Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: Six of Crows (Duology)

Crooked Kingdom: ★★★★★/5

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 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.

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REVIEW: This book is hefty, jampacked with some crazy twists and turns. I never knew where the story was going to go and that made it so exciting to read. The transitioning between the character views throughout the book really led to an immersive experience. Overall, the book was a smooth read, despite the sometime dense storybuilding.

Kaz Brekker: He is a complicated individual. No one really knows what he is planning, and though he might seem ruthless, he did really care about his crew. I was glad to fully learn his backstory. You couldn’t fully love him, but he was impossible to hate. When everyone was thinking about the next step, he was always thinking of the product of the next ten steps. But nobody is perfect and even some things were beyond his expectations.

I won’t be delving into each character since it follows so many of them from Six of Crows, but I will say that I loved each one of them. They had their own unique voice and character arc that made the whole book even more enticing and enjoyable to read. I loved the dynamic between each of the characters and the growth they made as individuals to overcome the hardships they faced. But one thing that never changed was their trust in each other and unshakeable resolve to complete the heist. This made their team strong and ultimately successful in so many different ways than one.

I’ve LOVED every book that Leigh Bardugo has written and since learning that Netflix will be adapting Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone into a new series, I can’t wait to see her stories come to life on the screen. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, action, and some unexpected turns.

Get your copy of Crooked Kingdom here!