Crooked Kingdom

At first I found it to be a slow book compared to Six of Crows, but in the end it turned out spectacular.
Every moment I found awkward or slow or anything else than good was perished in the ending chapters.
It definitely made the entire book worth it and made me definitive on giving this book a 5 star review as well.
I loved the characters as usual, their personalities and their motives. Their strengths and their weaknesses.
I did find Matthias death to be unnecessary.
He was alive and strong in one sentence and then dead in the next and it didn't give me a sad feeling like with most character deaths. It just happened and there was no reason for it at all. It didn't bring Matthias story to an end. Nor did it give Nina anything except loss and the feeling of ‘I have to return to Fjerda now' and it didn't bring their story together to an end/ closure as well. At least thats how I felt about it, but Matthias was never my favourite character.
I overall loved the book, the worldbuilding and all the plots and turnarounds. You never know what to expect when you turn the page and all in all, I loved it.

Originally posted on bluchickenninja.com

This book is the second part of a duology which means it's going to be difficult to review without giving away spoilers. But I'm going to try it anyway. It's better if you imagine this book like an urban fantasy version of Ocean's Eleven. It's this weird adventure story about a group of friends trying to save one of their own and then go on to con a bunch of business people out of their money.

The characterization is one of the things I love so much about this book. The characters feel so real. They all feel like genuine people. And they all have their own flaws and quirks. Not only that it's a diverse range of characters. From the colour of their skin to sexuality. It's not made obvious but these characters aren't all stick thin as well which is a big thing in a fantasy book.

I don't really know what else I can say about this. I love this story and I love these characters. But two books isn't anywhere near enough to tell all their stories.

This should've been combined with Six of Crows instead of being a second book. It didn't pick up with the conflict I felt was needed, given how Six of Crows ended. Some of the stuff that was a cliffhanger was basically resolved off-page between books. That was pretty annoying. I lost interest near the end and didn't care for the characters as much as I did in the first book. But it was enjoyable for the most part and definitely readable.

The second book of the Six of Crows duology. It picked up right where the first book left off. It was action packed, but I felt it was slow to start. The gang's plans kept getting ruined or interrupted, which felt like some things or plans where left to hang out there.

But the action and story picked up and I had to know what happened! I kept reading.

From Goodreads reviews and BookTok, I thought I would be devastated by the ending, but it didn't affect me much. I guess I wasn't that invested in the character.

I wouldn't mind if the author wrote another book, making it a trilogy.

After finishing this book, I decided to take a break from the Grishaverse. Reading one of the book books I brought with me!

So this month it was my ambition to read the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo and having read Six of Crows earlier in July I moved onto Crooked Kingdom and was excited to continue the stories of Kaz, Inej, Matthias, Jesper, Waylan and Nina the gang of misfits who managed to break into the unbreakable Ice Palace to rescue a Sui boy a secret so dangerous it could change the world.

Crooked Kingdom picks up immediately after the end of Six of Crows with our characters having just arrived back in Ketterdam and been double crossed by Waylan's mercher father who has reneged on his payment for the job they did on his behalf. Inej has been captured by him and is being held until Kaz hands over the boy he broke out of the Ice Palace.

Now after Six of Crows we know what to expect, we can look forward to lots of double crossing and criminal genius from Kaz and his associates as they come up with another elaborate plan that will allow them to gain their revenge on the evil Van Eck and get the payment they have all staked their futures on. This book did not disappoint and from very early on we are cheering as Kaz makes his first genius move of the book in order to recover his friend and wraith Inej.

I loved the multiple points of view in this book, as with Six of Crows the different chapters allowed us to continue to explore the individual stories of all the characters and to develop our love for them that began in Book 1. For me my favourite character remains Kaz because of the different complex emotions he keeps bubbling just below his surface. The wonderful way he just does the unexpected and always comes out on top and his management of the people around him.

The relationship I loved most was Jesper and Waylan, from the first book when they were just discovering each others criminal skills and jokingly having Jesper drive Waylan crazy it has become one of the gems where they will do anything for each other, Jesper is helping Waylan to adjust to the fact he is now wearing the face of Sui escaped prisoner Kuwei and the ongoing rejection and double crossing from his father Van Eck. Jesper in this book reveals more about his background with the arrival of his father in Ketterdam and now Waylan is helping him to reveal the truth about his present criminal activities to his father. Their growing closeness and eventual unbreakable bond was beautiful to read about.

