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

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: How did I go from feeling lukewarm about Shadow and Bone to meh about Siege and Storm as well as Ruin and Rising to absolutely loving Crooked Kingdom? Leigh Bardugo's really grown as an author. The character development in Six of Crows duology was on point, as was the plot and plot progression.

I have to admit, I'm still not sold on the whole Ketterdam/Amsterdam and Ravka/Russia world building but in Crooked Kingdom there were less made up words that basically mangled Russian, Dutch and German. That helped me keep my mind in the story, and wow, did Crooked Kingdom serve! I loved the wit and the scheming as well as the complex relationships among the many characters.

[justine_manzano]

A satisfying sequel! Took the characters from the first book and ran with them, while creating brand new pitfalls with them and flouting YA conventions. A must read!

[Chelsea]

This ended up being a lot better than expected. I wasn't really into it at the start. Maybe because it's been so long since I read the first? Either way the beginning was a little slow but once the scheming started I was hooked. I was also hoping for a teeny bit more romance than what we got but it wasn't nonexistent.
I'm happy with how this duology ended!

[jeannamichel]

I think this is one half of the best series I've read in a long time. So, gloves off to Leigh Bardugo for that. Review to come.

[nannah]

Ah, it's nice to revisit this world again (even though I'm still side-eyeing some ridiculous names/concepts)!

Book concept warnings:
drug addiction
human trafficking/slavery

This second book has the same whirlwind pace and nonstop action/tension as the first, but I feel a little disappointed in some character development--while absolutely delighted in other characters' development. Granted, there are six main characters and several PoV characters. That's a lot to work with in a single novel/series. Even so, I still expected a bit more.

The Six of Crows remain the same: Kaz Brekker, the "detached" leader who'll do anything to get the job done; Inej Ghafa, "Wraith", a gatherer of intelligence and who can move unseen just about anywhere; Nina Zenik, a George--oop, Grisha sorcerer with an addiction to the powerful drug jurda parem and whose powers are now forever altered because of it; Matthias Helvar, a Nordic character whose noble ideas of protect and serve have been upended after meeting Nina; Jesper Fahey, the team's bi sharpshooter--also an untrained Grisha--with a weakness for gambling (and Wylan); and lastly Wylan Van Eck, a rich merchant's son with a knack for explosives.

Of course joining this group we have Kuwei Yul-Bo, son of the creator of jurda parem, and according to Jesper, someone who's definitely "more trouble than he's worth". He, surprisingly, was a much more enjoyable character than I ever thought he would be.

Our diverse crew have basically a couple purposes this book: get Inej back and expose Van Eck (Wylan's father, not dear Wylan himself) for the crook he is.

Seems straightforward; of course, it never is.

The first half of the book kept me on my toes. What was going to happen? Were they really going to be safe??
But then it became too predictable. I didn't worry about the characters, because of course Kaz Brekker was ten steps ahead of everyone. Someone was mysteriously kidnapped at the end of their chapter? For a second I worried, but then I remembered this was probably a part of the convoluted plan the reader wasn't a part of. I was right! Damn.

The few surprises the book contained were definitely not plot-based and were more character-based. Which isn't bad, necessarily, but as a more plot-based book it would've been nice to have a balance between the two. Especially since many characters lacked the development they were given during the first book. Notably Kaz and Inej (Inej being my most favorite character of book one, and now one of the most lackluster characters here).

I may be biased, but Wylan is the shining hero of this novel. The heart and soul. Every PoV of his became my main concern, and every time his chapter ended I felt like I just left the meat of the story. Of course, in every multiple-PoV book, there's bound to be characters you don't connect to and others you connect to more, but I never felt this level of connect and disconnect in the first book. But Wylan, my boy Wylan. He provided the heart and emotion the book desperately needed.

Kaz became unbearable till the end, whining about Wylan being coddled, whining about people whining about Wylan, when in reality he coddled himself more than anyone else. He pitied himself more than anything else in the universe, and barely gave a thought to someone else unless it was how they related to him. But that's how he is, you say. Okay, but it got damn annoying to read PoV after PoV of this, expecting me to give some sympathy for him. Especially since Inej's PoVs were expected to do the same; poor Kaz. Poor Kaz.

But overall, this book was a fun ride.

[reveriesociety_]

Dead

[liz089]

Woow.. this book was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I barely have words.. This book has everything I'm looking for in a story.

1. It has great MC's you can't NOT get emotionally attached to, full of depth and they grow so much during this duology. I loved getting to know them. I love every one of them, and of course I do have my favorites.. (Inej, Kaz)but I still really liked reading all of the POV's.
2. And not only are the MC's great, there all also great side characters, like Rotty, Jespers father, Alys, Pekka Rollins etc.
3. How great is it that at the ending some of the big characters from the Grisha series make an appearance !!
4. The plot is amazing, she just keeps me guessing, and every time I think I know what Kaz has planned, something entirely else happens !! I LOVE THAT.
5. The world building is also amazing, I'm IN Ketterdam and I love how she has added some Dutch in there !!
6. The whole magic, Grisha world is awesome. I love the powers and how they evolved with the Parem. Like taking the Grisha series to a new level.
7. So much excitement, so much action and strategy.. It kept me on the edge of my seat and i could not stop.
8. There is even a good amount of romance, that does not take over the plot.

So, to be honest, this book, hell both books, are just PERFECT. If you haven't read it yet.. DO !!!

But I'm still sad..

[KitsuneBae]

I was already at page 249 before I realized that Six Of Crows is only a duology. What the hell?! The Grisha series (which went from Okay to awful) got three books but Six of Crows (which is so awesome I almost forgot that The Grisha series ever existed) got only two. What is wrong in the world?!

[Artemis]

Reviews at The Artemis Reader

If you haven’t read Six of Crows – hop to it. By far one of the best books I’ve read in 2016. Bardugo returns us to the dark and gritty world of Ketterdam, only moments after the finale of Six of Crows. The stakes are hire as Kaz and the team race to put themselves one step ahead of Pekka Rollins and Van Eck.

Bardugo masterfully weaves a tale, while switching between six characters, making sure action, tension and violence never offer a reprieve. She manages to pull on my heart strings with every character, every relationship, every everything. Everything she does hit me hard.

The ending was everything I didn’t know I wanted. Did somethings happen that I would have preferred not to? Yes. But in the end I hated the thought of walking away from these characters and not knowing that the next plan was. I hope Bardugo picks up this world in one way or another, but all in all this book ended deservedly.

[catiebug]

This duology is amazing! I'm so sad to have finished it already. I definitely loved it more than the Grisha trilogy.