This book tore me down. I am undone by it. No mourners. No funerals.
I'm currently feeling a lot of emotions at once: excited, sad, happy, mourning, melancholic. It's a recipe for not truly knowing what to do next. Crooked Kingdom was good. Better than good! It was exquisite. I remembered a lot of stints from reading the book for the first time, and that's why I feel so surprised by how I'm now reacting towards the story.
I'll try not to spoil too much in this review, but that will be a difficult task... so beware of the spoiler warning.
Crooked Kingdom, just like Six of Crows, tells the story of 6 people brought together into a 'criminal' mission to assure their money. The story immediately sets off at the moment where the first one stopped. It started with a chapter of Wylan (which I was very excited about to finally get into the brain of this genius boy) and the question 'Why am I here?'. The perfect question that you can ask the rest of the six of them: Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias. Everyone has their reasons and everyone has their strengths to add to this crew. An irreplaceable mix they are.
I don't want to dive in too deep into how the story develops but I do want to mention that the book has an incredible pace that makes it very difficult to put your copy down. I legit couldn't stop! I didn't know how to. I was so consumed by everything,
Let's please all go through each character! I would love to start with Jesper. Our dear smoll Jesper who has a gambling addiction, who is cocky, and who knows his way around guns. This book really dove into his backstory. You'll learn a lot about his heritage, his family and his secret 'skills'. You also see him in a more delicate way. His emotions come out more and his relationship with Wylan is all I lived for in this book. The ship that I was happy to happen!
Wylan is definitely the more 'pure' boy in the team. He is not roughed up the same way that the rest of the crew is, but you do get to see him develop beautifully in this tale. He probably has one of the biggest changes in him throughout these two books. He truly figures out who he is and what he likes. Just as with Jesper, you'll learn a lot about his backstory in this one. His tragic family story of shame. A lot of it was already revealed in SoC, but this time you truly see what the boy had to deal with and how he ended up in Kaz's care. Lucky for Wylan, he did, because otherwise, he would've never met glorious Jesper.
Moving on to Nina. Nina is our amazing Grisha. She had a lot to deal with in this book, and we all know by now that she is also part of the 'King of Scars'-duology so she still has a lot of suffering ahead of her. The last book had a terrible thing happening to her so a lot of it in this one was recovering from it and how to move on from that point. She probably is the most driven Grisha to have wandered this world because her will is something no one else can compare to. She is the biggest fighter of them all, even if odds are against her favor.
Matthias his piece does contain spoilers so skip him if you don't want to be spoiled!
Oh dear Matthias. I was truly weeping when I read your last chapter. I knew it was coming. It's the most vivid memory I had since finishing the book for the first time and I didn't want to get to the point again. How much I loved his character. He's changed so much in these two books. He opened up, learned about so much, and more! His death made me so sad and I felt sorry for him and Nina. I felt sorry for how short their time was and how quickly it had ended and why it had ended for him. I was so afraid for him, reading this book and I can't let it go. His character will be missed so much. Just like all the dregs say "No mourners. No funerals". Rest in Piece Matthias.🖤
Our favorite acrobat and Wraith: Inej. Inej is the perfect shadow and nobody can replace her. Even Kaz knows that. She deals with a lot of inner monologue about her past which gives a clear idea of who she was before. Inej is pure and dangerous. She knows it, and it's what makes her character intriguing because thanks to her pureness, you can't believe that what she's doing is evil. She has a clear goal in mind and I know she will achieve whatever she says she wants to pursue. She has great things coming her way. I can just feel it.
Kaz is the last one of the crew and also the mastermind behind all the planning and scheming. He is still as deadly as in the last book, but more softened around the edges. He knows loving is a weakness and he will never ever show it again, although we all know that that's not true. He has his issues with touching, just as much as Inej, and the scene where it happened (you all know what I'm talking about if you read the book) had me completely in pieces. It's difficult to ship them, knowing they're both in pain, but at the same time, they're perfect for each other? His character development is small, but big at the same time. Kaz underwent a lot in his 'previous' life. He endured pain, deceit, and loss. He has a hunger for revenge and for being cruel. That's why we all love Kaz Brekker so much, and nobody would want him to change too much.🖤
So yes, this book was amazing. Crooked Kingdom ended an adventurous, beautiful and exciting story of six people who happened to be criminals and who became unlikely partners, lovers, and friends.
5/5⭐️'s and more. The night sky doesn't hold enough starsto offer them.
xoxo, peace out
Elke
*This is a joke, please don't take it seriously! I have no proof that she is one 😉
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