Crooked Kingdom
No follow-up review I write can capture how brilliantly Leigh Bardugo followed-up Six of Crows with the masterpiece that is Crooked Kingdom. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found it harder to sit through fantasy trilogies/duologies. But Six of Crows was such a delight and the way it ended had me picking up Crooked Kingdom in a heartbeat. 10/10, no notes and where do I even begin?? Crooked Kingdom is a darker, grittier yet triumphant conclusion to the fabulous Six of Crows.
While Six of Crows spent more time introducing our titular Crows and establishing Ketterdam, Crooked Kingdom spent more time expanding character motivations and deepening their relationships. Characters that didn’t get as much page time in the first book grew into their own in the second book. You thought you knew your favorite characters? Wrong – think again.
Crooked Kingdom is all about confrontations. Kaz and Inej have spent all of the first book orbiting each other, pushing and pulling at each other but seemingly unable to cross paths. Wylan and Jesper have been running away from their families and the secrets that come with them. Nina and Matthias have been trying to find love in the shadows of their military service. Everything spills out into the open in Crooked Kingdom because it’s no longer just about pulling off an impossible heist. It’s about confronting the forces and powers that led them to each other in the first place. The stakes also feel higher because it’s not clear if the relationships will survive the pressures of a complicated scheme that now involve larger political powers. You’ve fallen in love with the characters, but prepare to have your heart broken by them too.
All this character work doesn’t mean that the heists, schemes, and break-ins take a backseat; it’s actually the contrary. The action is more varied in Crooked Kingdom as we range from hostage swaps (of the carnival kind) to stock market rigging. It’s impossible to tell what will come next, but every successful scheme will have you giddy. The highs are high, but the lows can also be low. Our characters genuinely feel backed into a corner with nothing left to give sometimes. And no spoilers, but Leigh Bardugo is the master of writing long cons. Everything comes together so deliciously. It all makes for some high drama that makes Crooked Kingdom a worthy successor to Six of Crows.
Many may criticize the fact the Crows are too young to pull off the elaborate schemes in the duology, but I think that criticism does a disservice not only to YA novels, but also to their readers. YA novels come into our lives when we’re trying to figure out who we are. Each Crow grapples with who they are, their pasts, and their desires for the future.
The novels, at their core, are about teenagers learning to navigate a hostile world while remaining true to each other. Yes, they may be thieves, cheats, and killers, but by the end they are still the most honest. Even when they’ve been placed in circumstances that are deeply unfair and beyond their control, they still choose to be honest to each other. The duology demonstrates that even the most forgettable and “undesirable” of society can hope for more. The heists may feel grand, but what’s truly grand are the bastards of the Barrel taking hold of their future with each other.
At this point, I’m just waxing lyrical. The novels even convinced me to pick up the Grishaverse trilogy because I wasn’t ready to leave the world just yet. I want so much more of the Crows (they’re beloved for a reason) and the ending has my whole heart. Go read the duology because it will be well worth your time. No mourners, no funerals.