Book Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

*** This is the second book in a series. If you have not read Six of Crows beware of spoilers and proceed with caution. Also... READ SIX OF CROWS! It's amazing. Here's my review! ***

Title: Crooked Kingdom Series: The Dregs #2 Written by: Leigh Bardugo Published: September 27, 2016 by Henry Holt Co (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: When you can’t beat the odds, change the game.  Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

After having such a not great reading month is September I think I am officially out of my reading slump. Because guys, this book was so fantastic! So so fantastic! I loved Six of Crows and so I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next in this series. Excited and nervous. And no surprise here, but this was just as amazing and enthralling.

The best thing about this series is probably the characters. This is a book full of a diverse and quirky cast of characters and everyone of them is complex and likable. But everyone of them is also incredibly dubious. These are dark and devious thieves and murderers and yet you love them so much. They walk that fine line between good and evil, which makes them my favorite kind of characters. We get perspectives from all six main characters here and it definitely makes for an interesting narrative and helps you connect with each of the characters making. Them even more sympathetic. I wanted to see them all succeed and come out on top. I wanted to see them all celebrating at the end with waffles.

But this is not the kind of book, née series, where things go perfectly. This is the kind of book where things go horribly wrong and you have to compensate for that with the next plot and scheme that means you'll win in the end. But that kind of plot is so compelling and I loved that about Crooked Kingdom. This is a book so well plotted and that things slowly start unfolding to reveal things that you didn't expect. With this book I didn't even bother to figure out how it was all going to end because I knew I would never be able to predict it. And I love predicting how things. But the charm of this book is that it is unpredictable.

The other amazing thing about this book is the world. I am a big fan of the Grisha magic system and I will always enjoy seeing it at work. There are also still some surprises when it comes to Grisha powers which was an amazing addition to the magical system. In addition to the magic, this world has a great setting. Instead of taking to a new part of the world, this book narrowed it's focus to Ketterdam. Which honestly was a great call. We get to see more of the dark and gritty underworld of the city which made for the perfect setting for this dark fantasy heist novel. I'm such a fan of this universe's world and Leigh does a great job building and explaining it with every passing book.

On the whole Crooked Kingdom was everything I was hoping it would be.I have been nervously anticipating this book for a year now and I am happy to report that it was just as amazing as the first book. This is an amazing series with complex characters, a great heist plot, and a dark fantasy world and Crooked Kingdom was a great ending to that series. But honestly I still want more!

I give Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo 9.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: BUY! f you loved Six of Crows then you will love this book, it is a great ending to an amazing series. YA fantasy fans should definitely check this series out. But even if you don't read a lot of fantasy and you like well-plotted and interesting mysteries especially heist novels, check this out.

Have you read Crooked Kingdom? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts? Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!