Crooked Kingdom

Ooh my this was a good book. It's been a long time since I read young adult and this was a good book to do it with. I'm not really sure how it's young adult, maybe on a technicality? I'm not too familiar with the genre but it has very rich and deep characters with all their flaws and goodness wrapped up into distinct characters. Not just one, not just two ... but 6 uniquely fleshed out characters in just two books. Many books struggle to develop one or two so I am very impressed here. Bardugo really manages to capture the humanity of each character, including the side characters outside of the main six.

Pacing is good, characters are strong, ending is fulfilling and satisfying, story is interesting. The story is brutal when it needs to be and gentle when it's time. A really well done book, thoroughly enjoyed it.