Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom Book Review!

Posted On July 31, 2021

Hi Readers! I have a fantastic update for you all! I finally finished reading Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo! It’s more fantastic for me, of course, because I had been wanting to read this duology forever. And also fantastic for you, because now I am going to review it! I bought the hardcover copies of both these books, which are just simply gorgeous. Also, I LIKE BIG BOOKS AND I CANNOT LIE! It did take sooner for me to finish them than I would have thought. I think I finished it in about 5 days! I did get an arm injury from carrying them for such a long time while reading, but then again, I am a binge reader… I know the risks! Haha! So, here we are! It would have been difficult for me to review them separately, so I am doing it in one post. It is going to be a long one with my thoughts & reviews for SIX OF CROWS & CROOKED KINGDOM & ALL THE CHARACTERS & STORY LINES and so on! Put on your seat belt and get some popcorn! This is going to be fun!

~~CHARACTERS~~

Leigh Bardugo has created all these amazing characters, and written them so beautifully that you will feel as if you actually know them. All of their worries, hopes & courage become yours. With SIX MAIN CHARACTERS, you would feel someone gets ignored, but that’s not the case at all. You get to know all of them so deeply, and only want what’s best for them.

KAZ BREKKER is the 16-year-old boss man of the gang. He is pretty much the Barrel Boss for the Dregs. He is the flawed protagonist who every other reader seems to love. I completely get why so many people love him, but I wasn’t his fan. He was a bit too much for me. I understand that his past was traumatic, which made him who he is. But, there has to be some character growth in a book, no matter the past. I would have loved to see the heartless Kaz to near human Kaz journey, but in the end he doesn’t change much.

INEJ GHAFA aka THE WRAITH was one of my favourites in Six of Crows. I loved how she was the most talented person to the mission. Given her tragic past, she grew. She is kind, values friendships & I’d probably do anything in a mission she tells me to! She is an ideal friend, a supportive sister-like figure, loving daughter & a driven woman with a purpose who is not afraid to speak her mind.

JESPER FAHEY is another super likeable character. His flaws are just so human, that you can’t help but feel empathy for him. He is the kind of person who gels with anyone easily because of his happy and easy-going nature. He has that sense of humour which always diffuses a near-death or critical situation making everyone light hearted but ready to fight.

NINA ZENIK, the only other woman is just as amazing & badass as Inej. Naturally, I love her as well. She triumphs in areas where Inej doesn’t. I love that she is a Grisha who can make people unconscious just by her hands, change how people look, kill someone without touching them & most importantly flirt her way out of dangerous situations. I love how she makes Matthias uncomfortable with the constant flirting. It really balances all the action & violence.

MATTHIAS HELVAR was a character I was unsure about for most of the time. I felt he would betray them, but this uncertainty I had about him was the best part which always kept me guessing at the edge of my seat. His character growth is tremendous in the first book alone. From being a witch-hunter to giving his life for a witch, he slowly & impressively wins our hearts by end of the duology.

WYLAN VAN ECK is my favourite character in Crooked Kingdom. He mainly comes alive in the second book, but I always had a soft spot for the merchling. His back story made him stronger & braver & even more brilliant, if that’s possible. Also, he’s a genius with blonde curls who is shy. I love that in a fictional boy.

The chemistry between all these characters is perfect. Kaz & Inej obviously love each other, but because of their past they both hate human touch. The reasons which keep them apart make me want to cry. Then we have Nina & Matthias, whose ‘Enemies-to-Lovers’ arc is something I enjoyed a lot. Even Jesper & Wylan were inevitable & just so perfect for each other. Even outside of the couples, there is so much connection between all of them. I loved female friendships with Inej & Nina. Also, there is a bond of each character with everyone else, which is unique in a fantasy novel, but also a fascinating aspect. From Kaz’s focus to Inej’s courage to Nina’s bravado to Matthias’s sheer will to Jesper’s optimism to Wylan’s brilliance, I learnt a lot from these fictional super heros!

