Crooked Kingdom Review

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The really bad monsters never look like monsters.”

Wylan

The most resounding thought I had throughout this book was that I’ve never loved a group of characters this much since the Shadowhunters series. This book comes after the events of Six of Crows, so I won’t go into the plot too much in case you haven’t read the first one yet. All you have to know is that this plot involves Kaz Brekker and his crew of misfits pulling off the most intricate con yet. They’re not only fighting for their lives, but the lives and freedom of many others. Also, Kaz wants revenge…as always.

He had sometimes wondered how people survived this city, but it was possible Ketterdam would not survive Kaz Brekker.”

Matthias

If you love stories with a good heist in them, then this is the book for you. It is told from six different points of views, but Leigh Bardugo does it seamlessly so that it never becomes an issue. Each character is unique and fleshed out, even if their names weren’t at the top of each chapter, you could still probably tell who was narrating every time.

When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyways.”

Inej

This story was fast paced and action packed. In Six of Crows, Bardugo had to do a lot of world building before getting to the action. In this second book, she drops us right in the middle of it knowing we would have no problem keeping up. The way it all came together in the end was pure genius, and there were many plot twists I did not see coming and I love being surprised.

I don’t hold a grudge. I cradle it. I coddle it. I feed it fine cuts of meat and send it to the best schools.”

Kaz

Jesper’s relationship with his dad was one of my favorite things in this book, mostly because I believe good father-son relationships are so scarce in YA/Fantasy books. His father supported him and loved him. He came all the way to Ketterdam to find him and make sure he was okay. Then, after finding out the truth about what his son had become and what he had done with their money, he still helped him and his friends until the end.

Matthias had lost his family to war. Nina had been taken from her family to train when she was just a little girl. Wylan had been as good as evicted from his father’s house. Kuwei had lost his father and his country. And Kaz? She didn’t want to know what dark alley Kaz had crawled out of. But Jesper has somewhere to go, someone to take care of him, somebody to say, It’s going to be all right.”

Nina

This was a great second installment to this series, I do believe there will be a third book. Per Goodreads, Leigh Bardugo confirmed that her long-term plan for the Grishaverse involves a third Six of Crows book “many years down the line.”

Have you read this book? What did you think?