Six of Crows

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children’s Group for giving this book to review.

Six of Crows is a very good fantasy heist book with edge of your seat action, complex twists and a dark and gritty story. I was scared that this book would not live up to it hype but it did. The main flaw in this book is that while practically everyone (except the villains) are teenagers, they never act like it and  behave more like people in their mid-to-late 20s. I did struggle a bit at the beginning but it really picked up when the crew leave Ketterdam for the heist.

All of the characters are complex, none are good or evil and there is a good banter between the 6 outcasts. Kaz is sharp, ruthless and a dangerous, genius mastermind who has built a wall around himself. Inej is strong both internally and externally, but she is also damaged, stealthy and cunning.

Nina is charming with a lively personality and while she is kind and feminine, she is also able to hold her own. Matthias is righteous, broody and throughout this novel has an internal fight between what he believes is right and wrong. Jesper is a joker, fun loving and is the comedy in the book. Wylan is the character I feel I know the least about as he did not have any POV but he is intelligent, shy and naïve.

This book has a massive cliff-hanger ending and I am looking forward to reading the next book Crooked Kingdom. I would recommend Six of Crows to fans of the Grisha series and those who like complex YA fantasy books. 

Winter's Heir

*****

5 Stars/5

Thanks to Amber Argyle for giving this book to review.

Winter’s Heir is a fantastic end to one of my favourite series and it ties up all of the loose ends and unanswered questions nicely.  Like with all of Amber’s books it has very good world building and is a fast paced page turner. This book had more romance than Daughter of Winter, and it had a kind of Romeo and Juliet vibe to it.  One thing I love about this series is that the characters are relatable and never give up.

At the first half of the book Elice is less sure of herself and is still very naïve but this lessens as the story continues. She is sweet natured,  gentle, empathetic and has an inner strength, like all of Amber’s Heroines, and is determined to gain her independence and freedom. Adar is more serious in this book as he faces very difficult choices and is conflicted about what he should do. However, there is still some of the charming tease there and I felt we got to understand more about him and his life than in the last book. There are lots of returning characters from the previous books, which was interesting to see how they have changed, but also there were some new characters, my favourite being Cinder, and I am looking forward to learning more about her in the last novella.

This book is a brilliant conclusion to the main story of the Fairy Queens series and I am really looking forward to reading the last novella Of Sand and Storm when it comes out. This book hints at future books set in the distant future in this universe which I cannot wait to read. I would recommend Winter’s Heir to fans of the Fairy Queens series, and this series I cannot recommend highly enough to fans of YA fantasy books.