Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows (Six of Crows, 2)

“I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.”

Let's all bow down to Leigh Bardugo because she truly outdid herself with Crooked Kingdom. There are very few authors that could write such an amazing, meticulous story such as this, and seriously it's a mind-blowing experience to be able to see a book so beautifully written. While I did have some ups and downs with the book (literally this makes up less than 2% of my feelings with this book), overall (aka the other 98%) this novel is truly extraordinary and I wish there were more to come. I honestly don't want to say goodbye to these characters yet, but it's better this way...at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself. It's better that this amazing series is only 2 books so that we can be left to imagine the future adventures our beloved characters are having.

“Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.”

Let's start with the teeny tiny thing that bothered me with this book: the pace. There were times at the beginning of the novel that felt super slow to me. I didn't have this problem in the first book, but I noticed it a lot in this one. I don't know if I just was too excited to find out what was going to happen next or if I just was in a mood the day I started this, but when I first started reading, I felt the pace was entirely different. There were parts that kinda seemed unnecessary to me and there were times where the scenes seemed to go on for a bit too long. However, after the first part/part and a half, this resolved and the story really took off. That's why I can't complain too much about this because it really only was a small part of the book. Otherwise, after this slow start, the story really was nonstop action and chaos. I never knew what was going to happen, and Leigh definitely kept me on my toes! There were so many twists and turns that it left my head spinning. With every heist or new trial the group undertakes, your adrenaline skyrockets, and you feel you are right there with these characters risking your own life.

“And that was what destroyed you in the end: the longing for something you could never have.”

One of the best parts of this book though is the character development. The reason I said that not many authors could write a book such as Crooked Kingdoms is because not many authors could balance 6 different character POVs, each with an intricate backstory, and make them sound like individual characters. Heck there's authors that can't even do dual POV (and I'm not trying to offend anyone when I say that because in my opinion dual POV is an extremely difficult task to undertake and I give major credit to authors that can write it successfully)! But Leigh does an absolute brilliant job at making sure every character is heard and we as readers feel connected to every single one of those characters. We get so much more into these characters that were introduced in Six of Crows, and things are revealed that you will never see coming. And if it's possible, Leigh makes the connections that we have with the characters (as well as the connection between the characters themselves) stronger and deeper. Emotions are definitely at an all-time high in this book when any of these characters are involved, and I loved every single second of it.

“We meet fear. We greet the unexpected visitor and listen to what he has to tell us. When fear arrives something is about to happen.”

I will say that at first Kaz seemed a bit too disconnected to me, but over the course of the book we come to see more and more inside his mind and understand prior actions while also keeping us guessing for what he's cooking up next. Inej is still one of my favorite characters in the story. She's so strong and brave, and I loved her tenacity. There were times I was truly terrified for her because it takes a lot to break a character such as Inej, and she was slowly crumbling around the edges during the first part of this book. Nina is like my soul sister, but we definitely see a different side to her due to her withdrawal from that terrible drug. It makes her question everything, including using her own powers. However, I also loved how fierce she was in this book. Nina stuck to her guns and didn't let anyone tell her she couldn't do something. Matthias perhaps has the greatest transformation of all the characters, and seriously I can't even begin to explain my love for him while I was reading this book....after all, he's greater than waffles ;) I really did like the addition of Wylan's POV to the story as well because it added yet another raw, realistic element to the plot that propelled the novel forward.

“Why do you guys say that, anyway? No mourners, no funerals? Why not just say good luck or be safe?” “We like to keep our expectations low.”

There are many aspects of this part that made my heart break, but there was one in particular that involved a certain character's death that absolutely broke me. I didn't see it coming and I'm still not over the character's death, but I will say that it fit with the story and that's why I can't totally be upset at Leigh for killing them. Let's face it, the Dregs and Ketterdam is an unforgiving place and not everyone makes it out alive. This is a sad, but true fact. I think we should just count ourselves lucky that Leigh didn't kill off more people haha!

“They don't know who we are. Not really. They don't know what we've done, what we've managed together. So let's go show them they picked the wrong damn fight.”

Everything about this book is perfection, and I can't even begin to emphasize how much you need to read this book. Leigh does an excellent job at writing an evocative story that sweeps you away and leaves you longing for more. The conclusion of this book is every bit as epic as you imagine it would be, and I will not be forgetting this book anytime soon. The Six of Crows duology is going to be a series that I read over and over again, and it's definitely something you don't want to miss out on!

