Crooked Kingdom

Another great book. The character development is amazing. And how each of them interacts with each other. There is always a twist or a side story. This is a beautiful story that I want to keep reading! Can't wait for more!

Really well done. Good characters, great story with some very good twists. I liked the first one very much as well, but felt the ending was much too abrupt. I also didn't like the way the Kindle version of the first book showed me at 87% complete as the first one ended, then led me in to another unrelated book by the same author. No such issues here. I'm looking forward to the next one.

The plot,schemes and characters pick right where the last novel left off. You have some interesting and strong characters that draw you into the story. The plot is so filled with twist and turns that you'll definitely be guessing the whole way through. Well done.

I loved this book. The characters are wonderful, funny, and rich. It is so fun to be along for the ride on their adventure. This is a worthy successor to Six of Crows. I am only sorry that this is just a 2 book set. Kaz Brekker is a terrific character as are the other ones. I'd love to see these characters united again on another adventure.

Admittedly, I came in with high expectations, who wouldn't after reading Six of Crows? My four star rating feels a sham compared to the awe inspiring Six of Crows.

The story began slow. The stakes felt low. Yet it still had Leigh Bardugo's twang. The characters deepened, changed, made full arcs into reaches I hadn't thought possible. Some of the twists felt predictable, but that WRITING. Lord, Bardugo can write.

Read it. See for yourself.

Breaking into the Ice Court has nothing on this. Kaz Brekker and his lovable band of misfits pull off the ultimate heist to get revenge. As with the first book this one's filled with twists and turns and plenty of laughable moments. If you enjoyed Six of Crows you need this book now.

This was amazing. All the twists and turns and the clever planning. It's beautiful. You don't know what's going to happen next but when it gets there, its like a mini mind blown. And the satisfaction and awe factor from finishing the book makes me hunger for more but doesn't leave me in suspense.

I enjoyed the characters in this book. The plot and the schemes are great as well, but these characters stick with you. I’m going to read the Grisha book and I hope it is as good as the Crows books.

Absolutely worth staying up overnight devouring, even if I was operating on a woozy 2 hours of sleep after ! Character interactions sparkled, the plot was full of hooks and twists without feeling cheap (with a debatable incident in the last couple of chapters, though I'm of the mind that it made sense for the characters involved). Overall, I was very satisfied, and this was by far the most entertaining book I've read in years.

A perfect follow up to Six of Crows. Usually sequels falter, but Crooked Kingdom if possible, kept me more engaged and more invested than the first book in this duology. Though I could easily read another three books with these characters, I'm glad the story stopped here, it made for a solid end. So many series seem to drag on and have an unnecessary middle book, its refreshing to read a to the point two book series. I wish there were more.

YES YES and YES!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a wild roller coaster ride and I loved every minute of it. I will definitely be rereading this duology.. My heart was torn out at one particular part, but I am satisfied with the ending. Kudos to this AWESOME author. And oh yeah the red page edges of the hardcover is everything lol.

Seriously considering going back and starting Six of Crows over even though I just finished the series.

This series is so rich in details and the plots layered over so well that one heist seamlessly segues to the next. Like the whole crew, you're forced to trust Kaz's schemes and hope he's got one more trick up his sleeve, right up to the big reveal. Their triumphs and defeats are yours too, right until the end.

The series wraps up wonderfully but I can't help hoping the loose ends mean more to come.

Really enjoyed both books. Reminded me a little of Scott lynch 's series with Locke lamora, although this is more tame than that series.
The depth of characters and their stories I think is the real value for these books.

Loved this duology! It was a great addition to the grishaverse. I hope Bardugo continues to expand on this universe and that we see many familiar faces cross our paths in her future titles. I’ve already preordered her Sturmhond/ king nickolai book. Can’t wait!

So excellent. So, so excellent. I didn't realize how much I loved this until reading other books by different authors and feeling the need to rip my eyelashes out. Leigh Bardugo is an incredible writer. The characters in this book are so rich and so real, and so...not cleche the way they could be. A fantastic story that was a joy and adventure to get through. She manages to make you feel deep emotion without making it sappy. These are some of the best and favorite characters I've come across in years. She definately broke my heart with this and I am unwilling to forgive her until she writes more.

Exhilarating and brilliant, this really hit all of my found family/bunch of misfits/cons & heists buttons. A total roller coaster of a read with some of the most fascinating and sympathetic (anti)heroes I've come across in a while.

