Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Spoiler Free Review)

Hello everyone!

I am finally bringing to you my spoiler free review of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo! It has definitely been a long time coming and I kind of wish I read this right after I finished Six of Crows (the first book in the duology) because I forgot how vast the character list on this novel was!

Of course reading the book jogged my memory, but it would have been a lot easier to just continue on from the first book and just jump into the story instead of starting off slower than I would have liked to because I was trying to remember who was important and for what reason.

Despite the slight confusion when it came to the characters, this book was a great ending to the Six of Crows duology. I enjoyed this novel so much, and every time I picked it up I was immersed in the novel.

That's not to say I didn't have some troubles when it came to reading this novel. I started this novel last weekend and I finished it on this Friday? I think. I just know it took me a lot longer than I thought it would.

This fact doesn't say anything about the quality of the book, but everything about how busy and tiring my life the past week has been! Nursing school is hard!

Let's get into the review!



Stats:

Goodreads Rating: 


Page Count:
536 pages

Series:
Six of Crows (#2)

My Rating:



Cover:



Can we just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover this novel has. It's the perfect dark cover for the novel that is within it and it depicts a crow on the cover which has such a great bearing on the story. I for one, hate it when Authors or Publishers of whomever decides the cover of the novel, make the cover something that looks nice but has absolutely nothing to do with the novel. Sure it's something that will look nice on your shelf, but don't you want the cover of the novel to remind you of the fantastic story inside?


Additionally the edges of the pages are a red which looks so damn cool! Under the cover the hard backs of the book are also red, so the entire novel looks amazing when you're reading it!

Plot:

I can't go into the plot too much, seeing as how this is a spoiler free review, but can we just applaud Leigh Bardugo for creating such a perfect sequel and last novel in this duology?

It seems like a lot of authors have the tendency to leave a lot of loose ends and questions when they write a shorter series, or even just one independent novel. This duology on the other hand had me asking no questions. To the very last page, Bardugo was closing all the open doors and locking them so we wouldn't feel the need for another novel to help us understand what wasn't said.

The characters all had their stories told, and their futures were hinted at, but the magic of this world is that you know that their lives won't ever be "picture perfect" and "cookie cutter." That's why they're the crows.

Characters:

Kaz Brekker

I loved Kaz. He was such a well written character, and the way his brain worked. Wow. You hear about his background in Six of Crows, but it's built upon in this novel and it turns him into such a amazing character who you love despite his angry nature.

Inej

Inej was someone I loved from the very beginning. She was a strong, independent female who had been through a lot yet still fought for her team until the very end.

I'm someone who loves any character who is true to themselves yet understands the importance of showing others that you aren't someone to be messed with and Inej accomplished this so gracefully.

I also loved the additional growth you got to see of Inej at the beginning of this novel and her strength in times where you don't think someone would have any left.

Nina Zenik

Nina was hilarious. She constantly made me laugh throughout this novel and the previous one, and her charm was just a breath of fresh air in a novel where everything is so serious and "we need to do this or we die."

In addition to that charm Nina is also another great depiction of a strong female who isn't going to take no shit from nobody, which is another reason she was so great to read.

I liked the new aspects of Nina's personality we got to see this novel, and the new ways she showed us how badass she really is.

Jesper Fahey

I was not expecting to see this much of Jesper in this novel, especially since he wasn't the biggest part of the previous novel (that I can remember). Jesper quickly rose to the top of my favourite characters list throughout this novel.

His relationships with the other characters were really fun and interesting to watch, and then to see him grow so much during this novel was another great addition.

Matthias Helvar

Oh Matthias. You big grunt you.

This boy was a source of great entertainment for me throughout this novel. To see his interactions with other characters was hilarious and heartwarming at the same time.

Matthias also had quite a bit of character growth this novel as well as a bit of maturation. It was nice to see how he changed from the first time we interacted with him in Six of Crows all the way until the last time in Crooked Kingdom.

Wylan Van Eck

Wylan!!

I love Wylan.

I love him so much that I would like to see a spinoff of just his life.

He was a breakout star for me this novel and I have no complaints about it. Not one. I couldn't believe how much his character grew and how much he matured and how funny and smart and (not)shy he got.

Ugh I just loved him ok.

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That concludes my spoiler free review of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

I highly recommend you read this novel (after Six of Crows of course) because it was an amazing end to an amazing story and the plot twists will have your head spinning for days.

I may have had a rough time reading this novel but that had all to do with me and nothing to do with the novel itself. It was amazing.

Comment:
Comment down below your thoughts about this duology (spoiler free please)!

Thank you so much for reading!