Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets - a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

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The Review

Crooked Kingdom is the sequel--and final installment (for now, anyway! *dies slowly*)--of the Six of Crows duology. I'm going to go ahead and get this out of the way now: this book destroyed me in every conceivable way. I also think this is going to be my favorite book of 2017. Is that crazy considering we aren't even halfway into the year? Yes, it probably is, but I feel 100% positive about it.

This book fulfilled every single desire I have for any that I have ever picked up. Shall we list those?

-Characters that are loveable and hate-able simultaneously.

-Action that just doesn't stop. (I have whiplash!)

-Romances without love triangles that aren't mushy and unrealistic.

-A tangled, knotted mess of a problem that just gets worse and worse. You think it can't, but oh boy...does it ever hit the fan. I'm pretty sure Leigh Bardugo essentially modeled this plot from the Hydra. You cut one head off and two! Five! One hundred more heads pop up throwing saliva all over you but you aren't sure if you're clothes are saturated in its spit or your own sweat and tears that coat your body like a membrane of despair.

-Writing that makes me exclaim out loud so that I look like a psycho in my car while my boyfriend is grocery shopping. (Laughter, sobs, anguished cries filled with rage.--basically the whole emotional spectrum!)

-Twists and turns at every chapter.

-And an ending that just feels right.

This book put me through the damn wringer. I urge you to read this book, but be prepared to not remember to eat, sleep or do anything until you've finished. I can't decide whether I hate Bardugo for what she did or if I want to swear fealty to her should a war between YA/NA authors ever happen. 5 out of 5 stars. This is the best book I've read in a very long time. NOW PASS ME A DAGGER SO I CAN END MY MISERY.