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A review by sierraclimbs
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Unfortunately didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first. Something about it did not resonate the same way.
I read Six of Crows thinking this duology was a prequel to The Shadow & Bone Trilogy, but in Crooked Kingdom I found myself confused about characters being brought up as if I should know who they are. Upon asking a friend, they informed me those were characters from the trilogy… that’s when I googled it & discovered that it is a sequel duology, not a prequel.
I also found a lot of the story telling to be heavy handed in this book. There was an attempt to shove a bunch of backstory for characters by having them tell you a story about a memory wherein the character also had a dream in which there is a story. It really took me out of the actual plot of this book.
The overarching plot was actually interesting. But with all these backstory side quests I found myself loosing interest & not picking the book back up for long periods of time.
I do overall recommend this series. But I think you’d be just fine reading only the first in the duology.
I read Six of Crows thinking this duology was a prequel to The Shadow & Bone Trilogy, but in Crooked Kingdom I found myself confused about characters being brought up as if I should know who they are. Upon asking a friend, they informed me those were characters from the trilogy… that’s when I googled it & discovered that it is a sequel duology, not a prequel.
I also found a lot of the story telling to be heavy handed in this book. There was an attempt to shove a bunch of backstory for characters by having them tell you a story about a memory wherein the character also had a dream in which there is a story. It really took me out of the actual plot of this book.
The overarching plot was actually interesting. But with all these backstory side quests I found myself loosing interest & not picking the book back up for long periods of time.
I do overall recommend this series. But I think you’d be just fine reading only the first in the duology.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Blood