Happy reading :)

So if you read my review of Six of Crows, you already know that I was very impressed with Bardugo's story of the Dregs as they try to protect the world from a lethal drug that could potentially weaponize and destroy Grisha. If you didn't read it -- SPOILER ALERT, I was impressed. Also, you should check it out -- but you do you, baby boo. 

Getting back to my point, having read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, I enjoyed the Grisha-verse but I had some issues with the character development and ultimate ending to that trilogy, so I did not go into this duology with the highest of hopes. Bardugo made some excellent choices as an author that sold me on her ability as a writer, but also as someone able to grow within her own fictional world. Surprised as I was, I did not expect to continue to be surprised as I continued into book two, but man oh man -- Bardugo blew. it. up.

Literally -- there are explosions, shoot-outs, enhanced magical abilities, stake-outs, more robberies and plot twists than you could imagine, and just when you think that you know where the story is going, you are left shocked to discover there is an element you never considered. This was the perfect ending to an exciting and no-holds-barred story of the mobster-mentality of the Barrel. What is so impressive is that Bardugo doesn't make the easy choice in almost any aspect of this book. There are moments when readers could feel things leaning towards an inevitable outcome, only to be ripped from the breath of what could of been to slam hard into the reality of what is. 

One thing I always love and hate about fantasy is that amidst all this chaos, there's always a love story forming/storming/exploring/boring/another -ing word here; I'm hooked because as a reader I want to believe in love and I want to fall in love with the characters, but as a human I am also frustrated because in many ways it feels too far away, too unbelievable. Now, in a world full of magical Grisha who can stop someones heartbeat with a swish of their hand or pull metal shards from the earth and kill someone with them, is it so unrealistic to assume people would find the time to fall in love and share romance? --- uh, yeah. 

Maybe it's me, but I am always slightly more impressed when the author chooses to acknowledge the reality of the situation instead of just giving us readers the inevitable conclusion we desperately crave. We want the characters to kiss as much as THEY want to, but it's easy to build us to that point and give us what we want. What's harder, is giving us a realistic and vulnerable moment that not only captures the affection we know is lying buried beneath these characters, but honors the fact that someone who's experienced these horrors couldn't realistically move past those experiences quickly enough to fall in love and give themselves to another person. 

This is where I appreciate Bardugo the most. By telling the story through the eyes of each character, we see the reality of what is; there is love, there is pain, there is vulnerability, there is strength, there is fear, there is longing. Each character experiences emotions we can all connect and identify with. We also see the reality that these characters have incredibly complicated and haunting pasts that live presently with them as they work through these impossible scenarios to stay alive and complete their mission. Are they capable of love? Yes. Do they want love? Yes. Do they give pieces of themselves to other characters? Yes. Can they devote themselves entirely to someone else? No, not yet. 

The dynamic between Kaz and Inej really brings the brillance of Bardugo's writing to life because she could have easily given readers the ending they all dreamed of; Kaz would change and devote himself to Inej, telling her what she longed to hear and how he really felt. He would trust her enough to be able to touch her, love her and be with her. She would trust him and together they would be unstoppable. That would have just as easily fit into this story line and the build up between the two of them in the first book set the tone for that type of relationship to form and it would have worked. That approach would compromise the character development that is so crucial to this story and would have made it a 4 star read. What makes this book great, rather than just good, is that these characters give what they can, rather than what we, as readers, desperately wish they gave.

I won't go any further into detail because I don't want to completely ruin this for anyone who may have yet to read it. Overall, the character development in this story and the dynamic between the Dregs crew is what carried this excellent plot along and allowed readers to fall in love with the Grisha-verse. The mobster-mentality was not something that I was particularly excited about when I first began these books and I was so fully invested in this world thanks to the talented writing. 

On a more fun note, I loved the nods to Shadow and Bone with the introduction of Genya, Nikolai and Zoya! I always enjoy when books crossover like that and that brought me so many feel-good moments while reading! 

Overall, this book was filled with amazing plot twists that will leave you at the edge of your seat, but I was most impressed with the relationships and the dynamic between the crew. The realism present in these stories made it such a wonderful reading experience and showed that Bardugo is a force to be reckoned with as an author. Definitely a must-read for any fans of fantasy and fictional worlds. (Just make sure you read the Shadow and Bone trilogy first!)

