This is a spoiler filled book review. Please be aware that if you keep reading there will be information that you may not want to know if you have not read the book.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars
Quotes to Remember:
“Many boys will bring you flowers. But someday you'll meet a boy who will learn your favorite flower, your favorite song, your favorite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won't matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart.”
“No mourners. No funerals."
“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”
“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”
“We are all someone's monster.”
“She wouldn't wish love on anyone. It was the guest you welcomed and then couldn't be rid of.”
“Greed may do your bidding, but death serves no man.”
“She'd laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him.”
“I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.”
“Men mock the gods until they need them, Kaz.”
“Besides, she was the Wraith – the only law that applied to her was gravity, and some days she defied that, too.”
“'If it were a trick, I'd promise you safety. I'd offer you happiness. I don't know if that exists in the Barrel, but you'll find none of it with me.' For some reason, those words had comforted her. Better terrible truths than kind lies.”
*This is your final spoiler warning*
*Continue with Caution*
My Review:
I would just like to say that I loved this book. Like I loved this book an immense amount. The world was built beautifully, the characters were complex and well developed, and the story had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I appreciated that it was the first book in the series and you could already see real character development by the end of the book.
I also will admit that I typically don't like flashbacks in books because I find them to be confusing and it is hard for me to put the timeline together but in this book it was well executed and I could always tell what was happening and how it fit together.
This book was also extremely suspenseful which I appreciated. Not only did I keep reading to find out about the heist but I kept reading because I never knew what was going to happen next. I loved that not only did they never fully reveal the plan but even the parts we knew weren't concrete because everyone knew part of the plan and only Kaz knew the full thing plus he kept changing it anyway. I really liked that because a lot of the time I find mysteries and heist novels to be somewhat predictable.
On to the characters. I love Kaz with all my heart. He is a classic Slytherin with a complicated past and a lot of room for change in the coming book. Now Kaz and Inej are a new ship of mine. And by new I knew from approximately chapter 1 that I wanted them to be together. But Inej is completely valid in needing more from Kaz and Kaz needs to realize this and either be a sad dude for the rest of his life or open up to her. He is already starting to open up about his past but he has a lot more to tell her. Not that that will happen anytime soon since he has to rescue her first.
Speaking of new ships: Jesper and Wylan. It took me a second on this one. I didn't immediately think about them as a couple but more as a brotherly relationship. Then Jesper started wanting to spend time with him. Then in the end when we find out Wylan has been just sitting on the deck with him the whole trip back... I ship it. And I ship it hard.
*Spoiler warning for the Throne of Glass Series because I am about to reference it* Now onto the last ship: Nina and Matthias. They gave me intense Lorcan and Elide vibes from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. And I just love them together. It's a classic enemies to lovers and I love that trope with all my heart. I am ready to find out more about them.
Publisher's Description:
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
Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
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