Also, I have very distinctly imagined five of them as actors, where Kaz is Timothee Chalamet, Inej is Zendaya, Nina is Elizabeth Olsen, Matthias is Jason Momoa, Jesper is Jessie Williams & Wylan is just Wylan because I have a soft spot for him & don’t want any real life actor to ruin him for me. I know they are all supposed to be 16 to 18 years, but I just couldn’t help but form this dream team in my head.

~~SIX OF CROWS~~

Six of Crows is the best fantasy fiction novel I have read this year. When I read the blurb which said it was a heist in a fantasy world, I was immediately hooked. When I read the first chapter, that instant I knew I was going to completely enjoy reading this book & also love all the brilliantly twisted & lovable characters in it. It is the kind of story where you can expect a lot of twists & turns. I gave up guessing what the end would be, which made me all the more excited to keep reading. There were some parts where I wasn’t able to imagine exactly what I was reading. But, I’m sure there would be a television adaptation of these novels soon enough, so that will help in bridging that gap. Most times I was at the edge of my seat, with a lot of questions going over in my mind.

Will they pull it off?

Will any of these six characters die in this insanely impossible mission?

Will any one of them betray the rest of them?

How will they overcome some of the obvious challenges?

Can they move on from their past to become their freer & happier selves?

I just couldn’t help but read page after page till I got the answers to these, and I must tell you, it was a roller coaster ride which I loved to watch unfold! I have rated Six of Crows at 4/5 stars!

~~CROOKED KINGDOM~~

With so much adventure & action in a fantasy world, I was set to read Crooked Kingdom, sequel to Six of Crows immediately. Since Six of Crows had set such high standards, I was expecting a lot in this book. There was a cliff hanger, there was so much more to know about all the characters & more importantly I needed a satisfying closure to such an amazing story. But unfortunately, I did not like Crooked Kingdom.

First of all, it was unnecessarily long. It takes the first 150 odd pages just to rescue Inej. And, after that, it seems like all of Kaz’s plans fail one after the other. Also, I was expecting Kaz & Team to go to war with Van Eck, or something involving more action & violence & magic. More Grisha magic because of jurda parem, more depth between our six characters, more Fjerda villains turned to Fjerda heroes following Matthias’s steps. JUST MORE. Instead, I had to read about indirect war on Van Eck & Pekka Rollins, which sucked to read. It was all politics & share market etc, which is super boring & very non-fantasy fiction. Sure, it shows Kaz’s brilliance, but people read fantasy to escape real life, so why put such real-life topics in it? It was a big let-down for me.

I also felt that many areas were never unearthed. In the first book, we are shown how powerful the Grisha become under the power of jurda parem, but apart from Nina, we barely get to see that sort of power from anyone else. Of course, when you create a universe, it has countless potential & it is difficult to judge which one to choose & take it ahead.

The few parts I liked were how the entire story was based in Kerch, which made me feel like I had found a new place to explore. I also liked the back stories of all the characters which tied so well with their present. Watching Pekka Rollins’ confidence disappear was also satisfying to read. Such little events made up a bit, but I did not like the big picture. I have rated Crooked Kingdom at 3/5 stars!

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

Before starting the Six of Crows duology, I questioned myself a lot on whether or not I should read it. But, once I read the description, I ordered the HARD COVER COLLECTED EDITION BOOKS FOR BOTH SIX OF CROWS & CROOKED KINGDOM prepared to love these babies. If you love fantasy fiction, you should definitely read the Six of Crows duology. If you are a fan of character driven stories, I recommend reading the Six of Crows duology. If you have enjoyed watching Ocean’s movies, then you will surely love reading this duology. But, if you are not much into a mix of fantasy & adventure & action, then this is not for you. If you have little patience, then you should only read Six of Crows, & not Crooked Kingdom. If you are disinterested in politics, mind games etc, then Crooked Kingdom will surely bore you.

Either way, one solid reason to read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom is for its characters. KAZ, INEJ, NINA, MATTHIAS, JESPER & WYLAN; you guys have been the best friends for me during the time I read these books & I thank you!

Until next time,