Kaz and his crew are just back from the heist, yet they are double-crossed and have to fight to get one of their own back and ultimately take revenge. As Jan van Eck is not honouring the deal he made with Brekker, the Crows are determined to take him out and destroy everything he worked for and tries to protect.

The revenge on van Eck though is not all they have on their minds as a war seems inevitable over what they brought back from the heist and everyone is interested in getting their hands on. Short on allies and resources it seems like everything and everyone is working against them.

The unlikely crew has to be on their best to see their plans through but with that many players and all out on the hunt for them, there is a great chance for things to go terribly wrong.

So I remember thinking after reading ‘Six of Crows’ that it was so good and everything that it could have worked as a standalone. And honestly I still think it does. But there is no way for me to describe how glad I am that there is another book following Kaz Brekker’s crew. I tried to make this spoiler free, otherwise this would not be so short (although it already is quite long for my standards).

I would have so regretted to not read this book just because everything was absolutely and genuinely perfect, from the first page through the last (which means, I also like the ending). Maybe also because Kaz is my favourite male character of all the books I read so far (and he will most likely not been dethroned in a very long time). I just can’t help myself, even though he is not what one considers to be a good person. He is scheming and stealing and trying to destroy other people’s lives (well, sure, they have wronged him, but to what lengths he goes to do this is kind of scary). In short, you should not have him as your enemy.

Which is what happens in the story and so he makes his planes to take them down. And I just love every single one of his plans and schemes because they just seem so realistic and very carefully planned, it’s truly beautiful to read. But although he tries to plan everything, sometimes even he is surprised (so yeah, he is not perfect) even though he will most likely find a way out of the situation with at least a little advantage on his side.

Anyway, all the other main characters in the book are great as well in my eyes. Well, they have been in the first already yet some of them weren’t as convincing for me in ‘Six of Crows’. But now, they get so much more depth to them, well written background stories which makes them come to life even more.

This is actually one of the things I love so much about the book as the characters history is revealed when the protagonist is in the middle of a situation that makes him or her remember the past. Even if it is just two or three pages, there are so well done and perfectly written that they were not in any way too much or interfering with the plot. On the contrary, they made it so much more thought trough.

Another aspect that I could not get enough of were the interactions between the characters as those made them grow as people but it also showed how skilled the author is. I love the funny lines, the deep conversations, and how those show the personalities and feelings of each of them. The writing in general is amazing, the description of the surroundings, the world and the atmosphere made me want to be in the same room or at the same place as the action. And as far as I can tell, not all of Ketterdam is a place you would want to find yourself to be in…

And of course, I adored the plot, I need more stories of this kind. It just made so much sense and the best part is, the reader never knows the whole story. Even the members of the crew don’t know all of it, just what they need to know. Sure, there are some things that one could guess but to be honest, I actually did not want to do this because I wanted to be amazed by the perfection of the resolution and outcome. More than once I was sitting there and thinking: ‘Nooooo, this is not happening. Please, Kaz thought about this and has a plan for this, plaese.’ And just before the last part (hmm, yet another aspect I love, that the book is divided into different parts and each one has a name) realisation dawned on me that I am starting the last pages of one of the best things I ever got to read.

So if there is one thing I kind of hate is that the book had to end. On the one hand I am happy that the end of the series was this amazing read as it somehow feels that the story of the Crows is told and more could end in disaster (forced story and so on). On the other hand I sincerely hope that one day, there is another story about Kaz (haha, yep, he truly is my favourite!) because I just need to know more and can’t let go just yet. I think there is much more to tell about the other characters as well, so I plead for more, I’ll take whatever I get!!

Finally, the book is filled with so many quotes and stories that deserve to be repeated and told and shouted out to the world but for me, there was one particular moment at the very beginning of the book. It is so random and has no deep meaning as maybe other passages but it stuck and after reading it, I just knew that I would adore this book.

“There’s coffee,” said the clerk when Retvenko entered the harbourmaster’s office, gesturing toward a copper urn in the corner.

“Tea?”

“There’s coffee.”

This country.

I’m doing an imaginary curtsy for the author, her story and her writing!