Waiting on Wednesday: BEA Edition!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

CROOKED KINGDOM

Six of Crows #2

Leigh Bardugo

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases September 27th from Henry Holt

From Goodreads:

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

Goodreads • Amazon

THREE DARK CROWNS

Kendare Blake

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases September 20th from Harper Teen

From Goodreads:

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose...it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

Goodreads • Amazon

CARAVAL

Stephanie Garber

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases January 2017 from Flatiron Books

From Goodreads:

Before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it’s all a game . . .

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their ruthless father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the legendary, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

Then, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation to Caraval finally arrives. So, Tella enlists a mysterious sailor’s help to whisk Scarlett away to this year’s show. But as soon as the trio arrives, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nonetheless soon becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with her sister, with Legend, and with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Goodreads • Amazon

Next week is BookExpo America, an event I look forward to each and every year. This year it's moving to Chicago which I'm excited about because the hotel and convention center are connected (WIN!!!!) and I don't have to walk 11 blocks with a rolling suitcase full of books. I know, I know, first world problems and woe is me ;-) But you guys, it's a long walk and I'm lazy. Too lazy to be walking 11 NYC blocks twice a day. *starts sweating just thinking about it*

There are about 10 books I'm hugely excited for this year, but the above three are the ones I'm absolutely desperate to get my hands on. As you can see, I have a YA fantasy-themed BEA wishlist. I can't help it. YA fantasy just makes me happy, and if I manage to get in line early enough to get copies of these, I will simply wander the booths the rest of the day petting them and calling them My Preciousssss.

*puts on BEA game face*

Review: Six of Crows

SIX OF CROWS
Six of Crows #1
Leigh Bardugo
Young Adult/Fantasy
480 pages
Henry Holt
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.

MY THOUGHTS
Six of Crows is everything we've come to expect from Ms. Bardugo; an extraordinary cast of characters who shine brightly from the darkness of their world to ensure their memory is forever seared into our minds and hearts. This tale could have been pure chaos, five distinct character perspectives as well as sporadic flashbacks to their varied histories ingredients for a jumbled storyline, but in the hands of Ms. Bardugo this dark adventure unfolds smoothly and richly, a gorgeous reveal of a seemingly endless series of layers that keep us on our toes throughout.

While there are six members of Kaz Brekker's team of uniquely talented gutter rats, we get the perspectives of only five of them, and each is given what feels like equal time in the spotlight. What's so impressive about Ms. Bardugo's ability to craft her characters is that none outshine the rest, instead they're all nuanced to a degree that we'll never learn all there is to know about them (Kaz especially), but we'll be damned if we don't want to spend hours on end trying to do just that. All six have their shadowy corners, their secrets and shames. All have pasts riddled with varying degrees of brutality; privilege turned into poverty, dreams turned into dirt and filth, and wishes turned into weapons used for money and revenge, and we're nothing other than spellbound by each and every single one of them.

Ms. Bardugo also possesses an uncanny gift for writing characters to whom we should easily be able to affix the villain label, but yet we find ourselves repeatedly rationalizing their actions, finding ways to excuse the pain they cause in our need to see them redeemed. A need that remains a far cry greater than their own desire to achieve redemption. Kaz is one such character, a young man capable of monstrous actions and cruel words that cut to the bone, yet we latch on to his rare moments of vulnerability and use them to further tint our rose colored glasses. He's absolutely magnetic, a mystery whose motivations we've barely started to grasp by the time we reach the final page, and who will likely continue to surprise us at every turn as this series progresses.

Overall, Six of Crows is stunning from beginning to end, a true triumph of characterization that leaves us in tears over the fact that we must wait a full year to be reunited with these six men and women.

Rating: 5/5
 

Find Leigh

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.