Rating: âââââ
✳ï¸'Crooked Kingdom' is the second installment of the Six of Crows Dulogy written by Leigh Bardugo. I was very enthusiastic about reading the book because I wanted to know how Kaz would beat Jan Van Eck and Pekka Rollins in his game. And this book was beyond what I expected. Heads up guys.., this review contains some of the major spoilers of Six of Crows.✳ï¸
🔹"When you can't beat the odds, change the game."🔹
✳ï¸While infiltrating the ice court, Kaz's team learns of the death of Bo-Yul-Bayur and rescues his son Kuwei who was forced to make Jurda Parem, from the guard of Fjerda. As a last resort, Nina takes a dose of Jurda Parem and saves the crew from the Fjerdan Army. With her enhanced capabilities, she tailors Wylan's face to look exactly like Kuwei. But the Parem's repercussions on Nina were horrific.
Van Eck was actually using Kaz for his own benefits. Even though Kaz had a back-up plan, Inej was captured by Van Eck's Parem addicted Grisha's. Inej won't be freed unless Kaz hands Kuwei over to van Eck within a week. At the end of SoC, we can see Kaz selling his shares to Pekka Rollins for a huge sum in order to save Inej and get Van Eck's reward money back.✳ï¸
🔹"I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting."🔹
✳ï¸The relationship ship between Kaz and Inej was beautiful. Kaz touching Inej without his gloves shows how much he loves her despite his fears regarding what happened the day Jordie died. I felt relieved because the author didn't go for a direct kissing scene or something, with this pair. If that were the case, it would have destroyed the entire back story buildup for Kaz. This small development in Kaz's character has a huge impact on the story.✳ï¸
🔹"You’re stupid about a lot of things, Wylan, but you are not stupid. And if I ever hear you call yourself a moron again, I’m going to tell Matthias you tried to kiss Nina. With tongue.â€
Wylan wiped his nose on his sleeve. “He’ll never believe it.â€
“Then I’ll tell Nina you tried to kiss Matthias. With tongue.🔹
â‡ï¸I think this quote was enough to show how the relationship between Wylan and Jesper was. If memory serves me correctly, they are the first major LGBTQ+ couple in the grishaverse. Jesper and Wylan were perfect for each other.✳ï¸
🔹"You're better that waffles, Matthias Helvar."
A small smile curled the Fjerdan's lips.
"Let's not say things we don't mean, my love.🔹
✳ï¸Last but not least, Nina and Matthias, a Grisha and a Grisha Hunter. Their love story is one of my favorite among enemies to lovers trope. I have a lot to say about this couple, but I don't want to spoil anything. I think Leigh Bardugo was making up for S&B trilogy by giving not one but three incredible couples.✳ï¸
✳ï¸I am glad that there's another Dulogy by Leigh Bardugo waiting for me to pick it up. The ending was great. But it destroyed me. The last chapters never happened for me. I will never accept that. A part of me believes that anything can be possible. But a huge applause for the author for writing such an incredible series.✳ï¸