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toastyghosty13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I especially lost it during this book when
I also found the follow up plot from Six of Crows to be pretty boring in comparison. The Ocean's 11 type plot from Six of Crows was enjoyable enough and I did not dislike it. I originally gave it a 3.5/5 and have since changed it to 3, since I clearly desperately wanted to like it after loving each of the unique and interesting characters we were introduced to. I wholeheartedly feel the same about the mainline Grisha series following Alina Starkov, where
This has taken a tangent away from reviewing only Crooked Kingdom to ranting about my frustrations with Leigh Bardugo's imbalance in writing quality and character development. The main Grisha line is bleh but quick enough that you can read it all in under a week. The Crow's duology is much longer despite only being 2 books so I recommend reading the main Grisha line to see if you like it first. This way, you won't be stuck in an internal battle having to convince yourself to finish a book after starting it 2 months ago because you are already 55% of the way through. I started reading the Grishaverse books because I watched the first 6 episodes of the tv show on Netflix, and this is an exception to the rule of books being better than the cinematic adaptation. Ben Barnes is a great actor, and he's hot, so you're better off there. You also get the main Grisha line with the Crows duology all in one show, and the other actors for the Crows characters are superb and really bring the characters to life in new plotlines that are not even part of the books.
TLDR; skip all the Grisha books, just watch the show.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy
justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition
4.5
"Had she really thought the world didn't change? She was a fool. The world was made of miracles, unexpected earthquakes, storms that came from nowhere and might reshape a continent. The boy beside her. The future before her. Anything was possible.”
I'd like to view this duology as two separate halves that form a whole. The character arcs were wrapped up solidly (except for one), yet I still crave for more from all of them, due to the open-ended ending. Everything I said in my review for the first book is still applicable here: beautiful quotes, amazing characters (that each had their own room to breathe - I loved the edition of Wylan's POV in this book!) character growth, a detailed world, witty banter... and last but not least, the relationships that developed between the characters are still my favorite part of this duology. The emotions were loaded throughout this book, especially during some fight scenes, which just made everything hit harder. This duology has made me look forward to reading and watching Shadow and Bone, so I hope I can get to it soon!
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Torture
alex_4's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Rape, and Fire/Fire injury
annaforthebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Torture, and Toxic relationship
jp1920's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
lelekochka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Sexual harassment
nils_0's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
sarah_hutchins's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
chloewilson_13's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail