Book Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Book 2 of Six of Crows)

by The Book Pup on May 22, 2026

My Review

⚠️ MAJOR WARNING: This is a very negative review. If you loved Crooked Kingdom, you'll probably want to skip this one! I know this book has passionate fans, but it really didn't work for me. 🦊💔

After my disappointing experience with Six of Crows, I had low expectations for Crooked Kingdom. Somehow, it managed to be even WORSE. 😤📚

1/5 pawprints 🐾

This book was absolutely horrible for me. 🌙💔 I'm genuinely baffled by what people love so much about it, and I wish I hadn't bothered reading it.

The romance (or complete lack thereof): 🦉😕 Absolutely NO romance between Inej and Kaz. After all that buildup and tension from book one, I was expecting some payoff. Instead? Nothing. Hell, Jesper and Wylan got MORE romance than they did! 🐱💨 If the side pairing gets more development than your main couple, something is seriously wrong. 💔🌲

The pacing: Boring. So incredibly boring. 😴🥀 I spent the entire book waiting for something interesting to happen, and it just... didn't. 🦋💤

The ending: Sure, it's happy. But at what cost? 🌸❓ Being bored for who knows how long just to get to a decent conclusion? Not worth it. The journey was painful, and the destination didn't make up for it. 🐺😕

Life is too short for books that make you this miserable. 📖💨 I should have DNF'd this series after book one and saved myself the time and frustration. Learn from my mistake! 🦊🌿

Not recommended. Period. 🐾

You can find the book on Goodreads here!

The Book Pup

P.S. To everyone who loves this duology: I'm happy it worked for you!💔🌙