We're back again with our six favorite crows! (Plus Kuwei), except they now have much bigger problems. If you thought the first book had high stakes, these are higher. I can not describe how much I loved this, but I'll try to put it into words for you.

        We follow Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Matthias, and Kuwei through multiple jobs, except this time they work for nobody but themselves. That's right, no boss, no payment, just them and their own motives. Parem is still a huge topic in this, and contributes greatly to the plot.

        Their main goal here is to take down Jan Van Eck, Wylan's father, and stop the secret of parem from becoming his. In order to do this, they steal secrets, cheat their way through things, entertain to distract, and risk it all. Genya Safin and Zoya Nazyalensky are also brought back in from their appearance in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, along with the ever loved Nikolai Lantsov. But before they take down this wicked man, they must save Inej from his grasp. Just how will Kaz Brekker do it this time? 

        There's definitely a betrayal or two in this one, especially since Leigh always has a plot twist coming for us. It's honestly so incredible how well thought out everything is. I mean, I don't think I've read any other book where each and every event is tied together like this one. She truly thinks like a mastermind. I mean it when I say it's more than impressive how she manages to come up with these plots and put them into play. 

        Another character that will play moderate significance here is Colm Fahey, Jesper's father. He inevitably becomes part of their plans, and supports his son through all of it. Best father I've ever seen in a book, especially compared to Wylan's. He kind of becomes a father to all of them in a way, and I absolutely love the idea of the whole "found family" trope. If you think about it, none of them really have any family at all besides Jesper (save for Wylan, but let's be honest, Jan Van Eck really all that much of a father).

        As far as romance goes, Nina and Matthias definitely steal my heart in this one. They do very much act like a couple, though are never referred to as boyfriend and girlfriend. However, nonetheless, their interactions are everything! Along with Kaz and Inej, of course. Kaz is such a romantic in this one. There are some lgbtq+ themes here, and it makes for some interesting drama as well!

        Fair warning though, it does have a bit of sadness at the end. Well, it gets really sad for a bit, then less sad. A kind of bittersweet moment where the actual moment is happy, but if you think about it it ultimately leads to something a bit angsty.

        I wish I could rate it higher, but I definitely give it a 10/10. Absolutely loved it!!

Check out Crooked Kingdom from NBPL!