Tag: six of crows

September Wrap-Up

‘Kids of Appetite,’ ‘Crooked Kingdom,’ And Other Books I Read This Month (September Wrap-Up)

Posted on by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

September was a good reading month for me. In total I read nine books and I liked almost all of them. Here’s the run down.

IMG_3870.JPG

Number of Books I Read This Month: 9

Top Three Books I Read This Month

1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

91wex42edil

Why it took me so long to finally read this book will forever be a mystery to me but I’m kind of glad I waited because if I read this sooner I would’ve had to wait so long for Crooked Kingdom and that’s unacceptable. Basically, I loved this book. The characters were great (Kaz and Inej are my faves), the plot was fast paced and engaging, and it kept me on my toes the whole way through. Definitely a must read.

2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

img_3932

If Six of Crows was great then Crooked Kingdom was jaw dropping phenomenal. It was the perfect ending to this duology but I also desperately wish there was another book because I’m so in love with these characters. I miss them so much already and I know I’m going to end up rereading this book very soon. Amazing!

3. Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

cvr9781476743554_9781476743554_hr.jpg

Can someone find me a Holder please? I need one desperately. He was hot, sweet, a little brooding but overall a great guy. He’s so good to Sky (not always but like 97 percent of the time; he makes some silly mistakes) and I just fell head over heels for him. Also for some reason I was under the impression that reading a Colleen Hoover book would be a nice happy read to get me through all the emotions I felt with Crooked Kingdom. Obviously I forgot who CoHo is and Hopeless tore my heart out but in the best way. Anyway, my point is, read this book!

Other Books I Read This Month

  1. The Young Elites
  2. Shadow and Bone
  3. Siege and Storm
  4. Ruin and Rising
  5. Eleanor & Park
  6. Kids of Appetite

Books I Received This Month

IMG_3839.JPG

I actually received an absurd amount of books this month but that’s only because my friend who works in publishing sent me a care package of books as a belated birthday gift. Otherwise, I actually only bought two books this month, one of which I preordered. So really I only bought one book. Here’s to a successful book ban!

'Six of Crows' Book Review

Book Review: Six of Crows

Posted on by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

91WEx42EdiL.jpg

Synopsis:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz 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.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

I don’t even know how long I’ve had Six of Crows on my bookshelf but it was too long. I could’ve read this book ages ago. I could’ve fallen in love with these characters so long ago. Why did no one force me to read this book? For why? Seriously, Leigh Bardugo has truly outdone herself with this novel and I loved it so much more than the Grisha trilogy.

First of all, the cast of characters in this novel is amazing. Kaz gave me serious heart eyes and I fell for him almost instantly and I don’t know what that says about because to be quite honest Kaz is not a good person. He has some great qualities, don’t get me wrong, but overall he’s not a great person. Still, I’m able to see past his hardened exterior to his nicer interior that he tries to keep buried but unfortunately for him keeps rising to the service.

Besides Kaz, there’s Inej, also known as the Wraith. She’s probably my favorite character, although Kaz is a very close second. Then we have Nina who’s such a badass and I love her. She’s so fierce but also really cares deeply about her people and just wants a better world for them. There’s also Matthias who I had mixed feelings about but grew on me. I absolutely loved Jesper even though he’s got a lot of problems he needs to work through. Finally there’s Wylan who I just wanted to hold close and protect at all costs. He’s too sweet and precious for this world. #KeepWylanSafe2016

More than anything I just loved how diverse this group of characters were. Besides just racially, there’s a character with a physical disability and a character with a mental/learning disability. Characters deal with sex trafficking, PTSD, addiction, and so much more. It’s truly amazing!

Not only were the characters great, this book’s plot was also amazing and fast paced. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next and loved that I was never really quite sure. Kaz schemes surprised even me and the end left me a bit stressed but in the best way. That’s one of the only benefits of waiting to read this book; I literally finished it as I was waiting in line for the Crooked Kingdom signing. Talk about perfect timing.

This book was way better than I thought it would be to be honest. Not that I thought it would be bad I just didn’t love the Grisha trilogy as much as I thought I would so I didn’t want to go into Six of Crows with high expectations. Thankfully Six of Crows is definitely worth all the hype and I’m already making my way through Crooked Kingdom and loving it. Make sure to grab both books as soon as possible. You won’t regret it; trust me.

Stars:

5 stars

Favorite Line:

“She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him.”

Other Reviews

Disability in Kidlit

Writability

Star-Crossed Book Blog

'Ruin and Rising' Book Review

Book Review: Ruin and Rising

Posted on by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

tumblr_n0zwlbUkQG1qm7imdo1_1280.jpg

Synopsis:

The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction―and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Purchase From:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Review

*Warning: There will be minimal spoilers about Siege and Storm in this review. Read at your own risk.*

Up to this book I wasn’t all that impressed with the Grisha trilogy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good but I didn’t think it was worth the hype. Then Bardugo gave me Ruin and Rising and I was like, “Yes! This is what I’m talking about.” First of all, Mal finally seemed worthy of Alina to me. He stepped up in a big way and I finally felt okay shipping them, although Nikolai will always be my number one.

More than Mal’s character development was the plot. It was filled with action, twists that I saw coming but were still very well done, and just overall awesomeness. I will be the first to admit that I skim plot. I just can’t deal with paragraphs of details. Get to the action! Get to the dialogue! But in this book the action was in the paragraphs of details and thus I was sucked in. I read (almost) every word and loved it all. I can’t think of anything I didn’t thoroughly enjoy about this novel. The characters were great, Alina’s group was squad goals, and the romance was just the right amount. What I loved most of all was the ending and how everything came together. I hate when I follow a series and then the end is a hot mess. Bardugo totally delivered with this finale and it’s my favorite book in the whole trilogy.

Ruin and Rising is definitely a buy for me, which means I have to buy the whole series. Thankfully there’s a box set coming out soon. Who doesn’t love a good box set?

Stars:

5 stars

Favorite Line:

“Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what’s inside you? That’s steel. It’s brave and unbreakable. And it doesn’t need fixing.”

Other Reviews

Stephanie’s Book Reviews (Spoilers!)

Heart Full of Books (Spoilers!)

She Reads Too Much