Crooked Kingdom Full In-Depth Review
Crooked Kingdom is the second novel in the Six of Crows installment. So, if you have not read the first book…why are you here? Who reads the second of any book before the first, that’s just bananas!
Go read the first book, then read my review on it over HERE silly!
If you have read the first and are currently wondering if the second is worth the read, I’ll save you time on this post and tell you heck yes!
Crooked Kingdom continues the adventures after the heists that Kaz Brekker and his friends took part in.
Within this review I will be explaining the overall plot, my personal thoughts, favorite characters, quotes and give you my final rating.
Summary (With Spoilers From Book 1)
*Important: The summary of this novel spoils certain parts of Six of Crows, please read the first book before reading the second one*
Crooked Kingdom is exactly what the city of Ketterdam is, crooked.
We left Six of Crows with Kaz Brekker knowing that he shouldn’t underestimate Van Eck. Kaz had created a decoy of the son who created Jurda Parem, only be proven right, that this was all a trick!
Yes, the plot twists of plot twists (although if I’m honest, I had an idea no one would be this kind). Van Eck is a total and utter a**hole.
Excuse my french, but he is!
He conned Kaz into kidnapping the founders son of Jurda Parem only to use the drug to his advantage. He NEVER had the Grisha people on his mind, just his own fortune!
Despicable, but then it gets worse. As Six of Crows finishes Van Eck takes Inej as prisoner and a way to get what he actually wants. NOT PRECIOUS INEJ!
Crooked Kingdom follows Kaz and the crew as they go to rescue Inej and find out a way to protect their investments and still get the money they are truly owed.
Unfortunately, Van isn’t our own enemy in this book as we continue through the novel. Van has enlisted the help from all the gangs in Ketterdam, promising them a large reward for the capture of Kaz Brekker and his trust crew.
Now the crows have to figure out a way to stay safe while they’re being hunted by everyone in Ketterdam.
Similar to the first book, Crooked Kingdom is just as fast paced. We are once again brought together by the humor, love and friendship between Kaz, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Wylan and Jesper.
Though I don’t plan on spoiling anything from this book, let’s just say if you liked the ending of Six of Crows, get ready for this ending!
Overall Review
Six of Crows will always hold a special place in my heart. Crooked Kingdom is like that twin brother who is also very loved…but he’s definitely the trouble maker, and you hate to admit it but you love the good twin a little more.
I feel as though I loved Six of Crows more is because it set the pace and storyline for the plot overall. They completed their task, the heist. And now the crew must go back and take back whats rightfully theres.
Throughout the book I felt bad for a lot of the characters including Inej when she was kidnapped, Kaz as he longed for her and was forced to face the reality of not knowing what to do next.
Favorite Characters
Compared to my review of Six of Crows, my favorite characters have changed ever so slightly. Instead of having one favorite character, I have multiple.
Kaz Brekker
You can never go wrong with the king of the slums. Kaz was before my favorite character and still is for his brilliant mind and cunningness.
Nina
Nina is an overall kind hearted Grisha, who constantly puts others above herself. Despite the trouble she was in with Matthias in Six of Crows, she successfully found the good in him. The relationship between the two is adorable!
Inej
My third and all tied favorite character is Inej. I felt in this book, compared to the past one, we really see the rawness that makes Inej who she is. We see how determined she is to get back to the one place she truly felt at home
Memorable Quotes
“Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return.”
“Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.”
“No mourners, no funerals. Another way of saying good luck. But it was something more. A dark wink to the fact that there would be no expensive burials for people like them, no marble markers to remember their names, no wreaths of myrtle and rose.”
Final Rating
9.8/10
This book was amazing, don’t get me wrong.
It wasn’t, in my opinion, as good as Six of Crows. Then again, I believe for most books the first book is always better which is why I had to lower the rating from 10 ever so slightly.
Overall, I cried. I wept pretty hard as I finished this book and have since struggled to find a book to fulfill me just as much as this duology did.
What were your thoughts on the ending of this duology?
