February #2018HW – Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Posted March 5, 2018 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

February #2018HW – Crooked Kingdom by Leigh BardugoCrooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows Duology #2
Published by Henry Holt and Company on 2016-09-20
Length: 546 pages
Reviewing Audiobook, Hardcover from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2018 Audiobook Challenge, 2018 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge, 2018HW

When you can't beat the odds, change the game.

Kaz 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 badly weakened, 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 the Grisha world.

Not what I was expecting, but sometimes that can be a good thing. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo broke me and put me back together again. It’s hard to really describe these characters without remembering (with a little horror) that they range in age from 17-20. They are still kids for all intents and purposes, and it hurt my heart every time that fact was thrown in my face.

Picking up where Six of Crows left off, Kaz is on the warpath. He has concocted the schemes to end all schemes in order to get Inej back and teach Van Eck a lesson. In fact, Kaz is a little scary at the opening. He’s just about lost his carefully placed mask/control and his friends notice. I liked Kaz in this book as we see his vulnerability more. In the previous book, he was cold and calculating. He’s still that, but there’s a backstory and Inej that plays into it, endearing him to me more.

Nina, Matthias, Jesper, and Wylan play larger roles in this installment, in my opinion. I loved Nina-Matthias storyline and I won’t lie, they broke me! Jesper is seeing himself in a different light thanks to Wylan and the reappearance of his father. I loved Jesper’s dad. He is what a father should be and the others look at him with a mixture of longing and jealousy because they want that too.

The plot of this one moved slower than Six of Crows. In the previous book, they were planning a heist in a foreign country. It was exciting, edge-of-your-seat suspense. This one, however, they are planning a takedown of Van Eck and his “empire.” While I liked the idea, it didn’t play out the way I thought it would. It was really slow and drawn out. There were high stakes with Van Eck, and instead of being suspenseful it was bordering on boring. However it wasn’t predictable. I was shocked at every turn of the page and I loved that!

Overall I enjoyed Crooked Kingdom, not as much as I enjoyed Six of Crows though. I was left a little disappointed in Kaz-Inej and broken by Nina-Matthias. I wanted more on both fronts and I missed the action/suspense of the first book. I did however really enjoy learning more about each member of Kaz’s crew, more of their backstories and more about their dreams. While the first book was plot driven, this one is more character driven. I enjoyed that. If like me you enjoy fantasy with multiple POVs, I highly recommend this one.

About Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of Six of Crows and the Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising). She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and most recently, makeup and special effects. These days, she lives and writes in Hollywood where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band.


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