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just_one_more_paige 's review for:
Crooked Kingdom
by Leigh Bardugo
This originally appeared on the book review blog: justonemorepaige.wordpress.com.
Well, I loved the original Grisha trilogy and, I have to be honest, this duology managed to surpass it. This was a non-stop follow-up/wrap-up full of action and drama and adventure and love and sorrow and the perfect amount of swashbuckling (both serious and otherwise) on every page. Absolutely a worthy follow up to Six of Crows - it stands up to it as far as the plot, pacing, and creativity of the "heist"/use of available resources and manages to even add a little more to the odds stacked against the team and the lengths they need to go to/the lines they need walk, in a way that is both reasonable and fantastic - exactly what you want out of a book like this.
After book 1, I liked Inej and Jesper the most, and that didn't change, but Wylan really came into this own in this book and carved a much bigger place for himself in my heart. The character development, which was already beautifully done in the first book, continued to be phenomenal - realistically paced and unbelievably complex. Each character grew as individuals, grew in their relationships to each other, and with more and more information revealed about their backgrounds, just kept growing in general. I feel like after finishing I was left with 6 larger than life, in many different ways, friends. My one critique is that outside of the main six, I felt that the rest of the characters were fairly flat/too easy (Jesper's dad, Kuwei - though he did grow a little more than the rest with time, Alys, even Pekka Rollins - I liked that it ended with his perspective and the quick visit of Inej [always looking out for Kaz] though, and especially Dunyasha - like she came out of nowhere with a crazy backstory and was gone just as fast...she just felt incomplete to me). But honestly, that's a small complaint and didn't effect my overall experience much at all. I loved the cameos from some of my favorites from the Grisha Trilogy - Genya and Sturmhond - it was a fantastic bonus. And the continued growth in complexity of the Grishaverse, the inter-country relations and the treatment of/response to Grisha in different countries, etc. is spectacular.
Though I am incredibly happy with the caper (everyone kept to their individual morals, goals, and end games within the bigger picture, as their characters really would have, and I really respect that), the ending, and where each character ends with their foil (Inej/Kaz, Nina/Matthias, Wylan/Jesper) - honestly especially that, those particular relationships were closed out perfectly, I thought - I am having a hard time abiding by the code "no mourners, no funerals." I am TOTALLY mourning the end of this adventure. "[Jesper's] guns, Kaz's brains, Nina's wit, Inej's talent, Wylan's ingenuity, and Matthias' strength" I will miss you.
SPOILERS: My mini eulogies
- Inej, good luck to you in your quest to end slavery - it is a good goal, one worthy of you. And as you work alongside K, give him time, give yourself time, but never give up on what you mean to each other. And happy family reunion!
- Kaz, you may not be a good man, but you are a better one that you thought. Keep trying. You are worth it, Inej is worth it. And good luck running the Barrel - it's your destiny, fill it well.
- Jesper, embrace yourself for everything you are: Grisha, gambler, lover, son. Forgive your father and forgive yourself. Take the time to master your skills so they become the gifts they always could have been, instead of the curse you thought they were.
- Wylan, no shame! You are smart and will do and become so much more than you ever would have if you had been able to read and your father had accepted you. Enjoy your happiness with your mother and J, you deserve it. Be bold.
- Nina, though you profess no mourning, you can give into it a little. But then let M live on in your quest to reach your dual goals. Break down those inter-country barriers and make everyone see in you what he saw. And never stop seeing in others what you saw in him. And embrace your new powers - different is hard, but you were made to handle it.
- Matthias, you can rest easily knowing you did everything you could, everything you needed to, and more. N is strong - she'll follow through and you'll both still change the world. And you will live on within her forever, where you belong.
Well, I loved the original Grisha trilogy and, I have to be honest, this duology managed to surpass it. This was a non-stop follow-up/wrap-up full of action and drama and adventure and love and sorrow and the perfect amount of swashbuckling (both serious and otherwise) on every page. Absolutely a worthy follow up to Six of Crows - it stands up to it as far as the plot, pacing, and creativity of the "heist"/use of available resources and manages to even add a little more to the odds stacked against the team and the lengths they need to go to/the lines they need walk, in a way that is both reasonable and fantastic - exactly what you want out of a book like this.
After book 1, I liked Inej and Jesper the most, and that didn't change, but Wylan really came into this own in this book and carved a much bigger place for himself in my heart. The character development, which was already beautifully done in the first book, continued to be phenomenal - realistically paced and unbelievably complex. Each character grew as individuals, grew in their relationships to each other, and with more and more information revealed about their backgrounds, just kept growing in general. I feel like after finishing I was left with 6 larger than life, in many different ways, friends. My one critique is that outside of the main six, I felt that the rest of the characters were fairly flat/too easy (Jesper's dad, Kuwei - though he did grow a little more than the rest with time, Alys, even Pekka Rollins - I liked that it ended with his perspective and the quick visit of Inej [always looking out for Kaz] though, and especially Dunyasha - like she came out of nowhere with a crazy backstory and was gone just as fast...she just felt incomplete to me). But honestly, that's a small complaint and didn't effect my overall experience much at all. I loved the cameos from some of my favorites from the Grisha Trilogy - Genya and Sturmhond - it was a fantastic bonus. And the continued growth in complexity of the Grishaverse, the inter-country relations and the treatment of/response to Grisha in different countries, etc. is spectacular.
Though I am incredibly happy with the caper (everyone kept to their individual morals, goals, and end games within the bigger picture, as their characters really would have, and I really respect that), the ending, and where each character ends with their foil (Inej/Kaz, Nina/Matthias, Wylan/Jesper) - honestly especially that, those particular relationships were closed out perfectly, I thought - I am having a hard time abiding by the code "no mourners, no funerals." I am TOTALLY mourning the end of this adventure. "[Jesper's] guns, Kaz's brains, Nina's wit, Inej's talent, Wylan's ingenuity, and Matthias' strength" I will miss you.
SPOILERS: My mini eulogies
- Inej, good luck to you in your quest to end slavery - it is a good goal, one worthy of you. And as you work alongside K, give him time, give yourself time, but never give up on what you mean to each other. And happy family reunion!
- Kaz, you may not be a good man, but you are a better one that you thought. Keep trying. You are worth it, Inej is worth it. And good luck running the Barrel - it's your destiny, fill it well.
- Jesper, embrace yourself for everything you are: Grisha, gambler, lover, son. Forgive your father and forgive yourself. Take the time to master your skills so they become the gifts they always could have been, instead of the curse you thought they were.
- Wylan, no shame! You are smart and will do and become so much more than you ever would have if you had been able to read and your father had accepted you. Enjoy your happiness with your mother and J, you deserve it. Be bold.
- Nina, though you profess no mourning, you can give into it a little. But then let M live on in your quest to reach your dual goals. Break down those inter-country barriers and make everyone see in you what he saw. And never stop seeing in others what you saw in him. And embrace your new powers - different is hard, but you were made to handle it.
- Matthias, you can rest easily knowing you did everything you could, everything you needed to, and more. N is strong - she'll follow through and you'll both still change the world. And you will live on within her forever, where you belong.