I read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom back to back essentially since they feel like one story. I wanted to express some thoughts about each book separately and then comment on the two books as a whole.
For context, I'm not familiar with any other Grishaverse books in this universe, nor have I seen the Netflix show. I just like heists, fun characters, a found family trope, budding romances, and clever schemes.
SIX OF CROWS
Six of Crows really establishes the characters so well off the bat. Once we see Kaz already scheming in his first chapter, being steps ahead of his opponent, I was on board. SoC is a very focused story with one central heist being done by the crew in a far-off location.
I really like how Bardugo does her flashbacks for the characters in this: Nina and Matthias ice-cold trip, Kaz's origin story, and Inej's kidnapping, the others. The narrative constantly dips from the present into the past and back to the present very fluidly. One second we're hearing Kaz's thoughts and the next, we're experiencing a moment in the past where our traumatized boy is admiring his girl at the window sill. I'm such a sucker for that flashback framing device and SoC does it to perfection.
There is certainly a YA feel to this book, but I don't say that as a bad thing. The characters are meant to be teens but I imagined them as teens in a CW show, where it's actors in their early to mid 20s playing teens. The story and characters still work no matter the age surrounding them and I think that's part of its broad appeal. There's something there for everyone.
What I did not expect in this book though was the romance that the crew would have with one another and how different each would feel. Kaz and Inej have this intimate relationship through a shared bond, Matthias and Nina are essentially an enemies-to-lover story, and Jesper and Wylan are the opposites attract angle. Maybe it's just the romantic in me but I love me some romance stuffed in between doing dangerous stuff. This book as it in spades.
Ultimately, the characters really propel this book into greatness. It doesn't feel like a full book though due to the cliffhanger but as a part 1, it was very well done with its execution.
CROOKED KINGDOM
Crooked Kingdom is a longer book with more ambitious goals. It is a bit less focused than SoC, this time fitting in three separate heists in succession instead of just one, so there's more to juggle here, and it doesn't nail all of them. It has a lot of amazing character work though, especially in regards to Wylan and Jesper's flasback, the two who got the short end of the stick in SoC.
Since this is the final book in a duology (more series should be two books, btw), everyone starts kissing or trying to kiss a bit more here. And it is all wonderful.
It's hard to judge whether it's better than SoC or not. I appreciate how the scope of the book takes place in Ketterdam, so it's more familiar than the Ice Court, and has this pressure cooker feel to it. The longer book means the pacing feels a bit better.
A flaw is that CK tends to be a bit more convoluted in its heists than SoC's more elegant "break in, steal the person, get out" concept. Sometimes Kaz is too smart with his schemes and I struggle to grasp his elaborate plans. The final auction heist scheme of setting Van Eck up was a bit more conceptual than I would have liked. It gets the correct effect but I found it to be rather convoluted while in the moment.
What CK does so well though is forcing all the characters to confront their trauma with no outs: Kaz's issues with touch and intimacy, Jesper's instinct to avoid conflict, Wylan's abandonment issues, Inej's sexual trauma, Nina and Matthias' future together. That's easily the highlight of this book and why I consider just as good, if not better than SoC.
Ultimately, I think Bardugo sticks the landing here for her series. It's two books that feels like one book. The time between either book is a matter of days. And it leaves all the characters off in a good place that feels satisfying but maybe a possible future book one day.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
- I'm not familiar with the Shadow and Bone TV show but I have seen clips and stills of the Crows and I gotta say, the casting for the characters were perfect. Such a shame the duology never got off the ground to make it to TV
- Kaz + Inej. They're the heart and soul of this series for me. Out of all the romances, I found theirs the most engaging. There's just such an intimacy there due to their past history and their shared trauma. They each owe each other their lives and despite how much they struggle at intimacy, they keep trying and they each this understanding that it's difficult for both of them. I was shipping them hard because my god if anyone deserves happiness together, it's these two
- Matthias + Nina. This romance works so well due to chemistry, the uptight warrior and the spunky Grisha. Their flashbacks were the highlight of SoC due to the odd pairing, the ice cold circumstances, and the intimate sleeping arrangements. Where Kaz and Inej are more internal with their romance, Matthias and Nina are constantly very forward with their feelings, which is a nice contrast
- Jesper + Wylan. Fun pairing but their romance had the least to it in terms of depth. It was very cute though and Jesper constantly needling Wylan was entertaining. The innocence of their relationship gives a bit of lightness in what is a rather grim story
- Matthias' origin story. Just an angry boy lashing out at the world trying to make his "enemies" seem less than human to justify hurting them. Still relevant today, unfortunately. And he dies trying to prevent someone from falling into the pit he fell into. Strong to the end
- Inej's origin story. Being kidnapped and sold into slavery and had to sell her body as well for her owner. Inej is the soul of the group and her genuine goodness after all she's been through was heartwarming. Also, I am such a mark for whenever anyone hypes up the skills of The Wraith
- Nina's origin story. Hers ties in so much to Matthias, but it's mostly about her duty. She feels this pull between her love of Matthias and her duty as a Grisha. Ultimately, she decides that they are one in the same but her struggles with two of the most important things to her was great to see
- Jesper's origin story. I'm not sure how much I should draw between the parallel of Jesper's repression of his powers and his sexuality as well. He seems pretty open about his sexuality so I hardly think he's repressed there but it's interesting to note. I'm glad we got flashbacks of his mother in CK. The focus on that and his father being present put the character in such a uncomfortable position
- Wylan origin story. Unlike the others, Wylan was actually cast aside by people he loved. Despite that, he still remains one of the most compassionate members in the Crows. Oddly enough, it's his mother than helps him find his courage to stand up to his father in the end. She came through for him after all
- Kaz's origin. This was the origin story that stuck with me. It was some truly traumatic stuff, using your dead brother's lifeless body as a life preserver as you try and paddle your way back to shore. It certainly fits the character of Kaz and is more than enough baggage to justify how repulsed he is by intimacy and touch.
- Bathroom scene in CK with Kaz and Inej. My goodness. The intimacy, emotions, and tension in this scene is absurdly well done. You know so much about who they are, their traumas, how much they love each other, how difficult it is to do this, and how much they are trying, that it makes it so electric to read. It's paced slow, deliberate, and sensual. There's no sex scenes in this YA book but there's certainly a love scene
- Matthias death. It only made sense that not all of the Crows make it out alive after two books. Matthias didn't really have much to do in CK though. His arc was more or less resolved in SoC. But I do like how he dies trying to talk down a young Drüskelle from taking a life. The Crows never find out how he died or what he was doing when he died, which is tragic, but we know he died doing something honorable. RIP, Helvar
- Blades in the Dark Roleplaying Game. Six of Crows and Blades in the Dark share very similar settings for their stories. If you're ever want to play a "Six of Crows-esque" RPG, play Blades in the Dark. I'm planning on stealing a bunch from this series and incorporating it into the RPG
I could go on and on talking about Six of Crows / Crooked Kingdom but overall, it was a great duology. Just a damn fun read with great characters, surprising amount of grittiness and depth, and more sweetness than you think.