This whole duology was so exciting, the way the story arced across both books and took so many crazy twists and turns, the breathtaking moments of suspense and then the literally arm pumping punching the air times when the gang came through were just amazing. It is a series I will look back on very fondly and would highly recommend anyone to read.

I could probably go on and on about the characters in this book, and while they don't seem to have a drastic growth, apart from Matthias, they've all grown in ways that make them better people. I love how LB deals with mental illnesses like PTSD, abuse, and the impact hate has on others. The ending with Matthias, just when he realised what he'd been taught to believe was wrong and was taking action to combat it, was cruel, but I felt it fitted. I'm not a big fan of him, but oh, I felt tears start in my eyes. The writing on the scene was brilliant!
I would have loved to see an ending with everyone happy and together, but I think I prefer the way it ended, with Inej and Kaz especially. LB understands that mental illness can't go away overnight, and sometimes it takes years, and even then, sometimes people still struggle in moments.
The best part in the book, and the worst, has to be with Jesper and Kuwei. Oh, I had anxiety all day after listening to that scene! Secondhand embarrassment is horrible, and I really felt for Jesper then.
I loved how Jesper's dad waltzed into the story. Most of the fantasy books I read have absent parents, or dead parents, and this makes a delightful change.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.

I have no words.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)


THE PLOT:
I never realized how much I liked chaos until now.

THE CHARACTERS

Wylan Van Eck, my wonderful gay explosives-loving son: I love him more than words can express. His character is nuanced, and everything about him is really well written. I love how he is simultaneously a cinnamon roll and salty.
“How about I push you in the canal and we see if you know how to swim?”
” He was Wylan Van Eck, and he told them everything.”

Inej Ghafa: Poor, poor Inej. You deserved better. (Also, her mentions in Rule of Wolves? I'm so proud T-T)
“When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.”

Jesper Fahey: Tied with Inej for second favorite character. I'm really happy there's so much bi representation here. Also, the character development is so good here breaks down into tears
“The same thing I always do. I took a shot.”

Nina Zenik: As a bisexual fat girl, she is an amazing literary role model!! Her addiction is also really well handled.
“She was the Queen of Mourning, and in its depths she would never drown.”

Kuwei Yul-Bo: Criminally underrated.

Kaz Brekker: He also has really good character development.
“He knew exactly what he intended to leave behind when he was gone. Damage.”

Matthias Helvar: I think his death was a really important part of his redemption arc. He just wanted to change the little boy who shot him for the better.

Favorite scenes:
1. Kaz and Wylan fall through the ceiling
2. The conversation involving such gems as “Nina can raise the dead”
3. Fjerdan might

Executive Summary: A satisfying ending to a fun series.

Audiobook: Just like the last book, this has like 5 narrators or something (one for each POV). They were all good, but I think I'd have preferred 1 really good narrator, or maybe 2 (one male and one female).

Still it's better than many other audiobooks I've listened to, and I think audio is still a great option for this series.

Full Review
I really enjoyed the first book of this series, and I was curious to see how things wrapped up. The first book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger so I had to jump into this one right away.

I found Kaz a pretty unlikeable, albeit interesting/well-written character in the first book, but he really grew on me in this book. All of the characters are pretty great in fact. Inej probably remains my favorite, but Nina is a close second. The entire crew feels fully fleshed out, which is probably helped by them all having their own POV chapters.

Much like the last book, this book is full of some great cons, and kept me guessing some, but not all of the time. The stakes manage to be even higher in this book, and the plans that Kaz comes up with to deal with them were really fun to read, even if they don't always work out as intended.

The world building continues to be excellent as well. We get some more details about other places beyond Ketterdam, that again adds to a sense of lived-in feeling. Her magic system continued to develop in a fun and interesting way, building on top of the foundation of the first book.

Overall this was a really fun series, with a satisfying conclusion. I'd happily read another book with these characters or set in this world, but I'm also content if things remain where they are. That's always a tricky balance to strike, especially doing a duology when trilogies seem to be the standard.

I'm not sure when I'll pick up another book by Ms. Bardugo, but I suspect it won't be too long.