I had heard that Crooked Kingdom would be absolutely incredible, but I didn’t realize how freaking mind-blowingly awesome it would be too! This is it people! This is the end and Leigh Bardugo isn’t going to leave you disappointed! Granted, she might tear your heart out and crush it to bits but all’s fair in love and war I guess! LOL!

We pick up pretty much where we left off. Van Eck has Inej held hostage and Kaz isn’t about to play by Van Eck’s rules to get her back, which is namely give up Kuwei to him. It’s going to take a lot of planning in order to pull off everything that needs doing and he’s going to need his Wraith back in order to get the revenge he’s been wanting for years now. And he also needs to exact revenge on Van Eck for the con he pulled over on Kaz. Basically, lots of people need to pay.

Once again, I found myself lost in the pages of this story! So many awesome characters, we get to see more of Jesper this time, plus Wylan gets chapter time as well. As I might have mentioned before, it’s INSANELY hard to choose a favorite character! I love them all sooo much! They all have their strengths and weaknesses, so trying to pick just one doesn’t compute for me when I love them all!

I felt like in this one we see a lot more tension! The pacing was done incredibly well, for Kaz and Co. have a series of missions they need to complete. First rescue Inej, then exact vengeance. But they go through a series of plans with some failures before the right plan comes along. Needless to say it was an intense read!

I really enjoy how Leigh incorporates the flashbacks! They’re well timed ones and I really enjoy getting to learn more about our characters. What drives them to do what they do and such. And then after the flashback we get back to the present in an equally well timed manner. There’s no misplacing the flashbacks for what they are. Unless you stop in the middle of one and don’t return for a day or so. Which is not recommended! I encourage you to read this one and don’t put it down unless absolutely necessary!

What I also enjoyed more in this one was the romance! Sure there’s no actual love-dovey scenes or whatnot. But we do see some stolen moments and kisses between some of the characters. And I’m sure you can guess who those particular characters are! But you might actually be surprised by some things! And that’s all I say there!

Again, I have to mention my love for these characters! They are just so freaking incredible! I can’t get enough of them! But sadly, this is it folks. We’re at the end of the story! I love Kaz for his ruthlessness, Inej for her loyalty and positivity, Nina for her snark and determination, Matthias for his devotion to Nina and willingness to change, Jesper for his snark and thoughtfulness, Wylan for his thoughtfulness and cunning…they are all just soooo amazing! I love them all! And yet sadly…something happens. I remember hearing brief rumors about this, in the sense that Leigh is prone to doing such things if her previous trilogy was anything to go by. And yet, I still wasn’t prepared. I had asked myself to try to see things like Leigh would and yet…I didn’t want any of those things to happen. Yes, I’m being vague and going all over the place with said though pattern here, but I am trying to warn you without warning you. So think on that and be prepared for…feelings.

As you might know from the start of this epic and incredibly thrilling and amazing duology, Kaz has plans for revenge. He has his eyes on the target and plans to exact vengeance for what was done to his brother. And I can I just say, that I absolutely loved how he did things? Yes, he comes off cruel and cold and he kind of is, he has to be. But what I loved sooo much about this is how it reminded me of a certain classic that I absolutely loved as a teenager, and that is The Count of Monte Cristo. Had I finished this before I met Leigh, I would’ve asked if she used any of this classic as fodder for her story writing here. As you may or may not know, in the classic story, Edmund Dantes plans a long haul of revenge over the handful of people who wronged him. And let’s just say that Edmund knew that death wasn’t always the answer. So basically, I friggin loved this book to pieces!!

The ending to Crooked Kingdom was so, so perfect. And yes, I am overusing the word “so” in this review, but I can’t think of a better word at the moment! LOL! It’s the ending I would have expected out of Leigh. She’s set very high expectations for me after the Grisha trilogy. And while we don’t know exactly what she’s writing next after her Wonder Woman book is coming out, I can definitely say I will be buying it asap! But as this series has proved, I may try to binge read whatever she throws at us next because cliffhangers can be brutal!

If you’re looking for the next amazing and incredibly awesome read than it should definitely be the Six of Crows duology! It’s a heist fantasy duology packed with action, liars, betrayals, scams, cons, a sprinkling of romance, and endearing friendships—though the characters may not exactly use that word, or Kaz may not use that word—that makes it one of the best reads I’ve read this year! So I highly encourage you to read this for yourself, because words cannot explicitly do it justice!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars