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A review by isabelthearcher
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
why i love the six of crows duology - a short essay
and why they are one of my favourite ya series
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are action packed novels, with many plots that keep you on the edge of your seat. However, it’s real triumph is the strong, lovable cast of characters that keep you reading and wanting more.
Firstly, the setting of Ketterdam and the rest of the Grishaverse are so vibrant. I’m really glad that I read the Shadow and Bone trilogy beforehand for the extra information about the Shu Han, Fjerdans, Kerch, Zemini and Ravkans before going into Six of Crows. Ketterdam is based on Amsterdam, with the canal and harbours that run through the city. Furthermore I think that Ketterdam is the best place to exhibit the characters and the atmosphere of the Barrel because it is so diverse. In Crooked Kingdom, we are exposed to the university districts, the financial and wealthier sides, the graveyards of the plague six years ago and the warehouse district. Just in one city there is so much to be gained from the seemingly different worlds inside of it.
What I loved throughout the two books was the use of multiple POVs. However it is still in third person, just through the lense of different characters. This allows Leigh Bardugo to withhold certain information from the reader when necessary and also from different characters. Especially during heists or different schemes when the characters get split up, the multiple perspectives help to increase the tension felt as you read it. Unlike books like Harry Potter or other YA fantasy reads, there was always a tension and I genuinely felt like characters could be killed at any moment. Maybe I did read the blurb of Crooked Kingdom before I finished Six of Crows so I had an inkling about how it would end up, but even then relationships between characters can change drastically as well as the situation.
Another one of my praises towards this duology is the way that romantic relationships are approached. Even in this fantastical world, the romance seems more real and down to earth than almost any other fantasy or even contemporary book I’ve read. A great comparison would be Normal People by Sally Rooney. Obviously Six of Crows is not a contemporary romance book and has lots of other plot points. But platonic and romantic relationships are portrayed in a believable real way. There are no fairy tales or instant love. For Kaz and Inej, it takes until the last 100 pages of Crooked Kingdom for them to have any physical touch due to Kaz’s fears. And in both of their perspectives they want the other person, but it’s not viable to them at the time. They yearn for each other when they are around each other and especially in Kaz’s mind there is lots of discussion about what his feelings for Inej mean. Inej also has complicated and intrusive thoughts about Kaz. Which comes to a head when she is held captive by Jan Van Eck and being threatened that her legs will be shattered she shouts that she will be no use to Kaz anymore. Their relationship is similar to the miscommunication between Connell and Marianne, the mutual pining without any result. The endings of these books differ but it still stands that the romance in Six of Crows is perfectly done. It doesn’t overpower the story, but it also adds interesting dynamics and emotions to an otherworldly book. It makes the characters easier to relate to and more lovable because you can see their flaws.
and why they are one of my favourite ya series
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are action packed novels, with many plots that keep you on the edge of your seat. However, it’s real triumph is the strong, lovable cast of characters that keep you reading and wanting more.
Firstly, the setting of Ketterdam and the rest of the Grishaverse are so vibrant. I’m really glad that I read the Shadow and Bone trilogy beforehand for the extra information about the Shu Han, Fjerdans, Kerch, Zemini and Ravkans before going into Six of Crows. Ketterdam is based on Amsterdam, with the canal and harbours that run through the city. Furthermore I think that Ketterdam is the best place to exhibit the characters and the atmosphere of the Barrel because it is so diverse. In Crooked Kingdom, we are exposed to the university districts, the financial and wealthier sides, the graveyards of the plague six years ago and the warehouse district. Just in one city there is so much to be gained from the seemingly different worlds inside of it.
What I loved throughout the two books was the use of multiple POVs. However it is still in third person, just through the lense of different characters. This allows Leigh Bardugo to withhold certain information from the reader when necessary and also from different characters. Especially during heists or different schemes when the characters get split up, the multiple perspectives help to increase the tension felt as you read it. Unlike books like Harry Potter or other YA fantasy reads, there was always a tension and I genuinely felt like characters could be killed at any moment. Maybe I did read the blurb of Crooked Kingdom before I finished Six of Crows so I had an inkling about how it would end up, but even then relationships between characters can change drastically as well as the situation.
Another one of my praises towards this duology is the way that romantic relationships are approached. Even in this fantastical world, the romance seems more real and down to earth than almost any other fantasy or even contemporary book I’ve read. A great comparison would be Normal People by Sally Rooney. Obviously Six of Crows is not a contemporary romance book and has lots of other plot points. But platonic and romantic relationships are portrayed in a believable real way. There are no fairy tales or instant love. For Kaz and Inej, it takes until the last 100 pages of Crooked Kingdom for them to have any physical touch due to Kaz’s fears. And in both of their perspectives they want the other person, but it’s not viable to them at the time. They yearn for each other when they are around each other and especially in Kaz’s mind there is lots of discussion about what his feelings for Inej mean. Inej also has complicated and intrusive thoughts about Kaz. Which comes to a head when she is held captive by Jan Van Eck and being threatened that her legs will be shattered she shouts that she will be no use to Kaz anymore. Their relationship is similar to the miscommunication between Connell and Marianne, the mutual pining without any result. The endings of these books differ but it still stands that the romance in Six of Crows is perfectly done. It doesn’t overpower the story, but it also adds interesting dynamics and emotions to an otherworldly book. It makes the characters easier to relate to and more lovable because you can see their flaws.