Crooked Kingdom was the book I was most looking forward to reading this year. The depth and edge-of-your-seat suspense that Leigh Bardugo delivered in Six of Crows was nearly absent in Crooked Kingdom. Uneven pacing and lack of character growth was Crooked Kingdom's downfall.

Kaz and the dearly beloved gang of misfits are back in Crooked Kingdom minus one of their own. After they band together to claim back their missing member, they scheme to take down the Barrel's crooked businessmen, Jan Van Eck and Pekka Rollins. But outsmarting these ruthless men isn't easy when their plans are thwarted at every turn.

Until this book, all of Leigh Bardugo's novel had exquisitely paced and beautifully crafted story arcs with fully developed and fully realized characters. I really wanted to love this book as much as I have loved her previous novels, but I couldn't because it was just not good. I have so many things I want to say to explain my feelings, I don't even know where to start. I'm going to point out some of the bigger problems I have.

Uneven pacing and lack of plot cohesiveness

Crooked Kingdom took a long time to get going. While it was fun to be back in the lives of a cast of characters I've grown immensely fond of, it took more than a third of the book to pass before things got interesting. Even as I read further in the book, there was very little plot action that I could grasp on to and get excited about.

In the last book, the focus was on breaking into an impenetrable prison, a plot point that lends itself to some pretty exciting stuff. There was a clear path and goal in the distance for the reader to see that was suspenseful and there was a sense that it was building to something great.

If Crooked Kingdom were a pair of pants, they would be made of several patches of mismatched pieced-together fabric. There was no tangible objective in mind. In fact, the plot here felt very piecemeal and patched together. As soon as the gang would achieve one goal, they were onto something else. It felt very unnatural and had a feel of "and then we're doing this and then we're doing this and then we're doing this" rather than "we are doing this to achieve this final goal" (which was what Six of Crows felt like). The whole book felt very unfocused and scattered: Is messing with the sugar the goal? The auction? The ships coming to and from the port? The moth-people Shu?

Transitions were jarring

The chapter transitions and shifts in point of view in Six of Crows flowed beautifully and were virtually seamless. They felt natural and were conducive to the story's thrilling nature. The same cannot be said of the transitions in Crooked Kingdom. With each chapter change it was like the plot would take one step forward and two steps back. These shifts often would go back in time and then lead the reader back to where the previous chapter left off. This only served to stall the plot more and felt incredibly jarring.

The multiple plot conveniences were really annoying.

Kaz's modus operandi is never revealing his whole plan to anyone, feeding details to his gang on a need-to-know basis. He was constantly one step ahead of his gang and his enemies. But it got really old really fast when he was winning and pulling one over on everyone every single time. It was especially irritating when these grandiose plans seemed to be written in after the fact, serving merely as plot conveniences. It just amounted to lazy storytelling. Others may have found these revelations to be wonderful "plot twists," but it only made me more frustrated with the direction of the story.

Kaz's character shows little vulnerability or weakness

Kaz's character is one of the highlights of this duology. Bardugo crafted his character with so much depth and room for change and growth. Outside of his vulnerability around Inej, he was invincible and it didn't make him seem like a real person.

I don't know how many of you watch The Walking Dead, but I was hoping for a Rick/Negan moment where Kaz is just stripped bare of his arrogance and sure-footedness. I thought for sure there would be a scene in this book where one of Kaz's plans and cons would go terribly wrong, where he didn't have a plan. But that never happened, which was disappointing.

Lack of tension and character development

In Six of Crows, Bardugo had so much to build on and work with, like introducing the reader to the characters, developing them and crafting the complicated relationships. There was so much wonderful tension that moved the plot forward with great characters, outside of the prison break-in plotline. There was very little development of these characters in Crooked Kingdom, aside from what was already accomplished in the previous book.

The tension between Nina and Matthias was gone because they were together now, so some new tension needed to be manufactured. Cue Nina's drug addict storyline. Her struggles with jurda parem only appeared when it was convenient and she was magically okay in other moments. To drum up some more tension between these two, the author really played up Matthias's rigid adherence to following the rules of his country, but it felt forced.

Focus on uninteresting characters

Personally, out of all the characters in Six of Crows, Jesper and Wylan were my least favorite. I didn't dislike them, but I didn't feel like they were as compelling. Outside of what we already knew, I wasn't interested in spending much time with them outside of what was necessary to move the plot forward in Crooked Kingdom.

But what we got in this book was a lot of page time with both of them. The budding attraction between Jesper and Wylan was something Bardugo took and ran with in this book. But I felt nothing between them. Their chapters were so long and frequent that I just became bored.

The one-liners: Can you not?

