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4.6 AVERAGE
4.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't remember ever giving all of the books in a series five stars. Of course it helps that this series only has two books, instead of the usual trilogy. Maybe other YA authors should take this as a sign and not pad out their book series with that bogged down, laggy second book (fraught with frustrating love triangles). Yes folks, this sequel is just as strong, and there are no serious love triangles, but lots of ships. Yes, rush to the harbor to check out the fabulous ships, but just as in the first book, these are all organic and do not seem "shoved" into the story. No insta-love here.
Ok, first of all, I love crows. They are scary as all get out. One of the book concepts that I thought about for a while and then never wrote was about a 'murder of crows' (best collective noun name ever, by the way, awesome). In 'murder of crows', the apocalypse is coming via bird flu, and it is traveling via crows. Cities and people are all restructuring to avoid any contact with the evil birds, who seem to be passing this plague (which kills humans, but doesn't hurt the crows) around intentionally. But how is that possible, and who is behind it? Picture cities with bubbles and elaborate bird nets, and people scampering around between these cities looking left and right for the dreaded birds. The perils of agriculture. Ah, just talking about it, I still want to write it. Anyway, enough about my failings as a writer, I am enamored with crows, which is one of the reasons I started with this series in the first place.
I'd read one of the author's Grisha trilogy, but hadn't made it any further before I got to the top of the library waitlist for Six of Crows. You never know how fast books are going to move on this waitlists, so planning isn't perfect - the price of thriftiness. Anyway, I jump in and just love it, so I immediately run out and get the sequel. Inquiring minds want to know. Crooked Kingdom is not an insubstantial book. It's 536 pages, and I didn't have the audiobook, so I had to squeeze it in not while commuting. And still, I finished it during a work week - very compelling.
The plot is strong, but I won't get into it, as it is a heist book, and you need to follow that plot to get the pleasure of it. But, the characters, oh the characters. Ensemble casts are often a mixed bag, with some getting all the love and others mere sketches. Not here. No mourners, no funerals? More like no weakest links. All of the main six characters are really quite interesting and even though you are shifting perspective every time the tension gets really high with one group of characters, you don't really mind too much as you are equally interested in what is happening with this other group of characters. Let's be clear here: the strength of the six main characters are what separates this book from tons of other YA fantasy books of lesser quality. The universe is also quite awesome, but those characters, their relationships with each other, ahhhh, we just want to love them all and move in with them.
And then there are the feels. I fear that I have become a book reading robot. For a reading challenge this year, I'm trying to find and read "a book that made me cry". But honestly, I don't think that has happened since I was 8 and read Old Yeller. And certainly not now, when I have spent the last 20 years working in a profession where any sign of emotion is a sign of weakness, and after I've had enough "real life" happen that I don't really get caught up in other people's drama, let alone fictional drama. Yes, there are sad things, and some reviewers are shredded. And yes, things happened to my favorite character (and I won't tell you who that is, no spoilers here). But, it seemed realistic, and well handled, and I was fine with it. When you have a child with a live-shortening medical condition, like my son with cystic fibrosis, other people's problems don't bring me to tears very often. I try to remind myself to be sensitive, but really caught up in it, brought to tears? That isn't something I've done in so long, I can't remember. Heck, I've watched the Hallmark Channel movies with dry eyes - I think I have become a robot. Oh well, a robot is capable of supporting my family and parent my kids, whereas an emotional wreck probably couldn't, so it is better this way. But I do wonder what this book experience would have been like if I were a more emotional person.
All in all, this series are the best two books I've read in 2017 so far. I know, it is March, but my favorite book from last year, A Man Called Ove was also a spring read that I ended up loving the best the whole year. Welcome to the elite club of books that I run around, shoving in people's faces and telling them to read! Also, readers note - you do need to read Six of Crows before Crooked Kingdom, as that is a clear continuation. You do not need to read the Grisha trilogy first, but if you don't, you will get Grisha series spoilers in this book. Whether it is worth reading Grisha first, actually, I don't think so. These books are so much better, and you may not make it to them if you force yourself to finish that trilogy first. So, jump in (unless you have tons of time and are looking for lots of books to read), but be aware that there are overlapping characters and this series is set several years after Grisha. Enjoy!
