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A review by izzybeereads
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
SPOILERS – (4.5/5)
I absolutely loved this book all my heart. It has very quickly became a new favorite of mine, and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. The characters, the world, the plot, all of it was astonishingly beautiful. The only thing that kept me from fully giving it the full five stars is that little thing that happened towards the end. The little thing that should've been a way bigger thing. If you haven't read this book yet, here's where you mighttttt wanna stop reading.
–
Matthias' death scene. I had already guessed this would happen (I read the inside of the book sleeve for King of Scars in which it mentions Nina dealing with grief so I put two and two together), and I imagined myself being so upset when it would happen. I had grown attached to Matthias' character, loving his complexity and the utter realness of him. However, his death just felt overlooked. It happened. Nina was sad. The others were sad. That was that. I wanted to feel with them, but I just couldn't. His death felt random, and sure that's life. But it also felt hurried and glossed over. I wish I could say more about it, but it truly felt that small of an impact that I just don't have much more to say. It felt unsatisfying, and it was enough to prevent me from really giving it that full 5 stars.
–
However, I still loved the ending. I love how it felt open ended. Nothing was quite alright yet, there was so much more to do, but there was hope for a new beginning. Those are my favorite endings, honestly. Not to mention Inej and Kaz managed to break my heart and heal it back all over again and again. The message that she will fight for him, but will not break herself in order to heal him is so important and I want to scream it off of roof tops. All in all, this book was amazing. I could go on and on about it, and I do think it is deserving of 5 stars. But for me personally, Matthias' death was enough for me to bump it down just that little bit.
I absolutely loved this book all my heart. It has very quickly became a new favorite of mine, and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. The characters, the world, the plot, all of it was astonishingly beautiful. The only thing that kept me from fully giving it the full five stars is that little thing that happened towards the end. The little thing that should've been a way bigger thing. If you haven't read this book yet, here's where you mighttttt wanna stop reading.
–
Matthias' death scene. I had already guessed this would happen (I read the inside of the book sleeve for King of Scars in which it mentions Nina dealing with grief so I put two and two together), and I imagined myself being so upset when it would happen. I had grown attached to Matthias' character, loving his complexity and the utter realness of him. However, his death just felt overlooked. It happened. Nina was sad. The others were sad. That was that. I wanted to feel with them, but I just couldn't. His death felt random, and sure that's life. But it also felt hurried and glossed over. I wish I could say more about it, but it truly felt that small of an impact that I just don't have much more to say. It felt unsatisfying, and it was enough to prevent me from really giving it that full 5 stars.
–
However, I still loved the ending. I love how it felt open ended. Nothing was quite alright yet, there was so much more to do, but there was hope for a new beginning. Those are my favorite endings, honestly. Not to mention Inej and Kaz managed to break my heart and heal it back all over again and again. The message that she will fight for him, but will not break herself in order to heal him is so important and I want to scream it off of roof tops. All in all, this book was amazing. I could go on and on about it, and I do think it is deserving of 5 stars. But for me personally, Matthias' death was enough for me to bump it down just that little bit.