Crooked Kingdom did not disappoint me and proved to be every bit the melee of pulse-racing action, infallible ploys and compellingly complicated relationships I hoped it would be. It maintains the steely grit of the Six of Crows, as we learn more about the characters we've grown to love, despite all their flaws and meet new ones, just as formidable. Bardugo gives us even more cunning and intrigue in this sequel novel but even with all the pragmatism, she still manages to transport the reader into a world of enthralling magic. We discover more about the skeletons Kaz Brekker and his crew hoard from their past and this made for beautiful characterisation.

I was a bit hesitant to rate this book 5 stars due to the lack of development into the Khergurd soldiers from Shu, specifically in terms of what their motives were and other such logistics. Also a certain death occurred where I felt like that the story moved on from the event just as soon as it happened and I wanted a bit more...stillness?

Enjoyment-wise though, I thought Crooked Kingdom was absolute genius with the perfect payoff at the end.