Book Review: The Crooked Kingdom

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo


I almost didn’t read this book because I was so furious that the first one ended on a cliffhanger. At the end of Six of Crows, Inej has been kidnapped by the bad guys and the rest of Kaz’s crew are as determined to get her back as they are to get retribution for getting screwed over at the end of the previous book. I can’t remember any of the characters’ names, and I’m sure othe reviews will give you the synopsis, so I’ll just sum up the plot like this: They get Inej back and then try to do a heist. They get thwarted and do an even more audatious heist. The second one succeeds. This book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, so that’s good news.

I love a good heist, especially when the characters are all experts in different fields. In this book they felt a little more plausibly like teenagers, except Kaz, who seems like a hard thirty-five. They’re definitely all very damaged people, which made them more interesting. Mattias has suffered religious abuse. Inej has basically been sex trafficked. Nina gets addicted to a drug that warps her powers. Jesper has a gambling addiction. Kaz has a limp and a crippling phobia about human touch. In short: these people are all pretty messed up. They work at coping with the damage life has given them, and have varying degrees of success, but there’s no magic cure. I liked that, because it made the book feel more realistic. I liked all of the characters except Kaz. He’s evil and unlikeable and just barely sort of almost but not quite redeemed by the love he shares with Inej. I wasn’t quite sure why the rest of them followed him. The dude literally tortures people, and in my eyes, you don’t get a free pass on torturing people even if you play the “revenge” card. Also, he’s just kind of a dick.

This is a very well-written book, but I do think it could have been shorter. When the first plan unraveled and they had to go back to the beginning with a second plan, I didn’t go “oohh! Exciting!” I just sighed as if I thought I were at the end of a trail and saw the 1 mile marker. There are so many characters and so many things to keep track of, that it just felt exhausting to switch gears midway. I didn’t pay as close attention to the second plan because I felt like I’d mentally used up the book’s budget for details I was willing to remember. Still, it was a fun romp, and I forgive Bardugo for making the first book end on a cliffhanger.



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