Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) – Leigh Bardugo

Title: Crooked Kingdom (The Dregs #2) Publishing Info: September 20, 2016 by Macmillan
Source: Amazon, Audible
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: October 12, 2016

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.

** No spoilers for CROOKED KINGDOM but there will be spoilers for book one, SIX OF CROWS so if you haven’t read SIX OF CROWS yet, avert your eyes! **

CROOKED KINGDOM was one of my most-anticipated reads of the year because naturally, anything Leigh Bardugo has me jumping up and down with anticipation! I actually really enjoyed this book more than SIX OF CROWS and I think part of that was because I was already so immersed in this world after being able to read SIX OF CROWS twice and then let all the characters settle in and my love for them grew as I waited for CROOKED KINGDOM!

I felt like CROOKED KINGDOM had a little more of that heist aspect which was definitely established in SIX OF CROWS, but the job in CROOKED KINGDOM really did have a different feel! The overall tone felt a little lighter and had a little more fun snark whereas SIX OF CROWS felt a little bit more serious. I also absolutely looooved the addition of the extra crossover to the original Grisha Trilogy. I won’t say exactly how it does crossover so anyone who hasn’t read CROOKED KINGDOM can still be surprised and excited, but I will say that I was just delighted by the connections made to the Grisha Trilogy in this book and how it played into the plot of CROOKED KINGDOM. It was so much fun and involved some of my favorite things from the original trilogy. It’s not something that people will miss out on if they haven’t read the Grisha Trilogy yet but it does make it more fun to see that connection!

I really just connected to this more than I did with SIX OF CROWS. I mean, I loved them both, but I think reading, and then re-reading, and then letting those characters sit with me over time really had my love grow even more and so I felt so much more of a connection. And of course, reading the second book in a series also allowed me to sink into the work and think about it for months and months before the book’s release. I just felt like I got to know everyone and everywhere just a little bit more and now that the group was established, it really felt so much more cohesive too. To be fair, they were always pretty cohesive but I loved the way the group settled and they all just belonged together.

Leigh Bardugo is just a master. From plot to romance to action, she can write any aspect of a book and totally nail it. The Grishaverse is one of my favorite places and I’m so happy to have been able to read these stories. I’m actually really glad that this was a duology and not more of a series because it closed out so well (which amazing job, Leigh!) and it didn’t need to be dragged out into one or two or more books. I would always love to read more but I like that it was wrapped up so quickly and neatly! It felt perfect.

AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS

I actually didn’t like the audio narrators as much this time around. I was really bothered by the fact that they didn’t pronounce things all the same and some were just straight up pronounced wrong. With a cast of 6 audio narrations, that’s kind of (aka really) important.
Anyway! I thought that CROOKED KINGDOM had more heists AND more humor AND more cross-over than SIX OF CROWS and I looooved it. The crossover was simply fantastic and I actually wish I had read it instead of listening because of one of the characters who appeared and the narrator didn’t to them justice.

“The View from Goodreads” is a featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

A photo posted by Brittany S. (@bookaddictsguide) on Oct 13, 2016 at 5:19pm PDT

Kept Me Hooked On: Two-book series. I’ve become a pretty big fan of duologies and duets! I really like being able to get more of a story or world but not have a series drag on forever. I love how neatly this was wrapped up!
Left Me Wanting More: Crossover. Don’t get me wrong — the crossover was fantastic. I just can’t get enough! I love the original trilogy so much that I’m always up for more!