Crooked Kingdom: Book 2 (Six of Crows, #2) (Grishaverse, #5)

by Leigh Bardugo

The hotly-anticipated sequel to SIX OF CROWS, this is GAME OF THRONES meets OCEAN'S ELEVEN in a fantasy epic from the number 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.Welcome to the world of the Grisha.After pulling off a seemingly impossible heist in the notorious Ice Court, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker feels unstoppable. But life is about to take a dangerous turn - and with friends who are among the deadliest outcasts in Ketterdam city, Kaz is going to need more than luck to survive in this unforgiving underworld.As gripping, sweeping and memorable as the Grisha trilogy - SHADOW AND BONE, SIEGE AND STORM and RUIN AND RISING - this novel is perfect for fans of Laini Taylor, Kristin Cashore and GAME OF THRONES.

• ISBN10: 1780622309
• ISBN13: 9781780622309
• Publish Date: 27 September 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Indigo (an Imprint of Orion Children's)
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 560
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

Knowing what I do about this story and these characters it shouldn't have surprised me at all that this book was darker than Six of Crows. And yet it did. I mean hands getting chopped off and people dying and it's just well it's a little dark.

It's also not quite as clever as one would hope. Because the whole third act I didn't trust because I knew there was something else going on, expecting that everything wasn't as it appeared and therefore not surprised with the reveal.

And yet, falling short of expectations doesn't make it a bad book. It's still got really great characters. And it has Nikolai! That's almost enough right there. Still, I simply liked the first one better.

 

REREAD: The thing I realize on reread is that the twists are fun but since they're expected there were parts of the story I wanted to skip through to get to the parts I was looking forward to. And part of that is that it focuses a little more on characters I find less interesting. It seems like just a bit too much book for what it needed to be. And I just kept waiting for the part with Nikolai and I realize it’s not his story, but I still wanted more. Plus Matthias really didn't need to die.   It takes its time to end well and not rush through the resolution which I appreciate. 

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews Six of Crows had me hooked and when it ended I just had to carry on with the series immediately. By now we know each of the characters, we know quite a bit of their backstory but there are still some things to learn about each of them.

Unlike Six of Crows, this story is action from the beginning. The book is full of schemes and manipulation. Kaz Brekker is a master manipulator. His schemes are the best in Ketterdam and even as the reader you can't be sure if you are being tricked or not. There were times when I really didn't know how it was going to go for the gang and I was holding my breath for the resolution.

One character I enjoyed seeing again was Sturmhond. It was great to see his wit and brutal honesty again.

I can't describe how much I loved this story. It's undeniably epic and Leigh does an exceptional job of dragging you into her world and wish you never had to leave.

I am now counting down the days until I can be back in the world of Leigh in King of Scars.

"Zoya used to say that fear is a pheonix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return."(Nina Zenik)

There's not much I can say about Crooked Kingdom that I haven't said about Six of Crows, but if you thought Six of Crows was a good book, then Crooked Kingdom is way better.

I really love the characters in this series. In Six of Crows, I thought that the characters were extremely well-developed and in Crooked Kingdom they become more developed. In Crooked Kingdom the characters know what they're capable of, but we see them overcoming their fears, testing their limits and figuring out who they are. Kaz Brekker is also one of the most unique and badass characters I've ever read about and watching him grow and develop and seeing just how much he cares for his crew is awesome.

The plot in Crooked Kingdom is so complex, rich and fascinating. There are even more plans, counter plans, twists and turns than there was in Six of Crows and everything came together quite nicely. Leigh Bardugo gave a lot of thought and attention to the plot of Crooked Kingdom.

There are three ships in this book and I love all of them! Matthias and Nina are so adorable. When he died and told Nina to go back to Ravka and save Fjerda, I was so sad. Jesper and Wylan are my children and I will hurt anyone who comes after them. I also like the progression of Kaz's and Inej's relationship. They both have their own goals and realise they they can't heal or save each other, but they still care about each other. Also, Kaz and Inej hold hands and *SQUEE*.

There are also appearances from characters in The Grisha trilogy: Sturmhond Prince Nikolai for life!, Zoya and Genya. You don't need to read The Grisha trilogy to enjoy the Six of Crows duology, but if you do, appearances from characters in The Grisha trilogy will have a larger impact.

The Six of Crows duology is one of my favourite series. The way I feel about this duology is the way I felt when I turned the last page of Crooked Kingdom: bittersweet. I'm so sad to say goodbye to this duology for now (because there might be a third book many years later) , but I'm so excited for King of Scars.

