I started this book with the question "will I still like the book as much as when I read it for the first time" & "will this book keep its 5/5 status"? Oh boy, let me tell you what.
I. Couldn't. Put. It. Down. It got to the point where my boyfriend had to say "Elke? Can you just try to get some sleep"? 'cause I was so bound to devour it. In my mind, I was just thinking "Okay, if I sleep now I'll wake up early and will be able to finish it completely." Just to give you a little inkling of how addictive this story is.
Why is this book so good? Well let's dive into it, shall we?:
The story is about a crew of criminals, a lot of money, and a heist. Doesn't that already sound like the best concept ever? Casa De Papel probably had its inspiration here (probably not, but hey? They could've??). And what Leigh did different here in comparison to the Shadow & Bone-trilogy is giving each of those crewmembers a character. They were all different. All skilled at something. Each one of them has a reason to participate in this ludicrous and dangerous heist. They're morally not well in their head and they, for sure, know that everything has a price. The leader of them is Kaz who is probably the most complex character in this crew. Everything he does is with the idea of gaining something. No mercy. No sorry's. Just profit. I love how he compares himself as a businessman, but that could be indeed the best way to describe him. A cunning, cheating, violent businessman. There was even a part in the book where Kaz is torturing a guy (like, written in a very detailed way) and I just sat there reading "Huh, I sometimes forget how cruel they are because I just love all of them"!
Throughout the book, you get to know the characters and their demons. How they wound up with each other and what happened in their past. Let me tell you, none of their stories are pretty, but it gives you a grasp of what their personal motives are. You mix these people together with each other? Then you get a cocktail of witty conversations, a lot of action-packed scenes, and a lot of shameless flirting with death.
Next to an amazing cast of thieves, criminals, Grisha; there's also a good world built up around them. Ketterdam is the starting point and I adored it because it's (what my guess is) based on the Netherlands and Flanders. Being a Flemish girl myself and having lived in the Netherlands for some months, I absolutely adored it. The names of streets, the last names of characters, ... The vibe was so well described that it was easy for my imagination to bring this world to life.
Another great aspect of the story was the pace. They did not hang around in comparison with Shadow & Bone. No, they were always scheming, always busy doing something that was advancing the story. The heist itself is more than 300 pages in the book. Just imagine how detailed it's written? They're traveling with a purpose and take on everything they encounter. You basically just fly through the book because every time you think 'I can put it to rest now' something new happens that keeps you on your toes. The best book I've ever read when it comes to great action scenes!
So to answer the first two questions of this review: YES. It's still as good as reading it for the first time and yes it's still worthy of its 5⭐️'s.
The biggest MUST READ from Leigh Bardugo!
Now, on to Crooked Kingdom.
xoxo, peace out
Elke
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