Ok, first of all, I love crows. They are scary as all get out. One of the book concepts that I thought about for a while and then never wrote was about a 'murder of crows' (best collective noun name ever, by the way, awesome). In 'murder of crows', the apocalypse is coming via bird flu, and it is traveling via crows. Cities and people are all restructuring to avoid any contact with the evil birds, who seem to be passing this plague (which kills humans, but doesn't hurt the crows) around intentionally. But how is that possible, and who is behind it? Picture cities with bubbles and elaborate bird nets, and people scampering around between these cities looking left and right for the dreaded birds. The perils of agriculture. Ah, just talking about it, I still want to write it. Anyway, enough about my failings as a writer, I am enamored with crows, which is one of the reasons I started with this series in the first place.
I'd read one of the author's Grisha trilogy, but hadn't made it any further before I got to the top of the library waitlist for Six of Crows. You never know how fast books are going to move on this waitlists, so planning isn't perfect - the price of thriftiness. Anyway, I jump in and just love it, so I immediately run out and get the sequel. Inquiring minds want to know. Crooked Kingdom is not an insubstantial book. It's 536 pages, and I didn't have the audiobook, so I had to squeeze it in not while commuting. And still, I finished it during a work week - very compelling.
The plot is strong, but I won't get into it, as it is a heist book, and you need to follow that plot to get the pleasure of it. But, the characters, oh the characters. Ensemble casts are often a mixed bag, with some getting all the love and others mere sketches. Not here. No mourners, no funerals? More like no weakest links. All of the main six characters are really quite interesting and even though you are shifting perspective every time the tension gets really high with one group of characters, you don't really mind too much as you are equally interested in what is happening with this other group of characters. Let's be clear here: the strength of the six main characters are what separates this book from tons of other YA fantasy books of lesser quality. The universe is also quite awesome, but those characters, their relationships with each other, ahhhh, we just want to love them all and move in with them.
And then there are the feels. I fear that I have become a book reading robot. For a reading challenge this year, I'm trying to find and read "a book that made me cry". But honestly, I don't think that has happened since I was 8 and read Old Yeller. And certainly not now, when I have spent the last 20 years working in a profession where any sign of emotion is a sign of weakness, and after I've had enough "real life" happen that I don't really get caught up in other people's drama, let alone fictional drama. Yes, there are sad things, and some reviewers are shredded. And yes, things happened to my favorite character (and I won't tell you who that is, no spoilers here). But, it seemed realistic, and well handled, and I was fine with it. When you have a child with a live-shortening medical condition, like my son with cystic fibrosis, other people's problems don't bring me to tears very often. I try to remind myself to be sensitive, but really caught up in it, brought to tears? That isn't something I've done in so long, I can't remember. Heck, I've watched the Hallmark Channel movies with dry eyes - I think I have become a robot. Oh well, a robot is capable of supporting my family and parent my kids, whereas an emotional wreck probably couldn't, so it is better this way. But I do wonder what this book experience would have been like if I were a more emotional person.
All in all, this series are the best two books I've read in 2017 so far. I know, it is March, but my favorite book from last year, A Man Called Ove was also a spring read that I ended up loving the best the whole year. Welcome to the elite club of books that I run around, shoving in people's faces and telling them to read! Also, readers note - you do need to read Six of Crows before Crooked Kingdom, as that is a clear continuation. You do not need to read the Grisha trilogy first, but if you don't, you will get Grisha series spoilers in this book. Whether it is worth reading Grisha first, actually, I don't think so. These books are so much better, and you may not make it to them if you force yourself to finish that trilogy first. So, jump in (unless you have tons of time and are looking for lots of books to read), but be aware that there are overlapping characters and this series is set several years after Grisha. Enjoy!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm done.... I feel like I'm going to be in a slump for a while.... the feels are just too much for me. I, I need to lay down and think this through
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Leigh Bardugo when I catch you... I'm just going to sit there and sob! Cause how do you mean I can feel at peace with the end of the story, but so gut wrenchingly sad and so irrevocably happy at the same time?!
While I am so sad this is over I think this was the absolute perfect ending for this duology. The characters were so well rounded and I liked how everyones backstory was fleshed out. This is an obvious 5 stars for me.
While I am so sad this is over I think this was the absolute perfect ending for this duology. The characters were so well rounded and I liked how everyones backstory was fleshed out. This is an obvious 5 stars for me.
Wow. No words, just wow.
Now I need to reread the series again.
Just. Wow.
Now I need to reread the series again.
Just. Wow.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes