What to Read After Six of Crows: 6 Books for Fans of Kaz Brekker
What to read after Six of Crows is the question every reader asks the moment they close Crooked Kingdom and realise they are not ready to leave Ketterdam. Leigh Bardugo assembled six morally grey outcasts, set them an impossible mission, and wrote a found family so precisely built that readers fall for every member. What draws readers back are the unputdownable heist mechanics, the razor-sharp dialogue, and the enemies-to-lovers tension simmering beneath every scene. These six books give you exactly what you are looking for — whether that is more heist plotting, more found family, or more dark worlds where brilliant people do terrible things for each other.
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Crooked Kingdom
by Leigh Bardugo
The direct sequel to Six of Crows picks up immediately after the Ice Court heist, with the crew scattered and Kaz planning the most complex revenge in the history of Ketterdam. Bardugo delivers everything the first book earned — every character arc resolves with precision, the plotting grows more intricate, and the found-family dynamic reaches its emotional peak. If you loved Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom is the mandatory next read: same world, same crew, higher stakes.
View on AmazonHeistFound FamilyEnemies to LoversDark Fantasy🔥 Heat: Warm - 2
The Lies of Locke Lamora
by Scott Lynch
The adult fantasy novel that Six of Crows readers most often reach for next: a charismatic thief running long cons in a fantasy city that would eat him alive if his guild discovered the truth. Lynch writes heist plotting with the same architecture as Bardugo — every revelation reframes what you thought you knew — and the Gentleman Bastards have the same found-family energy as the Dregs. Darker, grittier, and without the romance, but structurally the closest adult equivalent to Six of Crows.
View on AmazonHeistFound FamilyAnti-HeroDark Fantasy🌸 Heat: Sweet - 3
Nevernight
by Jay Kristoff
A girl raised to be an assassin enrols in a school for killers — Nevernight delivers the same dark world-building and morally complex protagonist energy as Six of Crows, with Kristoff's signature blend of lush prose and extreme violence. Mia Corvere has Kaz Brekker's ruthlessness without his strategic restraint, and the school setting adds a competitive layer to the character dynamics. Best for Six of Crows readers who want the darkness turned up and the moral complexity maintained.
View on AmazonAssassinsDark AcademiaAnti-HeroMorally Grey🔥🔥 Heat: Steamy - 4
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
A war orphan earns entry to the empire's most elite military academy and discovers she can channel a god — Kuang writes the ascent to power with the same intensity Bardugo brings to heist mechanics, and the world-building is comparably intricate and dark. The found-family dynamic shifts and breaks in ways that mirror Six of Crows' willingness to hurt its characters, and the scope of the trilogy expands with the same ambition as the Grishaverse. Essential reading for fans of dark epic fantasy.
View on AmazonDark FantasyMagic AcademyFound FamilyWar🌸 Heat: Sweet - 5
An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir
Laia goes undercover in the empire's brutal military academy to rescue her brother; Elias, the academy's star student, wants out. Tahir interweaves their perspectives with the same dual-POV tension Bardugo uses, and the oppressive Roman-inspired world has the same weight as Ketterdam's criminal underground. The slow-burn romantic tension rewards readers who loved the way Six of Crows handled attraction under life-or-death pressure.
View on AmazonDual POVEnemies to LoversDark FantasyFound Family🔥 Heat: Warm - 6
The Gilded Wolves
by Roshani Chokshi
Paris, 1889, and a crew of brilliant misfits must complete a heist to recover a dangerous artifact before a secret society tears the world apart. Chokshi writes the found-family dynamics with the same warmth and specificity as Bardugo, and the puzzle-box plotting delivers the same intellectual satisfaction as Six of Crows' heist mechanics. The atmospheric historical setting distinguishes it from Ketterdam while giving you exactly the ensemble energy you are looking for.
View on AmazonHeistFound FamilyHistorical SettingEnsemble Cast🌸 Heat: Sweet