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A review by roryroams
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Never have I ever felt this strongly over a book. I mean that with every fiber of my being. This book took my heart, cradled it with it's beautiful hands, made it swell with every good emotion, and then threw on the ground and stomped on it.
WRITING STYLE
Leigh Bardugo writes this book the way it needs to be written. I have no complaints.
PLOT
Crooked Kingdom doesn't suffer from the slow start that Six of Crows does. It benefits from having the momentum of the first book to launch itself off of, and it takes full advantage of it. A reoccurring trend with this book was the chapters ending with an interpretation in mind (say, a bomb goes off or something of the like, and we're meant to believe it was something going awry) and then getting back to it a few chapters later and subvert our expectations. No matter how aware of this I was, and no matter how often Bardugo did it, it always caused me immense stress, and it was great. After one part,after Wylan had staged getting beat for information in front of his father, when we find out that it was part of the plan, I had to take 5 minutes for my ears to stop burning from the relief I felt. That is powerful.
It wouldn't be a review of mine if I didn't mention the romance in some respect. I cared for all the romances in some respect during this book, which is saying a lot considering I only liked one during Six of Crows. All of them were interesting in their own regards.
The friendship aspect of this duology really sticks out to me, more so in Crooked Kingdom. I've gotten into the habit of tabbing things that I find enjoyable in a book. In Six of Crows, I have 2 tabs for banter, and two for romance, with one more tabbed for angst. Crooked Kingdom blows that out of the park, with seven tabs for banter, five for romance, and four for angst. The moments where all the characters were together and having a good laugh were the highlight of the book for me.
CHARACTERS
Kaz was the character who I felt grew the least in this book, and that's saying a lot because he definitely grew.I had heard of the infamous bathroom scene before reading, but reading it with my own two eyes changed my view of him. That was the moment that Kaz became a character that I genuinely cared for.
I said it in my review of Six of Crows, and I'll say it again here. I love Inej. In a strange way, Inej became a comfort character. Her words spoke to me, and touched me in a way I can't explain."She would fight for him, but she could not heal him. She would not waste her life trying", that hit different. She said those, and became my older sister. Someone I could turn to for comfort, or to simply exist with.
God, what do I say about Jesper? He had no issue dealing his way into my circle of "characters I'd do anything for" during Six of Crows, but he took it to a new level here.The scene where him and his father met up for the first time since Jesper left was touching, and terrifying. Jesper's struggle with addiction isn't exactly something I relate to, but God did it tear my heart apart.
I didn't care much for Nina during Six of Crows. Like, I still enjoyed her POV, and she was a good character, but she didn't stick out in any way to me. I didn't think I'd like her any more in Crooked Kingdom, but boy was I wrong. Her POV's went from simply existing to being thrilling.When they got Inej back, that's when her character really took a turn for the better for me. Inej brought out the best in her I'd say, I think I was just as relieved as Matthias when she started to get back to good health.
Matthias was at the bottom of my ranking of the main cast of Six of Crows at the beginning of Crooked Kingdom, and though he still came out on the bottom, he went from "oh, he's there," to "Oh! Good to see ya Matthias".The main reason I'm putting spoilers for all the characters is to hopefully avoid spoiling that something big happens to him to an unsuspecting passerby. I went into CK knowing that there was a major character death, and I was pretty sure it was going to be Matthias. Thank God it was, because I needed the entire book to mentally prepare myself for that, and if it had been any other character, I would've lost it. That being said, the only reason I am doing okay enough to write this review is because I had that time to prepare, because dear God this book made me love Matthias. It says a lot about this book, the fact that it made me so upset after killing my least favourite of the protagonists. No other book can claim that.
