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A review by bookishhill
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
5/5⭐️s
I’m drained. There’s not a single emotion left in me, and I sense a book hangover coming on after this read.
It’s so surprising this is the same universe as Shadow & Bone but with such a different feel! So many YA series are these epic quests...it was such a twist for the entire book to take place in their own town. And, while the stakes did feel higher here compared to Six of Crows, it still managed to subvert the “world-ending crisis” trope you come to expect in YA series.
Bardugo played hard with my emotions in this read. There were times when I felt sure she wrote this for masochistic readers because my stress levels were through the roof, but then Kaz and his crew would manage some clever save, and I’d be captivated all over again.
Kaz is such an amazing antihero. I simultaneously rooted for him, empathized with him, and wanted to slap him. Then the juxtaposition between the purity of Inej’s spirit versus her killer abilities...*chef’s kiss*. Bardugo did such an amazing job writing complex characters that were driven by more than just the need to do good.
And the RELATIONSHIPS. Yes, the romantic ones were amazing. But Nina and Inej’s friendship gave me life. I loved how Kaz acknowledged how much the crew meant to him. Then Matthias continuing to grow past the prejudices he’d known for a lifetime - him recognizing the beauty in Grisha abilities (and not just Nina’s) was poetic.
I liked how quietly this book ended too...with each character almost fading into whatever comes next for them. I hope Bardugo decides to add more to this series in the future. There’s so much story left to tell!
I’m drained. There’s not a single emotion left in me, and I sense a book hangover coming on after this read.
It’s so surprising this is the same universe as Shadow & Bone but with such a different feel! So many YA series are these epic quests...it was such a twist for the entire book to take place in their own town. And, while the stakes did feel higher here compared to Six of Crows, it still managed to subvert the “world-ending crisis” trope you come to expect in YA series.
Bardugo played hard with my emotions in this read. There were times when I felt sure she wrote this for masochistic readers because my stress levels were through the roof, but then Kaz and his crew would manage some clever save, and I’d be captivated all over again.
Kaz is such an amazing antihero. I simultaneously rooted for him, empathized with him, and wanted to slap him. Then the juxtaposition between the purity of Inej’s spirit versus her killer abilities...*chef’s kiss*. Bardugo did such an amazing job writing complex characters that were driven by more than just the need to do good.
And the RELATIONSHIPS. Yes, the romantic ones were amazing. But Nina and Inej’s friendship gave me life. I loved how Kaz acknowledged how much the crew meant to him. Then Matthias continuing to grow past the prejudices he’d known for a lifetime - him recognizing the beauty in Grisha abilities (and not just Nina’s) was poetic.
I liked how quietly this book ended too...with each character almost fading into whatever comes next for them. I hope Bardugo decides to add more to this series in the future. There’s so much story left to tell!