About the Book:

Title: Crooked Kingdom

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Orion Children’s Books

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Pages: 536

Genre: YA Fantasy

Synopsis:

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts 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.

Review:

Fantastic conclusion to this amazing duology! Twisty and magical, I was completely here for it.

After the heist in the first book, Kaz and the crew find themselves back in Ketterdam fighting for their lives. The dregs are struggling with everything and without much hope. The story snowballs from there, and we are immersed in lots of action, intrigue, and excitement!

We have multiple points of view in Crooked Kingdom, like in Six of Crows. There is a lot more character development that we see in our crew of Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Matthias, and Nina. We get to see much more of their backstory, and what has shaped them into who they are. I liked how some of our Grishaverse characters were in this one as well. Throughout this story, I was often on the edge of my seat, wondering how the crew was going to get out of certain situations (Kaz is a genius!). I came to truly care for these characters and what happened to them. This book was painfully heartbreaking at times. I found myself sobbing, and that doesn’t happen for me that often. I think I’m still picking up the pieces of my broken heart.

I absolutely recommend this duology. I’ve been doing a buddy read which has included the Grishaverse series, and the Six of Crows duology so far. Next up is Language of Thorns and King of Scars! Yay for more in this amazing world.

About the Author:

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse (coming soon to Netflix) which spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars— with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019) which is being developed for television by Amazon Studios. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, and graduated from Yale University. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles. For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for her newsletter.