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justxjules 's review for:
Crooked Kingdom
by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When you think you've outgrown YA fiction but then you realise it just takes the right author.
Despite some minor weaknesses, I thoroughly enjoyed Crooked Kingdom. The characters are charmingly devious, Ketterdam is excitingly dark, deliciously insane, and it definitely helps that I love the Netherlands.
I took on the weird habit of reading some chapters aloud (helps me focus on what I'm reading sometimes), which made me appreciate Bardugo's prose and dialogue even more, it rolls so beautifully over one's tongue (even though I'm not a native speaker).
I believe I cried 5 times, I was that invested in the characters, their misery, their grief and their happiness. But to my defence, the book trauma dumps on the reader a LOT. Get the tissues ready.
Regarding the minor weaknesses:
- I wish Bardugo would make use of foreshadowing a tad more. Sometimes things came out of the blue, which wasn't satisfying to read.
- I also would have liked to know how characters pull some things off. I don't mind mysteries that day a mystery, but we know Inej is just a human, so how did she manage to do what she did in the last chapter?
Like I said, pretty minor. And nitpicky.
I wish there was more to read about these characters and the setting.
Despite some minor weaknesses, I thoroughly enjoyed Crooked Kingdom. The characters are charmingly devious, Ketterdam is excitingly dark, deliciously insane, and it definitely helps that I love the Netherlands.
I took on the weird habit of reading some chapters aloud (helps me focus on what I'm reading sometimes), which made me appreciate Bardugo's prose and dialogue even more, it rolls so beautifully over one's tongue (even though I'm not a native speaker).
I believe I cried 5 times, I was that invested in the characters, their misery, their grief and their happiness. But to my defence, the book trauma dumps on the reader a LOT. Get the tissues ready.
Regarding the minor weaknesses:
- I wish Bardugo would make use of foreshadowing a tad more. Sometimes things came out of the blue, which wasn't satisfying to read.
- I also would have liked to know how characters pull some things off. I don't mind mysteries that day a mystery, but we know Inej is just a human, so how did she manage to do what she did in the last chapter?
Like I said, pretty minor. And nitpicky.
I wish there was more to read about these characters and the setting.