Oh boy. Unpopular opinion here. ⠀
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I struggled with this book, and I really can't understand why. It was an exciting premise, the fantasy wasn't super overdone so it should still have held my interest, and the overall story had elements that should have kept me turning pages! Magic, danger, thieves, romance, risk... but I still found myself really unwilling to pick this book up. Even now I'm curious how I'm even going to review it.⠀
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We're following Kaz, the Bastard of the Barrel, as he assembles a crew to pull off a seemingly impossible heist. The reward: thirty million kruge. He only takes his most trusted gang members, and the planning is extensive. No one has ever pulled off a heist like this. On their way, they battle Grisha, who have the power to control the elements, control the body, or create something from nothing; Fjerdan's, who are fighting to protect their land and secrets; and even rival gangs, who have all assembled a team in an attempt to seize the prize first. Kaz and his team seem like the least likely to make it, and definitely won't all make it back alive. ⠀
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I don't know why I didn't get into this book. Maybe Bardugo's writing just isn't for me? There isn't anything wrong with it, it just didn't draw me in. I also struggle with reading fantasy, and although this isn't super fantastic, I still found myself having difficulties. ⠀
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This story ends on a cliffhanger, and one that did tug lightly at my heartstrings, but I don't see myself picking up Crooked Kingdom anytime soon.⠀
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