Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

"He had often wondered how people survived this city, but it was possible Ketterdam would not survive Kaz Brekker."

I’m sorry. I’m really sorry if you read Six of Crows, and have come to see whether you should read the sequel, because this book broke my heart, and it will break yours too. But of course, you have to finish the series now, so yes, read it.

Wow. I thought she wouldn’t be able to top Six of Crows, but wow. Bardugo is amazing. She managed to create a sequel that so perfectly tied up all the knots left loose before. This book was amazing. I am so glad I read Six of Crows after Bardugo had finished the series, as I don’t think I could’ve handled the wait for this book.

I touched on how well-developed and down-to-earth these characters are in my review of Six of Crows, but this book developed them so. much. more.

Kaz Brekker is in love with Inej. We know that. We see that. He doesn’t need to tell us. Kaz Brekker suffers with PTSD, and even before we are told his story, we can see that. His PTSD is so creatively explored and we, as readers, almost begin to feel his discomfort. Yet, he tries so hard to be close to Inej despite this. Bardugo expresses being in love and feeling that pull toward another. Kaz knows he will struggle, but he tries anyway. That is so raw. Kaz having a limp was a really powerful move from Bardugo. It is not simply a character trait, something to make him stand out. It is a message. Kaz never stops, he never takes a break. He achieves the unachievable constantly throughout the book, showing he can do everything everyone else can do, and more, despite his bad leg. Uh, it’s such a beautiful message to put out into the world, and one everyone needs to hear. I also love how his character never gives up. There is always a way out. No matter how deep he’s in trouble, he always stays sharp, he never panics. I just think that’s amazing. For someone with anxiety, even small inconveniences lead me to panic. Yet, Kaz faces certain death at least once a day and still manages to get out. I think that’s really inspiring.

Inej’s character went through so much in this book. She is not the same Inej that we started off with. Her attitude towards her love for Kaz, uh I love it. She doesn’t let him walk all over her, she doesn’t give herself wholly to him and allow herself to lose her way. She fights for him but shows that if he’s not all in, then she’s not wasting her time. That’s inspiring to me. Inej never loses her self-worth no matter what she’s been through and she doesn’t let love hurt her. I think we all should take a leaf out of Inej’s book.

Then, we have Nina. Nina took jurda parem in the last book, knowing what it may do to her, to save her friends. This broke my heart a little. Nina - a Grisha trained in the Little Palace, who grew up fighting people like Matthias, worshipping her power and using it daily -  gave up her whole life to save them. I don’t know, that just really got to me. Her bravery. Her love. It was such a big sacrifice yet she did it without a second thought and had to face the consequences. I love Nina. 

This book showed us the real Jesper. The Jesper who stole and lied to fuel his gambling addiction. The Jesper who took a chance, fell in love, and changed. I love Jesper, I really do. His past is rough, but he always manages to lighten a dark situation. He’s made many bad choices in his past, but he recognises that and learns how to make the right ones.

We meet Jesper’s father, Colm, in this sequel and oh my days I love him too. Although he is partly the reason for Jesper keeping his real self hidden away, he still loves him and realises his mistake. And, although Jesper lied and stole from him, he puts his life on the line to look after the Crows and to help them out of this mess they created. I admire his character for that. If it wasn’t for him, this book would’ve had a very different ending.

I could say so much about this book but I’m trying to keep it short and snappy so let’s move on to the plot. I don’t know how Bardugo does it, I really don’t. I wish I could think like her, write books like this. HOW? How does she do it? There is no way I could’ve ever predicted where this book was going to go, uh it’s so special. I loved how this book was based a lot more in Ketterdam. We got to know the city much more and it is so perfectly told. As much as I loved this book though, it broke my heart. I cried. It was an evil move. Such an evil move. We couldn’t have it all, could we? We had to lose just once! I don’t want to talk about it, nor do I want to spoil it. But when you get there, you’ll understand. 

Last time, I talked about how Bardugo doesn’t fall into the trap of happy endings, and once again she manages to turn her back on them here too. There is no happy ending really. Nothing is the same as before. However, she somehow makes this ending perfect. Not happy necessarily, they all still have a way to go before they reach happiness. But perfect nonetheless. Man, and the last few pages, what she did there was beautiful. I cried again there because she brought them together again, after so long, they were home. The ending of this book is so beautifully crooked. Thank you Bardugo, thank you for breaking the fantasy of happy endings. 

No mourners, no funerals.

Holly🌠

Genre: fantasy; young adult fiction

Published: 20th September 2016

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