Review | Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom is the second part of a duology written by Leigh Bardugo. The first book, Six of Crows follows the antics of a young conman, Kaz Brekker. Crooked Kingdom is a young-adult heist book set in the same universe as the Grisha Trilogy written by the same author.

SUMMARY

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 left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, 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 magic in the Grisha world.

MY THOUGHTS ON CROOKED KINGDOM

This book is the second part of a duology which means it’s going to be difficult to review without giving away spoilers. But I’m going to try it anyway. It’s better if you imagine this book like an urban fantasy version of Ocean’s Eleven.

It’s this weird adventure story about a group of friends trying to save one of their own and then go on to con a bunch of business people out of their money.

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The characterization is one of the things I love so much about this book. The characters feel so real. They all feel like genuine people. And they all have their own flaws and quirks.

Not only that it’s a diverse range of characters. From the colour of their skin to sexuality. It’s not made obvious but these characters aren’t all stick thin as well which is a big thing in a fantasy book.

I don’t really know what else I can say about this. I love this story and I love these characters. But two books isn’t anywhere near enough to tell all their stories.