Crooked Kingdom

“Has anyone noticed this whole city is looking for us, mad at us, or wants to kill us?""So?" said Kaz."Well, usually it's just half the city.”

Excuse my language, but...

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

This book.

THIS BOOK.

I'm still not over it. It deserves all the stars in the stars. Every single on in the night sky. I've been trying to write this review for two weeks, and espcially since I'm the worst reviewer ever, I'm at the point where I want to hire Leigh to do it for me, because obviously she knows how to write masterpieces.

I had the unfortunate experience of having to travel 6ish hours on a cramped bus a few days after Christmas. I was dreading my decision to travel with this book, considering how massive it is, but if I hadn't, I may very well be dead right now. I don't do go with crowds and strangers, but I got so wrapped into the gang's adventures that the six hours flew by so quickly. I like to credit Leigh Bardugo for saving my life. Thank you, Leigh. I owe you one.

When I read Six of Crows, there was something missing for me. I wasn't sure what that was, as I loved the plot, the characters, the world, but I just couldn't bring myself to give it the five star rating it deserved. Yet, whatever it was found its way into Crooked Kingdom and made this book one of the best things I have ever read. Ever.

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get “No Mourners, No Funerals” tattooed on my forehead so everyone knows how much of a Six of Crows trash I am.

If you haven't read this duology, abandon whatever book you are reading right now, because chances are that it's not anywhere as perfect, and pick this up. Right now. Stop freaking reading this review and start Six of Crows. Or Crooked Kingdom.

“Have any of you wondered what I did with all the cash Pekka Rollins gave us?”“Guns?” asked Jesper.“Ships?” queried Inej.“Bombs?” suggested Wylan. “Political bribes?” offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. “This is where you tell us how awful we are,” she whispered.He shrugged. “They all seem like practical choices.”

Kaz.

Jesper.

Inej.

Wylan.

Also can we talk about when he got his face back, he made his appearce slightly more attractive because same.

Nina.

Matthias.

And then died after everything was over and HE DIDN"T DESERVE TO DIE (His death very much reminded me of John Laurens in Hamilton which made me even more sada). Like what Wylan said, none of them were suppose to die. I really didn't expect it and I'm still resentful.

“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.”

Kax

Jesper

Nina

Conclusion.

So Crooked Kingdom! Where do I even start? I've been psyched about this book since I read and loved [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg|42077459] last year and I'm happy to report the duology is going on my hall of fame perma-favorites list because wow, did this sequel deliver.

So here's what I was expecting from Crooked Kingdom after reading Six of Crows:

-Respectful portrayal of disability (Kaz's bad leg and PTSD)
-Really clever con/thief-like plots
-A look at addiction
-All the twists
-Action
-Tons of wit and snark
-More detailed and layered world building
-A realistic and satisfying end to an awesome duology

With Crooked Kingdom, I got all of that and more.

There are so many things I loved about this book. You learn a whole lot more about each of the main characters (Kaz, Inej, Matthias, Nina, Jesper, and Wylan), you get an even better sense of not just Ketterdam but how the Grisha world fits together, and there are soooooo many twists throughout the book. And of course the humor and wit I loved in Six of Crows was back in Crooked Kingdom, plus the relationships from the first book were really fleshed out in the sequel. My only nitpick was sometimes it felt like we had a little too much background for some of the characters? But I honestly didn't mind because I loved the book so much I didn't want it to end, so really it was an added bonus.

Plus! One thing I really admired was over clever the plot was in Six of Crows and I didn't think it was possible to one-up that but wow, Crooked Kingdom's plot was like three clever plots in one and it was so incredibly gratifying to read. I loved watching Kaz and his crew go from plan to plan and build on both their successes and failures to create one truly epic conclusion to the duology.

It's also good to note Bardugo delved more into racial dynamics, which was really great to see. Multiple characters dealt with racial microaggressions throughout the novel and it was clear those elements were more well thought out in this sequel. Then of course, there was one scene that really made me pause and nod. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say Kaz is offered a “miracle cure” for his disability and not only did he not take it, he was appropriately pissed about it. I was really glad to see this handled so aptly and it made me respect and love the series even more.

The Six of Crows duology is a masterpiece. From its diverse cast to perfect dialogue to incredibly clever plots, I'll be passionately recommending this duology for-freaking-ever. If you're even remotely interested in fantasy, make sure you pick this one up for sure.

Diversity note: Kaz, one of the main protagonists, has chronic pain and a limp from an old injury and uses a cane to help him get around. He also deals with sometimes-debilitating PTSD. Another POV character, Jesper, is black and bisexual and Wylan also likes boys. A minor character is queer, too.