Tag: thief

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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. 

Grab the book Here

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 Challenges Book Reviews Books

Heist Books Ranked by How Convincing the “Perfect Crime” Actually Feels

Stories about heists are always a hit, just look at movies like Oceans 11 or The Sting… and books about heists are no exception. I LOVE a good heist story, so let’s look at some of the heist books I’ve read and enjoyed.

Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)

bardugo

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.

Grab the book Here

Final Empire: Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)

sanderson

I’ll start this off by saying I liked this book. Not loved, but liked. I think the first half was my favourite and after looking up spoilers I don’t think I will continue the series.
However, it was still a good story and interesting characters.

Here are my little observations:
It was really hard to keep track of all the characters and who they all were (particularly with an audiobook format). I think there were just a bit too many for my personal preferences.

I’m not used to books that take place over such long periods of time but that are still interesting and flow well. I appreciated that from this book (it was also my first “high fantasy” that I made all the way through and I liked it quite a bit actually).

There was a huge amount of info dumping at times, but something about it didn’t feel that annoying like it can with other books. I was fully aware of it, and yet I didn’t mind.

The theme of discussing religion throughout was an unusual choice. While it doesn’t favour any one in particular, and seemingly makes some up (although who knows because more keep being made all the time), it was kind of….. odd. It felt strange that these people are talking about that in the middle of everything. I love a good Christian fiction book, so religion in books is not something I don’t like, it was more so that this seemed to acknowledge that religion exists but also that it doesn’t much matter which one you believe… and that’s something I disagree with so perhaps that’s why it felt so disjointed for me.

I love Brandon’s writing, and have enjoyed another series of his but I think the continuing of this one will not be something I’m interested in.

Grab the book Here

The Picasso Heist (James Patterson & Howard Roughan)

There were a lot of turns, once you thought you knew what was going on, it all changed again. I thought I was in for a painting heist, but what I got was a lot more than that.
The way things flowed, fit together and unfolded was great. I was convinced of one thing, only to be proven wrong about others. Then again, some things I guessed and when I was proven right, it was really nice.
There were a lot of moving parts, and it seems like everyone is a lot smarter than people in real life. Elaborate and intricate plans are not the norm with most people in the lives we all live in the real world. However, for a fictional story like this one, I don’t mind.
The characters were pretty good, but I found it difficult to really connect properly what with all the twists and turns of the way things happened.

Grab the book Here

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief (Benjamin Stevenson)

I really enjoyed the slow reveal of how everybody in the bank was a thief. They were multiple plot lines, things were happening slowly but also with the usual Ernest Cunningham way.
It did get quite complex at points, and some things were a little bit far-fetched until they weren’t. We managed to have a meaning for everything, but because there was so much happening it was difficult at times to follow the thread. Having said that, it was wrapped up quite nicely. Everything made sense, and some things were surprising, some things weren’t. Ultimately it was funny, interesting, and very scientific… That was unexpected.

Grab the book Here

The Spider Heist (Jason Kasper)

I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really liked this story.
The element of being caught up in a heist, having an ex FBI agent, and how everything unfolds was great.
High stakes, fast paced and corruption all within the span of a day. Nicely done, a good read.

Grab the book Here

Tokyo Heist (Diana Renn)

I am not the target audience so keep that in mind for the review below.

Classic adults aren’t as smart as teenagers, they missed important details and we can not only be taken seriously but also help solve the crime whilst being in mortal danger kind of a story.

Cultural additions were really nice. I like a good art heist story and having a budding artist come at it was also an interesting twist. I did have to speed read a lot of it though because it didn’t seem to hold my attention well.

Grab the book Here

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Fiction

The Plans (Furious Fiction)

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FURIOUS FICTION

Monthly short story fix? I’ve got you covered. This one was three sentences which had to be used anywhere:

The door was locked.
It felt familiar.
She laughed
Enjoy!

THE PLANS

It felt familiar. The lock pick tools in her hands.

She heard the tumbler click into place and smiled. Slowly she pushed the door open and tiptoed inside. She shut the door and used the moonlight to make her way into the study.

The plans should be in the desk that sat in the corner. She closed the door to the study behind her and opened the bottom drawer, pulling out its contents. A scratching noise to her left gave her pause and she looked to the window. The wind pushed a branch back and forth against the glass and she let out a breath.


She placed the contents onto the desk and felt around inside the empty drawer. She located the notch and clicked it. The false bottom popped out. Smiling, she pulled at it and squinted to see inside. A small white piece of paper sat in the middle of the drawer and she picked it up.
Pulling it closer to her face, she angled it towards the light and read.
She laughed. Two words were printed from an old typewriter in the middle of the paper.
‘Nice Try’.
She needed those plans.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone and clicked the home button. The light momentarily blinded her and she fumbled to turn down the brightness. As she pulled up the encrypted email with her instructions, she heard the front door open. Voices filled the house and she quickly put her phone into her pocket, looking around the room.

She smiled when she saw the bookcase on the wall to her right. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? Her heart was beating faster as she moved to the bookcase and pulled books out at random. Light entered the study through the edges of the door, the voices sounding dangerously close. Finally she pulled on a book titled ‘The Secret Room’. The bookcase jutted forward and she rolled her eyes. A little on the nose in her opinion.
Reaching behind the gap she pulled the heavy door open and slipped inside a small room. As she closed the door behind her, lights flickered on and she turned. Her mouth dropped open as she saw monitors with video footage from the house streaming live.

She watched as Andrew and Cynthia entered the study, flicking on the light. When Andrew saw the drawer open and the contents on top of the desk he shouted to Cynthia. They rushed out of the study and into the living room. Cynthia picked up a landline and Andrew began checking room after room.
She had to get out. To her left was a safe partially open and a wooden door.
She reached for the door then paused.

The plans.

Cautiously she opened the safe and smiled as she spotted the plans on the top of a document pile. She picked them up and reached for the doorknob again, cursing under her breath.

The door was locked.

Thanks for Reading this Furious Fiction by Christy Grace