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Six of Crows Duology: Why the Crew Dynamic Carries Everything

Estimated Reading Time: 4min

A heist crew that has incredibly high stakes and a lot of enemies closing in around them… this surprised me with how much I was expecting NOT to like it… but I didn’t expect this.

Six of Crows

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. 

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Addiction
Minor: Sexual Assault, Death of a Parent, Sexual Violence

My Review

Having this many POV can sometimes be a bit messy, but I think this was really well done. It added such incredible drama to the story, I love to jump in and out of people’s perspectives, plus when everybody in a heist is in a different spot as part of the team layout like this is necessary. I liked everyone. All the characters in their own ways were fantastic, they interacted with each other really well, and the plot moved forward with these character dynamics in mind. The actual heist/prison break itself was really well done. I enjoyed the setup, the planning, the execution, and everything in between.
The magic system was quite good, it was a bit of a spin on the normal type of abilities you can see in people. I like the way that this particular system spun things, and I would love to see more.

Crooked Kingdom

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood
Moderate: Trafficking, Addiction, Torture
Minor: Sexual Assault, Slavery

My Review

I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first, but it was still a good story and conclusion after book one. I found it swayed a little and had less direction than the first book.
The characters were still great, and I enjoyed seeing where everything landed at the end.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, I would recommend both books in the series. I don’t have much interest in the world that surrounds it as Leigh continues on, but this one.. if you like an Oceans 11 feel with some fantasy thrown in, this one’s for you!

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • The Spider Heist (Jason Kesper)
  • Thieves Gambit (Kayvion Lewis)
  • Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books

Teenage Oceans 11? | Heist Society Reviews

Estimated Reading Time: 3min

A group of teenagers – some billionaires, and the others part of a family of long time thieves and con artists… what could go wrong?

Okay, a lot could go wrong. Most particularly, going to prison or being killed – two of the most common consequences of living as a criminal. But, somehow Ally Carter makes us root for the criminals, and we have some heist books in this series that were funny, somehow relatable, and altogether fun!

I enjoyed her other series about teenage spies – The Gallagher Girls – but it took me a while to grab these ones. The teenage spies are more intriguing, but the thieves were downright entertaining! I love a good heist story, and this for me, was it. So let’s go over the three main books in the Heist Society trilogy:

Heist Society

carter

Fun story, easy to read, interesting plot and characters with great comedy and wit. Love Ally’s style and the ‘underground’ worlds she creates.

I was excited to see the romance, the character relationships and the antics to continue in the next book. It was a fun and a little nod to all the con movies out there!

Uncommon Criminals

carter

Apparently I didn’t write an original review for this one but let’s see how good my memory is.

I liked the arc of our main character – knowing her family is a criminal business and not really wanting to be part of it, but knowing she will be whether she wants to or not. It’s got lots of anguish in what you’re born into, vs what you want to do and good vs bad.

The heist was fun, but very different to the previous story. I liked the twists and turns that we took, and as always the romance and fun character interactions was everything.

Perfect Scoundrels

carter

Again no review so here’s my memory.

This was the least favourite of mine in the series. The final story took a very different turn than the previous. It was less heist, and more con/investigation.

The billionaire character I briefly mentioned above is supposed to inherit the entire business but there’s something evil afoot. It was more trying to make sure he keeps his money (if he even wanted it) and less pulling off the perfect heist for people who had been stolen from first…


If we look at the series as a whole, I would say that it was a 4 Star series. The planning of heists, and the heists themselves (by teenagers at that) was really what drew and kept my attention. They were funny and had lots of wit and bite between them, and I really enjoyed that as well.

It did seem like as the series continued, Ally lost what made the magic… maybe? But either way it is still a very enjoyable few books, and even though I’m not a teenager anymore, some YA can be read at any age. For me, this series is one of them.

Have you read this series? Or maybe another heist book or series that you loved? Let us know in the comments your HEIST recommendations!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace