Saturday 4 March 2017

Review: Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Crooked Kingdom
Author: Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pub. date: September 27th 2016
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
SynopsisKaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world. (synopsis from Goodreads)

I’m going to do a different review of this one, because I’m not sure I can write a proper review without a) using only capital letters and exclamation signs, and b) giving away the whole book. But, basically, read this book!

What I loved:
  • The characters. All of them. They all have very unique voices and pasts and they’re all complicated and complex and just so awesome! I absolutely loved reading about all of them (especially Kaz and Inej. I love them!)
  • The character development. I loved how they all grew a lot throughout the book. They all had complicated pasts that still affected them, but they grew a lot in Crooked Kingdom, they learned from their previous mistakes and dealt with their problems.
  • The plot. Right. So, the plot was still as fast-paced and unique and dark as Six of Crows, and I loved it! Crooked Kingdom was impossible to put away, you had to find out what would happen to the characters and how things would end.
  • The world! Here’s the thing: I fell in love with the Grishaverse in the Grisha Trilogy, but it became even better in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I loved seeing new parts of the world and learning more about Kerch and Ketterdam especially.
  • Sturmhond. I always loved Sturmhond. He was my favorite character in the Grisha Trilogy, and the only thing I was sad over about this series was that we wouldn’t have Sturmhond. Now, he may not have such a big part, but I loved him anyway!
  • The antagonists. Okay, I know this sounds really weird, but truly, they made the book amazing. There were just so many antagonists that it was almost hard to keep it all in your head, but they made the plot really interesting!
  • The banter. Whenever things weren’t so dire (and also when they were), the banter between the characters would help keep my heart from exploding in my chest. It was always very entertaining, especially whenever Kaz was involved.
  • The ships. What can I say? The romance didn’t take that big part of the plot, which was great, but I still shipped the ships, and there’s a new one in Crooked Kingdom!


What I didn’t love:
  • The ending. Sure, there were good aspects to it, but one thing that happened broke my heart into millions of pieces and I’m not sure if I’ll ever recover. I won’t give too much away, but let’s just say there were lots of tears. Why, Bardugo, why did you have to do this to me?
  • The ending.
  • The ending.
  • That it was the last book.
  • Seriously, the ending.


Okay, so, I apologize if I totally scared you with this review, so I’ll just repeat it: read this book! I’m hesitant to saying it was better than Six of Crows, but it might’ve been. If you like a little darker, very fast-paced YA Fantasy, you must try this series! Actually, if you like YA Fantasy, you must read this series! We’re only a month into 2017, and I’m ready to call it my favorite book of this year.
Leigh Bardugo is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and BoneSiege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising). 

She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and most recently, makeup and special effects. These days, she’s lives and writes in Hollywood where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band. Her new book, Six of Crows, arrives fall 2015.

She would be delighted if you followed her on Twitter, elated if you visited her web site, and downright giddy if you liked Shadow & Bone on Facebook

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I receive some books from authors, publishers and third party sites (such as Netgalley). This does in no way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed on this blog are unbiased and my own. I do not get compensated in any way or form.