And that leaves the character at the top of my original (and current) ranking. Wylan still owns my soul. I'm telling you, when I saw that he had POV chapters in Crooked Kingdom, I nearly started crying from happiness. When I was reading this book, I had to pause to eat dinner with my relatives, and the entire time I was so anxious because I needed to know what was about to happen to him. Being in his head, seeing the world through his eyes, feeling his feelings, and experiencing his struggles made me love him even more.The scene with his mother was so heartbreaking that I had to pause when it was over. Wylan and I struggle with very similar things, and him facing those things head on meant a lot to me. Wylan means a lot to me. Him and Jesper moving in together made me so incredibly happy. If he didn't get that ending, I don't think I'd be able to function for a good few days, or at the mention of Crooked Kingdom, and I mean that whole heartedly. I'm so glad Wylan gets to be happy.
EMOTIONS
I don't think anything I can write here will do justice to what this book did to me. The good parts were so good, they've imprinted themselves onto me so that I escape back to them when things are bad. The scary parts gripped me so hard, that I had to get comfort applesauce to make it through them all. They burnt my ears and flushed my face and made it hard to breathe. The sad parts took me in and showed me how bad things could be, and let me grieve every loss with the characters. The power this book has over me is incredible.
WRITING STYLE
Leigh Bardugo writes this book the way it needs to be written. I have no complaints.
PLOT
Crooked Kingdom doesn't suffer from the slow start that Six of Crows does. It benefits from having the momentum of the first book to launch itself off of, and it takes full advantage of it. A reoccurring trend with this book was the chapters ending with an interpretation in mind (say, a bomb goes off or something of the like, and we're meant to believe it was something going awry) and then getting back to it a few chapters later and subvert our expectations. No matter how aware of this I was, and no matter how often Bardugo did it, it always caused me immense stress, and it was great. After one part,
It wouldn't be a review of mine if I didn't mention the romance in some respect. I cared for all the romances in some respect during this book, which is saying a lot considering I only liked one during Six of Crows. All of them were interesting in their own regards.
The friendship aspect of this duology really sticks out to me, more so in Crooked Kingdom. I've gotten into the habit of tabbing things that I find enjoyable in a book. In Six of Crows, I have 2 tabs for banter, and two for romance, with one more tabbed for angst. Crooked Kingdom blows that out of the park, with seven tabs for banter, five for romance, and four for angst. The moments where all the characters were together and having a good laugh were the highlight of the book for me.
CHARACTERS
Kaz was the character who I felt grew the least in this book, and that's saying a lot because he definitely grew.
I said it in my review of Six of Crows, and I'll say it again here. I love Inej. In a strange way, Inej became a comfort character. Her words spoke to me, and touched me in a way I can't explain.
God, what do I say about Jesper? He had no issue dealing his way into my circle of "characters I'd do anything for" during Six of Crows, but he took it to a new level here.
I didn't care much for Nina during Six of Crows. Like, I still enjoyed her POV, and she was a good character, but she didn't stick out in any way to me. I didn't think I'd like her any more in Crooked Kingdom, but boy was I wrong. Her POV's went from simply existing to being thrilling.
Matthias was at the bottom of my ranking of the main cast of Six of Crows at the beginning of Crooked Kingdom, and though he still came out on the bottom, he went from "oh, he's there," to "Oh! Good to see ya Matthias".
And that leaves the character at the top of my original (and current) ranking. Wylan still owns my soul. I'm telling you, when I saw that he had POV chapters in Crooked Kingdom, I nearly started crying from happiness. When I was reading this book, I had to pause to eat dinner with my relatives, and the entire time I was so anxious because I needed to know what was about to happen to him. Being in his head, seeing the world through his eyes, feeling his feelings, and experiencing his struggles made me love him even more.
EMOTIONS
I don't think anything I can write here will do justice to what this book did to me. The good parts were so good, they've imprinted themselves onto me so that I escape back to them when things are bad. The scary parts gripped me so hard, that I had to get comfort applesauce to make it through them all. They burnt my ears and flushed my face and made it hard to breathe. The sad parts took me in and showed me how bad things could be, and let me grieve every loss with the characters. The power this book has over me is incredible.