Final Rating:
Date of Completion: 03/08/2022
Cover:
I love that this cover shares such a strong connection with the one for the previous book. While this design is not as stunning as the former, I once again found the buildings concealed within the crow’s feathers visually appealing.
Writing:
The writing style remains vivid and captivating, with multiple points of view providing a full scope of events. This time, worldbuilding is focused on politics and life within the city of Ketterdam, where the characters live. This was not only fascinating, but it complemented the character-driven storyline well by easing transitions between past and current events.
If you couldn’t beat the odds, you changed the game
Storyline:
The structure of this story is very similar to Six of Crows, making it slightly less compelling. Things pick up shortly after the end of the previous book with a brief recap that made me glad I had not waited long to pick up this sequel. The action-packed story that unfolds is regularly broken up by internal conflicts and past memories of the characters. While these elements were interesting, they drastically slowed the pace of the story, causing it to drag at various points. Thankfully, this was offset by moments of high tension and numerous twists that kept me engaged. Although I liked the ending, it was not entirely satisfying because there were several loose ends and what I thought was an unnecessary twist.
Main character:
The strong character focus of the story allows for a deeper connection with the main characters. Once again, their strengths, weaknesses and fears are bared to make them easy to like and relate with. The banter and quibbling that filled their interactions were entertaining and nicely diffused moments of friction or high tension. These characters also experience further personal growth in this story boosting their complexity and appeal. I especially enjoyed the focus on Wylan’s and Jesper’s POVs, as they were given relatively little attention in the previous book.
Secondary characters:
The few secondary characters are also given more attention and developed further in this sequel. This made the character-driven storyline even more fascinating and complex. There are also several new characters who help drive different parts of the story.
Romance:
No longer subtle and light, the growing attractions between the main characters are now a substantial part of the storyline. Despite the angst and drawn-out drama this led to, it was still entertaining to observe the development of these relationships as the characters evolved.
trusting the wrong person can get you killed
All in all, ‘Crooked Kingdom’ was a fun read filled with angst, numerous schemes and exceptional characters. Although there is lots of action, this character-driven storyline has a slower pace than its predecessor, making it slightly less exciting and engaging. Readers who enjoyed this would love Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.
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