I love good banter and humor. That's one of the things I loved about Sturmhond in Siege and Storm : he was the comedic relief in the midst of danger and possible death. But the constant quipping and zingers spewing from Kaz and Jesper quickly became monotonous and not funny.

If Jesper making Wylan blush were a drinking game, I'd be blacked-out drunk by 45%. Also, there was a scene towards the end of the book that was meant to be incredibly emotional, yet Nina is making jokes? No, just no.

The way things ended...

I really didn't like the way the book ended. This is the final book in the duology and the author chose to end it through the eyes of a character the reader doesn't like. I wish we could have gotten more finality with one of our beloved Dregs but Pekka Rollins? No, thank you.

Final thoughts

There were some enjoyable moments peppered throughout the book. The bathroom scene with Kaz is arguably the best scene in the whole book, heavy with feeling and so many unspoken words. I also really liked the Inej chapter in the beginning where she ponders her value to Kaz. But these few moments weren't enough to get me to where I could say, "I liked this book."

Many readers may have enjoyed the cameos from characters from the Grisha trilogy. But really, they served little purpose to the overall story and felt like the author was just trying to win over readers' favor.

I've been very vocal about my genuine enthusiasm over this release. I kept my expectations in check. But considering I've read and loved her four previous novels, I truly thought I would enjoy this book. Crooked Kingdom wasn't the worst book ever; it just wasn't good. I hold Leigh Bardugo to a very high standard, as I've seen what she's capable of. She's an immensely gifted writer and storyteller. Crooked Kingdom was a far cry from what it could have been, and I'm so sad!

Audiobook Comments:

I switched back and forth between the book and the audiobook. I listened to the audiobook for probably the last third. Since I found this book to be extremely slow, the narrators' performances made me feel a little more interested in the book. Elizabeth Evans's narration of Nina's chapters was exceptional, my favorite of all the narrators. I didn't like the narrator for Wylan at all, and his voice for Kaz was almost laughable.

* I purchased the audiobook and hardcover book myself. I also borrowed the e-book from my local library.

Brilliant, funny, action-packed. I couldn't put it down! Kaz Brekker and his gang of miscreants stay one step ahead as the reader tries to figure out their next move. I fell in love with Six of Crows and waited anxiously to continue their adventures in Crooked Kingdom! Well worth the wait. Bravo.

I enjoyed both of these books immensely. The characters remind me a lot of the protagonist and his band of misfits in The Lies of Locke Lamora, or Mistborn. Book two develops the characters more than book one, and that makes the difference between an okay book and an excellent one.

This series is not only well written, fun, relevant, inspired, smart, and full of surprises, but it's also SO. PRETTY. Okay, so "pretty" obviously isn't the best part about this book. The best part of it is EVERYTHING. I've never felt so good about a series in my life. Read these books.

I really enjoyed the sequel to Six of Crows. Crooked Kingdom puts a nice bow on the story of a group of thieves. I am not usually one to enjoy these science fiction/fantasy type of books. However, this book captured my interest from start to finish.

Amazing!!!!! So suspenseful!!! read it no matter what you are into it is the best thing to happen to you ever. Just pick it up. Hard to read at first but so worth it to continue and fall in love with the story!!!

Crooked Kingdom is the stunning conclusion to the Six of Crows duology. It is one of those books that is so close to perfection that you desperately don’t want it to end because you are so attached to the characters but also know that it ended with the perfect amount of conclusion and speculation. The story picks up immediately where it leaves off with Inej captured by Van Eck. The crew, now hunted by most the city, retreats to an island where they hide out and plan a new scheme to take down Van Eck.

One of the first things I noticed about this book was the welcome addition of Wylan chapters! I grew very attached to Wylan in Six of Crows so seeing his point of view was a great addition. The story is told in the same format with the alternating points of view. Leigh Bardugo expertly weaves in the alternating points of view to help us simultaneously learn more backstory for each character and move the plot forward in a seamless fashion.

In terms of the plot, there isn’t much I can say without giving anything away! The crew creates a plan to rescue Inej and continue to scheme against Van Eck and Pekka Rollins. It is more of the brilliant scheming from our favorite anti-heroes. While the book is certainly action-packed, it is the character development that makes this story special. All of the characters are far from perfect, and they don’t try to be. At times they do despicable, immoral things and yet I am cheering for them the entire way.

For all of you shippers, I wanted ALL of my ships to happen. All I will say is, I think you will be pleased. I think Bardugo will definitely satisfy readers with her ships, but they all stayed true to character which I appreciated more than anything else.

