Reviews

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

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brisingr's review against another edition

4.0

I'm fucking devastated. If there are some kind of gods in this world, they don't care about my type of people, obviously.

I'm trying to come at you with a more coherent and comprehensive review, since I'm feeling sliiiiightly better. What comes next are my thoughts on the full duology, and Crooked Kingdom spoilers will be hidden.

The best thing about these books will forever remain the characters. It's obvious that Bardugo's strenght is in her portrayal, in the easiness with which she brings to life such an unique and diverse cast of characters, all with their great and interesting personalities. I loved them all A LOT and I was so happy to see the banter between them, how it was focused on forging a relationship between each of the characters. Their dialogue was never focused on solely the romantic relationships, and I loved this.
I found my favorites shifting quite a little bit from Six of Crows, and that is mainly thanks to their nice and great evolution in Crooked Kingdom. My favorites were, in order from most loved to least loved: Matthias, Nina, Wylan, Kaz, Jesper and Inej. I know, unpopular opinion.

Spoiler

I still think the treatment towards my two most favorites was horrible and I will forever be bitter over it. I'm currently (still and forever) mourning Matthias' death and I think it's absolutely the worst killing him off, giving us such an ending to his story and then never bringing him up ever again. We don't even see Nina's reaction. I feel like I've been stolen an important (for me) part of the story and I felt Bardugo's ending and favorites shifting in the favour of the whole fandom.

I am still very much in love with Leigh Bardugo's writing style and I am so pleased with the evolution she's had from Shadow and Bone to Crooked Kingdom. She writes great action scenes, has smart heists (and really, kudos to authors who can pull off these kind of things because I can't imagine it being easy) and her word flow keeps the book somewhat fast-paced even in the more still moments. I'll definitely look out for her future books, and I'm now very excited for the Wonder Woman book that she'll write (since WW is my favorite comic book character and I'm super curious to see how Leigh Bardugo will write her out).

I especially appreciated all the ups and downs in the plot, how somehow this book managed to keep me on the edge of my seat even better than Six of Crows did. The whole duology is the type that you're eating, drinking, breathing, and once you start, it will be almost impossible to stop. And let's be honest, we all need this type of book from time to time.
What I also really liked: the fact that we had maps. While I managed to imagine the cities, the more closed-off locations easily, I have a problems figuring out where it stands in the context of a world, so the maps helped.
Also, for those who did not read the Grisha trilogy, there's an index at the back of the book with most characters and some info you might want to know about them, brief but having everything in it. (Too bad I found it only when I actually finished the book, but this is what friends are for, I guess!)

Still, I will never be over how the duology ended. I can't forgive or stand what happened, neither in terms of action/plot, or characters. I don't think I've ever read a book that disappointed me so in terms of endings, that left me with such a bitter taste and just... fury.

Spoiler

I get the world is unfair. I get we can't have the full happiness. But you have Kaz with no enemies, ruling over the Barrel. Wylan and Jesper are rich, respected and together, saving the people who mattered to them. Inej had all of her dreams become reality, all in the same day. And then what? Nina has to bury her dead lover and we don't even see how she gets to cope with his death.

The open ending didn't bother me as much as I thought, because somewhere deep in my heart, I still wish for a spin-off, for something that will continue the story. The Grishaverse is wonderful, and I'd like to see these political, dangerous games played at a larger level, since there are SO many things that are left unanswered.
If this is Leigh Bardugo's legacy, it's better than most other writers'.

Am I taking this all too personal? Yea, because this is how I work (when I read a story, I don't just read it, I live it). But I loved this book. It's not the full rating because I'm a bitter bitch who'll hold a grudge for what happened in this book for life.

mysticforestcrafts's review

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4.5

Pros:

This story has a realistic ending where not everything is perfect but all the current problems are solved and new ones lie ahead for the characters or just the world.

I don’t usually care for multiple points of view but looking at them as episodes or scenes from a television show really helps and here it gives real depth and insight into each character.

Cons:

If you wanted a happy ending I can’t say that this is either happy or sad…it just exists in its own form of balance that some will love and some will hate.

angelune's review against another edition

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4.0

will i ever be okay again
[proper review to come (never)]

luckyblueninja's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hailiejackiebrown's review against another edition

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5.0

{One vague allusion to a spoiler}

Leigh Bardugo really snapped sweetie! Killed the game! REINVENTED THE GAME!

Leigh managed to not only expand the world whilst also creating a very contained, high paced narrative (helped by the fact it was a duology and not a trilogy).The continued character building in this book- if I wasn't ready to die for these six people, well I am now! Every single arc was so engaging, and although there wasn't a nice neat little wrap up for everyone, (I feel Matthias and Nina in this Wendy's tonight) I was satisfied and content, though itching for a spinoff?! A novella?! PLEASE?! Leigh?!

But genuinely I haven't been moved by a young adult book and it's characters in a long time, and I'm extremely grateful for this duology for doing exactly that.

Thank you