"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." (Kaz Brekker to Inej Ghafa)

[Ashley]

I'm heartbroken.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

April 5th, 2021
*RE-READ!*
Aaaaand was there any question as to if my previous rating would stand? Okay, maybe it changed a little... 5 hundred million shiny & sparkly AF Stars

[leahrosereads]

Let's talk about CROOKED KINGDOM!

Up until a certain point, this was going to be a 4 star book for me. I was enjoying it but not quite as much as Six of Crows. Then something happened at some place in this book, and it clicked: I loved this story just as much.

The characters, already very fleshed out from the first book, continued to evolve and grow and it was spectacular to read. The plot had a little bit to be desired at first, but then, well read above. It worked incredibly well. The pacing was a little off for me, but again, read above, and yeah.

Leigh's writing is fanfuckingtastic, her world building is so special, and her characters - damaged and broken in their own ways - are some that I'll cherish for a very long time.

Overall, I'm incredibly fascinated by this world and will read more books from it in the future (not the OG three though).

[vfiermonte1]

When I was a child, I used to lose myself in books. I would read about 50 pages or so, and then come up gasping for air. When a book absorbed me, I would forget that I was reading and instead see a movie playing in my mind. As I grew older, I eventually lost this quality. Very rarely does a book make me forget where I am and what I'm doing. The only authors that really do this for me are J.K. Rowling, and, now, Leigh Bardugo.

I think it comes down to her character building. There aren't pages upon pages of flowery prose describing the surroundings. No, instead what you get is a piercing gaze into each character's mind. The characters are complex, and compelling.

The book wasn't perfect. There were several occasions where solutions just seemed a little too convenient. And I wanted to punt the book across the room when my favorite ship came to an end. But, the book was still masterfully written and I will keep it proudly on my shelf for years to come.

[girlinthepages]

I pre-ordered Crooked Kingdom a LONG time ago, but when it came it became lost in my never ending TBR pile, usually being passed over for shorter books because at 500+ pages, it was a book I was frankly scared to commit too. However, after many months of insistence from my bf who read and loved it, and after recently listening to a podcast featuring Leigh Bardugo, I was in the mood to dive back into her fantasy duology. After reading various recaps to job my memory on the happenings in Six of Crows, I cracked open Crooked Kingdom one cold winter Sunday and was sucked back in to Bardguo's breathtakingly detailed fantasy world.

Crooked Kindgom picks up shortly after where Six of Crows left off. In an effort to keep this review spoiler free I'm going to be vague in talking about specific plot points (these are heist books, after all), but I can talk about all of the elements of Leigh's writing style that I loved. Her character development in these books is PHENOMENAL. We have the original gang's POVs as well as Wylan and one or two other characters have a chapter or two to help us get inside their head (Pekka Rollins, another Grisha, etc). I felt so intimately connected with each character in this book with the exception of Kaz- his chapters were much fewer and far between than in the previous book, and he honestly almost became MORE of an enigma while the rest of the characters became so much more intimate and vulnerable to the reader. As usual, my favorite POVs were Nina and Matthias (my OTP for life in Leigh's universe) but I also enjoyed and started to like Inej and Wylan's POVs more too.

This book was twisty and complex in the way you'd expect from a heist book, but it was almost harder at times to keep tabs on what was going on because instead of one giant overarching scheme or "job," there were often multiple smaller one happening as the gang tried to obtain their due from the Ice Court job and constantly had to outmaneuver not only the other Barrel Bosses of Ketterdam, but the various other forces that arrived in the city in the wake of the first book's events, from the stoic Fjerdans to the frightening Shu. I loved that this entire book took place in the city because I felt like I really got to know the setting and the unique feel and traditions of it, from the canals to Black Veil island to the University District to the temple/chapel that was laid out like Ghezen's literal hand (so clever!). I loved how we got TWO maps at the beginning of this book, one of the larger world and one of just the city itself- I found myself constantly tracking back to it to chart the route of the gang's most recent jobs.