Kaz continues to lead the dregs in his ruthless manner, although now we have a little more sympathy for Kaz because we know about his past. His relationship with Inej definitely develops in this installment, but it stays realistic and true to Kaz’s character.

” ‘I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together- knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.’ “

Inej is definitely one of my favorites in this duology. We learn some heartbreaking things about her past, but it really just highlights what a strong character she is. We also get to see some of her more impressive acrobatic skills in action.

Nina has survived her encounter with parem but her Grisha abilities don’t seem to be the same. She struggles with her addiction and changed abilities as she still helps the crew. Matthias is also very supportive of her and they have some lovely moments! Despite her struggles, Nina is the same fierce Grisha Heartrender we know and love. She’s sarcastic, witty and would do anything for her friends.

Matthias continues to struggle with his conflicting view of what is right and wrong but we do see a significant shift in his attitude. When previously he was quick to judge the Grisha, he now stops and really works through his previous beliefs. Not all Grisha are bad. He also dotes on Nina and I loved their dialogue. Matthias is much stiffer and more ‘proper’ than Nina so I loved watching her try to loosen him up. Of course, at times he still thinks he is in league with a bunch of criminals and never fails to remind us, although in this book he expresses his exasperation with more affection.

“Matthias rolled his eyes heavenward. These lunatics all needed a solid six months in boot camp and possibly a sound beating”

Jesper is still our favorite sharpshooter with a serious gambling problem. Bardugo sheds more light on Jesper’s character in Crooked Kingdom and I loved the backstory she gave regarding his parents. It explained a lot more about his behavior and why he does not seem proud of the fact that he is Grisha. He also becomes closer with Wylan and oh my goodness are they adorable! I love how Jesper constantly tries to fluster Wylan. Even though they are often in life or death situations throughout this book, they always seem to have funny moments.

“People point guns at each other all the time in Ketterdam. It’s basically a handshake.”

Wylan. Wy! I am so happy we finally saw Wylan’s point of view in this book. Wylan grows so much as a character. With his father, he is ashamed of what he considers to be faults. With the dregs, he is valued for what he does well and he finally feels welcomed. And of course him and Jesper are the best.

While the book certainly had non-stop action, the plot is so character driven and their relationships, interactions and backstories make them all so special and unique. I was sad to see this duology end, but I am happy it ended where it did. We got our adventure. We read as our crew fought, stole and deceived and we cheered them along the entire way. This is a duology I will always think fondly of and it only gets the highest praise from me.

“No mourners. No funerals.”

I really enjoyed this book. I bought Crooked Kingdom as soon as I finished the first book, Six of Crows. I had had Six of Crows sitting on my bookshelf for so long until my friend forced it into my hands. I'm so glad she did. I couldn't put the first book down and just had to have the next one. In my experience sequels can either be really good or really bad. Crooked Kingdom was one of the good ones and didn't disappoint in the wake of the first book.

Great story! Quality writing, world building and amazing character development. I became attached to each character in this book. I loved getting everyone's history and POV in Crooked Kingdom. The ending had some sadness but more beauty.

Loved this book from beginning to end. As soon as i finished Six of Crows i put this book on pre-order. Once I received it I couldn't put it down. Fun and exciting adventure. Lots of twists and double crosses to keep you guessing. The characters are deep and personally my favorite part. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This book was simply amazing the characters, the large number of POC and disabilities with the characters, the action, the plot twists, and the dynamics. I have not loved a book this much since I read The Court of Mist and Fury back in February. Leigh Bardugo did an amazing job with this series and I'm excited to see what else she has up her sleeves like Kaz Brekker. I couldn't stand the voice of the man who was doing Wylan's voice, I just couldn't. But other than that it was amazing.

Kaz Brekker and crew return to settle the score after the events in Six of Crows. The incredible world building continues and draws you in even more. There are more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Just incredible.

Beautiful, breath taking sequel. I think I loved this even more than Six of Crows, if that's even possible. Read it in one sitting, I just couldn't tear myself away. I was (and still am) depressed when I finished it.

Wow what an amazing book! The writing is spectacular and very clever.
The only part I personally disliked was the Matthias paused, he was one of my favorites ?
but that's just me personally it does not jeopardize the writing and the beauty of the book in any way (I just wanted the whole crew to make it is all).

Thank you miss Bardugo for another gift.

Let me start with the word, Spoilers! Bardugo does a great job following up the fantastic Six of Crows. She had me completely invested until the final Matthias chapter where she broke my heart. While she wrote the series to be a two-parter, I would love to get to explore more of the Grisha world with them as my guides.

