Book Review: Six of Crows Duology
1. Six of Crows / 2. Crooked Kingdom
Here we hit our stride! I cannot stress enough how much better this duology is than the preceding series, Shadow and Bone. Trust me, even without the aforementioned series which situate you in the GrishaVerse, these books are worth the read. Bardugo embarks on a new journey of craft, giving us a novel with jumping perspectives across the six main characters. This new angle is much better suited for Bardugo, it pushed her to discover new elements of individualizing each character’s interiority and increased the pacing of her writing. Any complaints I had from the previous series have dried up upon the shores of Ketterdam, where the novel is set. I can even attest to multiple engaging romances that had me clutching my chest at moments of danger and feeling the heat of sexual tension.
A key difference lies in the corrupt nature of each character. These minds are not the goody-two-shoes brain Bardugo’s previous main character, Alina Starkov. The dubious morals in this book full of fantasy, mystery, and action pull the genre more towards the New Adult genre.
The first book, Six of Crows, already has a cult following on BookTok. We follow the six characters through shifting perspectives on a near impossible heist mission. Their leader? His name is Kaz Brekker, also known as Dirtyhands.
Crooked Kingdom follows, offering us a new scheme unfolded by the revenge-seeking gang. I won’t spoil too much, but we get character appearances from the previous series and loads of twists and turns. The brilliant mastermind behind it all is Kaz Brekker—well, the real genius here is Leigh Bardugo.
Rating: 9.5/10
What this rating means: I’m not necessarily one for an unfolding mystery thriller, but this one had me on my toes. There were twists and turns I found unexpected, fully developed characters, and writing that felt very intentional. The duology loses half a point because the lengthy prequel series does not live up to it’s successor. However, I recommend these two books to all who enjoy a fantasy world!
Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