*Some spoilers ahead*

With a high stakes heist book it's always likely that there are going to be casualties, and Crooked Kingdom was no exception. I was expecting for one of the core members Kaz's crew to die, but I was so unprepared for the how and the why and the when and it was positively heartbreaking WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE MATTHIAS? LITERALLY WHY NOT KAZ OR INEJ OR JESPER OR ANYONE BUT MATTIAS/NINA?! I WAS ROOTING SO HARD FOR THEM, AND HIS NARRATIVE WAS SO IMPORTANT AS SOMEONE WHO IS OVERCOMING THE INGRAINED PREJUDICE HE'S LIVED WITH ALL OF HIS LIFE AND WORKING TO BE MORE ACCEPTING AHHHHHHHHH I'LL JUST BE OVER HERE CRYING IN A CORNER AND PRAYING FOR POOR NINA. These characters literally grew to feel like family over the course of the 500+ pages that I spent with them, and though I doubt Leigh has plans to return to them anytime soon I will harbor hope that she'll return to them one day.

Speaking of returning to the Dregs one day, I actually felt like this book left a lot of loose ends/openings for story continuations, especially for all of the folks who survived and weren't originally from Ketterdam/didn't plan on staying in the city after they received their cash. Also there's a LOT of tie in from Leigh's Grisha trilogy in this book which had me doing a happy dance because it was SO COOL to see how the political events of the first series tie into this one years later Seeing Genya and Zoya was awesome and I literally started exclaiming loudly to my boyfriend when I realized Nikolai was in this book!!!!

Overall: Crooked Kingdom hit the absolute mark for me for a five star fantasy read: It made me feel as though I was transported out of my real world and into the fantasy universe, among the canals and thieves and schemes of Ketterdam right along with the Dregs. It transported me in a way that reminded me of why I developed a love of reading in the first place, and how books will forever immerse me in a way that tv and movies cannot. It also had me laughing out loud as much as it had me stressed and anxious, and Leigh's placement of rather black comedy against the high stakes of the plot was a perfect balancing act. If you ever hear anyone scoffing at YA or undermining it as a literary categorization again, please shove this book in their hands and I'm 99% sure the intricate plotting, in depth characterization and overall phenomenal writing will change their minds. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[EBookObsessed]

I liked Six of Crows. I loved Crooked Kingdom. It kept my guess and kept surprising me with each new chapter.

Small spoilers unless you finished Six of Crows.

Kaz and his crew were double crossed. Not getting their money after risking their lives was bad enough, but abducting one of theirs unless they give up the scientist is unacceptable. These street rats from the Barrel have just broken into the impenetrable fortress and escaped with their lives and the scientist that everyone wants to get their hands on. They are a force to be reconed with and they aren't going to stand for being double crossed.

Van Eck wants a war with the Barrel scum, and he is going to get more than he bargained for.

Kaz is like the Sherlock Holmes of criminals. He thinks out plans, knowing what he needs to do, how someone will react and how that will change the plans. He makes plans upon plans upon plans. Not everything goes as he expects and certain nothing was going as I expected. Everytime I thought all was lost, I completely fell for Kaz's fake out.

I have a bad habit of trying to figure out the plot before we get there. What I love about a great mystery is when it surprises me. This whole story kept me on my toes. I had no idea what would happen next and several times I was blindsided by what happened next.

First they need to get back their team mate.  Then they want their money.   They are also keeping the most wanted individual on the planet who can create the most dangerous drug.  Everyone wants him, but keeping him alive was probably a mistake and now they had to figure out where he would be safest, if that place even exists.

Where the first book was simply break into the Ice Court, try to surviving and get out again, this book had so many things it needed to accomplish that there was also a plan, a plot, a scheme.  Some that worked and some that didn't.  It just kept going from beginning to end.   And all these kids will face personal challenges that will change their lives and how they have come to see the world in their 15 to 17 years of life.

I always feel that there is so much more to most Young Adult stories because they have to have a story to them. They can't just distract you with a hot sex scenes.

I could see this series being just as successful as the Hunger Games or Divergent series if they could get all these plot points in. There isn't really anything to cut.   You need some of the failures as well as the successes to keep you captived.

This story does get into a bit more of what happened to Inej during her time in the Pleasure House.  It is still not overly graphic but would bring up questions from younger readers that you might not be ready to answer.

My daughter and I are still discussing plots and characters in detail now that I have finished.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 stars

It was great to be back on a new job with Kaz and the rest of the gang. As always, I was amazed by their plans and all the moving parts required to make them work. The romance lover in me was quite pleased by some of the ooey, gooey stuff going on in-between the chaos and violence. But Bardugo really broke my heart. I actually sobbed and I am shedding a few tears right now. I forgave her a little after reading the second to last chapter. That was quite a beautiful thing she made happen there.