Beautiful, breath taking sequel. I think I loved this even more than Six of Crows, if that's even possible. Read it in one sitting, I just couldn't tear myself away. I was (and still am) depressed when I finished it.

Wow what an amazing book! The writing is spectacular and very clever.
The only part I personally disliked was the Matthias paused, he was one of my favorites ?
but that's just me personally it does not jeopardize the writing and the beauty of the book in any way (I just wanted the whole crew to make it is all).

Thank you miss Bardugo for another gift.

Let me start with the word, Spoilers! Bardugo does a great job following up the fantastic Six of Crows. She had me completely invested until the final Matthias chapter where she broke my heart. While she wrote the series to be a two-parter, I would love to get to explore more of the Grisha world with them as my guides.

The conclusion to this duology is a beautifully written masterpiece. The way Bardugo writes dialogue that makes you laugh and relate to big time criminals is amazing. Five stars you won’t be disappointed on this read!

A great sequel. Respects the characters and their journeys and wraps up well, without closing the world to future works. I think it was perhaps a bit more formulaic than expected, followed a similar up/down/twist track as the previous book. But was a very satisfying read!

Fantasy fiction is a guilty pleasure made worthwhile by reading a really good one like this. Good characters and an imaginative plot wrapped up in a fully-imagined world with a soupcon of magic. What's not to like?

One of the best fictional books I have ever read. As much as I enjoyed Six of Crows,Crooked Kingdom improved upon it in every way possible. This is Bardugo at her absolute best,with some of the best writing and character development I have read in a book. Comparing the six of crows/crooked kingdom dulology to the Grisha trilogy I would say its a no brainier which one is better. The crows/kingdom story is so much more grounded,intimate and gritty than the Grisha story which is a bit cliche and ended up having a very lackluster ending in my opinion. Crooked Kingdom is the polar opposite of Ruin and Rising's ending,it delivers on every front both emotionally and triumphantly and I could not have imagined it ending any better. These two books featured some of the most engaging and compelling characters to ever grace a book,notably Kaz Brekker who I found to be my personal favorite. This is one that should not be missed by any fan of fantasy stories or anyone who simply likes a well written story.

Well, that was emotional. I love these characters SO much it's ridiculous! I thought they were incredible in Six of Crows, but that love just got taken to a whole new level. They became six of the strongest, most defined characters I've ever seen and I cannot choose a favorite! I SHIP EVERYONE, too. So many adorable ships.

Anyways, every single character brings something crucial to the group and the story. And I love how you get to know them so well that they're like friends... you know their personalities and can predict their reactions. Seriously, I was laughing so much throughout this book at everyone dealing with each other: "Matthias rolled his eyes heavenward. These lunatics all needed a solid six months in boot camp and possibly a sound beating."

They've all grown so much since the beginning of Six of Crows and each have their own heartbreaking journey. Like there's the drama of the larger plot's twists and turns, but then it kind of all comes back to each character's personal battles. Everyone gets a POV so you really get into their heads a lot more here. Most of them have a lot more backstory, too! And I liked Inej's thoughts on the "chosen one" narrative because that was kind of the core difference of this duology vs The Grisha Trilogy for me:

"But wasn't that what every girl dreamed? That she'd wake and find herself a princess? Or blessed with magical powers and a grand destiny? Maybe there were people who lived those lives... but what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary."

I won't summarize the plot because that would have too many spoilers for the entire duology. (By the way - I would recommend reading The Grisha Trilogy before Six of Crows now because there were some spoilers in this book). I'll just say that I'm pretty sad satisfied with the ending... still processing things I guess. I can't decide if it was anticlimactic or if I just didn't want that to happen.

Other random things I liked:
- Inej meets up with Celaena Sardothien Jr.
- Nina's interesting new power
- Zoya and Genya are back!!!
- Leigh Bardugo's writing is amazing
- the awesome world
- all of the action scenes!
- that scene by the piano with Kuwei... I laughed out loud
- NIKOLAI SHOWS UP! AS STURMHOND!!! 5 STARS FOR NIKOLAI.
- characters had to actually grapple with the effects of a gambling addiction, forced prostitution, and drug withdrawal instead of them being used as plot devices

Crooked Kingdom wrapped everything up well, but there are still so many stories I want to hear more about in this world! Maybe I'm just desperately hoping for a Nikolai book/series, but I felt like there were a ton of casual comments about Ravka thrown in here that could lead into an awesome spinoff. About Nikolai. Did I mention I'm a fan of Nikolai...