Crooked Kingdom

I finished Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo about 3 minutes ago. Mikie is only moments behind me. This book was equally as amazing as, if not better than Six of Crows. 

Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo

Picking up exactly where the first book left off (thank goodness, because that was a MISERABLE cliffhanger), Kaz Brekker and his crew have even more amazing and ridiculous and unimaginable stunts lined up for this story. I'm constantly in awe of Leigh Bardugo's mind for having created this world and the characters in it. I spent the majority of the book debating if things that had happened were part of the plan, or if things were going wrong again, and if they WERE going wrong again, how the heck did Kaz intend to get them all out of it. 

These books are works of genius, and I know for a fact I will revisit them. I can't wait to read Bardugo's Grisha trilogy, although we're not going to push our list back any further to do those ones at this moment, we are potentially going to add them in later during the year. She created a world that I feel a part of - it's a fantastical world, that has just enough of our reality to make you feel like you belong there, too - and I'm not ready to leave it. (PLUS: Leigh Bardugo just announced another book set in this world to come out soon, and I CAN'T WAIT.)

-Cat

P.S. our next book is Soon I Will Be Invincible, by Austin Grossman.

OH. YOUR. GOD.

I think the highest praise I can give Bardugo is the solemn vow that I will champion Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom to every lover of books I come across. I've already begun. I know I'll come back to these books in the future, and I shall explore her other works in this same world (The Grisha Trilogy and an upcoming book of short stories) as well.

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom introduced me to a world and a group of characters that quickly became new favorites. These two books have burned literary memories into my mind that I shall hold dear and recall fondly in the years to come.

Do yourself a favor: read these two books.

--Mikie

Six of Crows

Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows is amazing. Genuinely and truly amazing. I have enjoyed every moment of this book. It's a heist novel, set in a brilliant new world, filled with magic and adventure. The characters, in Leigh Bardugo's own words:

A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes 

feel real and relatable.  They've each got their own reasons to be a part of Kaz Brekker's crew and involved in the heist, but they don't all like each other. Somehow, though, the fate of the world is relying on them...

I thought I'd end the novel able to say who my favourite character was, and why - but I grew so fond of all of them, that I couldn't pick. The story is written so well that every revelation about the characters makes you more fond of them, and they come at exactly the right moments. 

Mikie and I enjoyed the book so much that we're postponing our next book (Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman) in order to read the second book in the sequel, Crooked Kingdom! 

-Cat

FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! Oh, now I definitely feel like I'm off on the right foot for this #52BooksIn52Weeks challenge. "Six of Crows" does so many things right: world building, character development, storytelling. The blending of fantasy tropes with elements usually not a part of fantasy (firearms, neckties) creates a world which is both familiar and fresh. After reading a quarter of the book I knew I'd want to read its sequel, and now that I've finished it I'm looking forward to reading The Grisha Trilogy at some point down the road.

-Mikie