It had started with a storm, and in a way, that storm had never ended. Nina had blown into his life with the wind and rain and set his world spinning. He’d been off balance ever since.”

How will you have me?” she repeated. “Fully clothed, gloves on, your head turned away so our lips can never touch?” It’s been a long time coming and I’m so happy to have reread it. My heart feels full and content and there’s no better mark and feeling a book can leave you with but that. 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* UPDATE: I actually got my mother obsessed with my favorite book? in related news I still have to lie down for 40 hours whenever Kaz and Inej interactCharacters themselves feel very cliche, especially Kaz, who is uncharismatic Gary Stu. While book spends large amount of time in past characters feel undeveloped and I didn't care about any character not named Nina. Her and hers relationships with Mathias are bright points of this book. Matthias pressed his forehead once, briefly, against Brum’s. He knew his mentor could not hear him, but he spoke the words anyway. “The life you live, the hate you feel – it’s poison. I can drink it no longer.” 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. That version of me was also #new to the book-internet scene and, ahem, DESPERATE TO FIT IN. I think I initially four-starred A Court of Thorns and Roses despite not liking it at all just to seem Hip and Down With The Teens. Something that gets ignored a lot is how diverse this series is; not just in terms of nonwhite characters, lgbt characters, and badass girl characters, although it does have all of those. But Six of Crows also has some of the best rep of a disabled character EVER. It helps that this is ownvoices disability rep. Kaz' disability affects his life in a realistic way, and there's no magical cure for it, BUT he's still a huge badass and the disability never becomes a consuming part of his character!! There's also the fact that a chubby main character is portrayed as the most beautiful member of the group, while also not being reduced to her appearance. There's even a dyslexic character (in FANTASY!) and part of his character arc is learning that his learning difference doesn't make him stupid. There's a major character with ADD as well.