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Kaz Brekker and his crew have done the impossible and pulled off a heist so significantly huge that even they didn’t think they’d survive. But escaping Fjerda alive was only the first obstacle.
They should be living like kings off the reward money. Instead, they find themselves betrayed — double-crossed as if they were fresh blood just waiting to be swindled — weakened, and back fighting for their lives. The Wraith has been taken. They have no allies and little resources, but they are sure of one thing. They are no longer players in a traitor’s game. They’ll get their Wraith back, then they will take their revenge.
All the while, there are powerful forces overturning Ketterdam for any secrets concerning the dangerous drug known as jurda parem. Nations would kill for the only asset they do possess — Bo Yul-Bayur’s son and the knowledge he can offer about parem.
They’re facing insurmountable odds to escape this alive, much less achieve the future they’ve come to hope for. Then again, they’ve faced those kinds of odds before and survived. Still, how long can their luck hold?
No longer is this fight just about revenge. This war that is waged on Ketterdam’s familiar dark and twisting streets will decide the fate of the Grisha world as well as their own.
In Crooked Kingdom, more backstory is revealed, more secrets are unveiled, and more deceits are uncovered. Leigh Bardugo’s writing is as brilliant as ever, laying out a vivid story world and the complex, familiar magic of the Grisha. In addition to the Six of Crows gang, familiar faces from the Shadow and Bone Trilogy make an appearance. I love the crossover and the witty-as-ever dialogue from characters I didn’t realize I missed.
Overall, Crooked Kingdom is a masterpiece of schemes within schemes, of hope, betrayal, harshness, wanting, and reunion.
Rated: Moderate, for over 10 instances of moderate language and at least one instance of strong language. Like in the first book, violence can be more descriptive. The gambling dens and pleasure houses of Ketterdam play a large role in the setting. Sexual content includes some crude banter and innuendos. Couples, including a same-sex couple, kiss. A character struggles to overcome drug addiction.
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