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.
Source: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792134
- ISBN10 1627797912
- ISBN13 9781627797917
- Publish Date 27 September 2016
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Henry Holt & Company
- Format eBook
- Language English
Reviews
herseriallife
vagasker
Quirky Cat
Guys, the hype for Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) is real – and it is deserved! This novel is everything I had hoped it would be, and then a whole lot more. It concludes this duology, but it does so with a bang. Also, thankfully it is far from being the end for this world.
Kaz Brekker is a prodigy when it comes to crime, so it's no surprise when he talked his crew into the most dangerous of heists yet. And then succeeded in doing exactly what he came for. Unfortunately, that success only succeeded in bringing more trouble his way.
They should have gotten a reward for their efforts. Instead, they're fighting for their lives. Literally. It'll take their combined knowledge and abilities in order to survive the storm that seeks to break them. No Mourners. No Funerals.
“Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return.”
As much as I enjoyed Six of Crows, I loved Crooked Kingdom ten times more. It was SO intense and thrilling. The stakes felt higher than ever, and the planning was so sneaky and entertaining to read.
Not to mention all of the individual character plot points, development, and romantic tension that was found almost all over the place. No wonder I enjoyed this read so much. This is a book that raised the ante, and it worked.
Seriously, it isn't every day that I find myself enjoying the sequel more than the original. Yet that is exactly what happened here with Leigh Bardugo's work. It's freaking amazing. And it admittedly is making me all the more excited about the latest book she's hinting at (an untitled book three?).
“Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.”
The main plot is perfection – full of high stakes, personal cost, and development. But if you ask me, is the secondary plots where this novel really shines. The tension between so many of the characters, what they personally had to go through. All of it. It made them feel so blindingly real, and thus made their struggles carry weight.
Plus, let's be honest here: the romantic subplots were pretty amazing. I'm not one to latch on to those plots all the time, but I really did here. I imagine that my ships are pretty standard for this series, but I'm totally okay with that!
Long story short: I seriously loved Crooked Kingdom, and would give anything to have the ability to keep on reading. Please, write more, and soon!
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Steph L
Nessa Luna
Leigh Bardugo broke my heart into a million pieces and put it back together again in just over 500 pages.
alessio
Recensione Crooked Kingdom (senza spoiler)
Crooked Kingdom di Leigh Bardugo porta con sè un'enorme eredità, quella dell'ottimo Six of Crows, e arrivare al livello di quel libro non è compito facile. Valutando Crooked Kingdom devo tener conto anche della valutazione data al precedente capitolo, senza però richiedere troppo. Per questi motivi recensire questo libro non è stato affatto facile, ma spero di aver fatto un buon lavoro.
Trama
In Crooked Kingdom il nostro amato gruppo di ladri torna a Ketterdam, intento a pianificare il recupero di Inej dalle grinfie di Jan Van Eck. Lo scopo della banda in questo libro è quello di smantellare l'impero economico di Van Eck e di assicurarsi la propria parte della ricompensa, così da realizzare i propri sogni.
Ho preferito di gran lunga la trama di Six of Crows, ma anche questa è piacevole e ricca di colpi di scena.
Personaggi
I personaggi presenti in Crooked Kingdom sono gli stessi di Six of Crows, con la sola aggiunta di Kuwei Yul-Bo e del padre di Jesper, personaggi poco usati e per nulla caratterizzati.
Anche le relazioni sono le stesse di Six of Crows, ma con momenti più spinti ed espliciti.
Spoiler:
La morte di Matthias mi è sembrata non necessaria e troppo rapida, come se fosse stata scritta solo per creare clamore.
Stile di scrittura e Contenuti
Lo stile di scrittura di Leigh Bardugo è, come scrivo sempre in tutte le recensioni di suoi libri, scorrevole e veramente piacevole da leggere.
In questo libro gli elementi romance sono più spinti e dettagliati, mentre io preferivo invece lo stile implicito del primo libro.
Conclusioni
Un ottimo libro, non ai livelli di Six of Crows ma comunque una lettura molto piacevole.
Altre recensioni sul mio blog Arte della Lettura
thepunktheory
Crooked Kingdom is a rollercoaster of emotions. I laughed, I held my breath, I was in tears and my heart broke over the ending.
While Six of Crows was about one huge gig they pulled, Crooked Kingdom is about several intricate little cons that are part of the bigger plan concocted by criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker.
Seriously, how does Leigh Bardugo come up with this kind of stuff? The amount of thought that must have gone into this - it's incredible.
The second book in this duology is even more emotional than the first one and I think that's what sets both novels apart the most. Although Crooked Kingdom continues a story that began in Six of Crows the vibe is different. That's absolutely perfect because the characters feel different now. They shared experiences and are not the same people they were before!
Stephanie
I read Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo because Lex had finally talked me into reading Six of Crows and I naturally had to see what happened next. Once I was done reading it I had to talk this one out with her. I really wasn't sure how I felt about it. Talking it out really did help.
Here's the thing: Crooked Kingdom is a good read. I enjoyed it but.....the pacing was just really weird. You would think "Okay here's the thing that they have to do and/or overcome. Then they'd do and/or overcome the thing within 50 to 100 pages and you've still got a whole lot of book to go. Repeat that like five or six times. It was a bit confusing if I'm being honest.
I had seen a Tweet that had sort of spoiled one aspect of this book for me. I'm not mad about it as it's been years since the book was published. Because I saw that Tweet I was somewhat prepared for it. I knew what would happen, I just didn't know who it would happen to. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty gutted over it. I also don't care that it was setting up another story.
I felt that too much worked out well for the characters...too many miracles and that's because of what Bardugo chose to show the reader and the pacing. It was because of this that I chose to remove a whole star. It really reminded me of Ocean's Eleven with the show and tell session after the heist. For me personally it worked really well in movie format but not so much in book format. I think it is an easier thing to track visually than to absorb in a book.
Crooked Kingdom was still a great read. There were times when I had to stop my audiobook because I just couldn't handle anymore suspense. The narration was fantastic! I loved that they had a full cast of characters. It helped keep things straight from all the different points of view. I'll continue to read Bardugo. I'll probably go back and read the first trilogy now before continuing with the story. I'm happy to have had more time in Ketterdam with Crooked Kingdom.