Weirdly enough, I loved Jesper because I related so much to his inability to break out of his cycle of self sabotage. He's stupid yes, but he harbours this painful emptiness. And I thought blaming his dad was a very human thing, sometimes kids pick up certain traits from how they were raised even when their parents are amazing. His father was afraid, so Jesper picked that up and he didn't want to be accountable so he blamed his dad. Jesper is maybe the hardest to love, Wylan is sweet and earnest, Nina is charming, Matthias righteousness and his growth from his prejudices is great, Kaz is tragic, and Inej is tragic, wise, kind, and I haven't got words to express how much I love her. Jesper is the character who makes stupid mistakes, throws his life away, so I flip between relating to him and hating him. And I think he had to be what he is for Kaz to see Jordie in him. I loved that, and I loved that Kaz acknowledges Jordie's mistakes instead of putting him on a pedestal as people sometimes do after death. The people vaguely acquainted with the deceased act like they were perfect but the people who really knew them and loved them go through a lot of mixed emotions. Hating them, feeling abandoned, blaming them, hating themselves for that and for not being able to stop it. On another note, Inej deserves every good thing that will come her way and I'm so happy that she found her family and a ship and she's going to be a pirate. And I love that it's not going to be her revenge story, but her making a piece of the world better

The characters are the best part of the series. The plot is nicely tied up with their back stories and very lean. I loved Kaz

Finally! Someone is actually dissatisfied with the way Matthias story ended!

I probably am coming off as a bit defensive because I related to Jesper a lot. I don’t struggle with addiction but when I was younger I definitely repeatedly made mistakes and wonder why I kept making the same mistakes. With Jesper blaming his dad...we kind of learn that when Grisha don’t use their powers it does affect them physically and I think that’s what contribute to Jespers adhd and problems with addiction. Jesper ignores it because that is what he was taught to do, to ignore the fact that he is grisha and Inej tells him to stop pretending his pain isn’t real cuz I mean I’m sure he understands to a degree that he’s responsible so he doesn’t feel like his pain is as real as others. I like him with Wylan I don’t think Leigh Bardugo was implying that Wylan can fix Jesper... like with Matthias, Nina couldn’t fix him he unlearned his prejudice through experience. It’s the same for Jesper even though he knows Wylan struggles, he had to unlearn that viewpoint of money being able to fix everything. He also stood up for Wylan when his dad was being a jerk at the end of SOC, he was there for him when he found his mom, , and he chose to stay with Wylan instead of going home with his dad to help Wylan with reading. So I dunno I think they both support each other. I do agree with Kuwei...it wasn’t necessary. I also feel like Jesper fell for Wylan more in the second book not cuz he didn’t understand that Wylan struggles too, I honestly feel like he was joking with Wylan with all of that...but because it was implied in the first book that Jesper was in love with Kaz (which I also found unnecessary) ...so he sort of had to work that out before he could give himself to Wylan. But yeah hearing why you don’t like Jesper made me understand Kaz’s anger toward him more cuz the part where they fight made me sad cuz Kaz was so mean. I think he called Jesper, Jordie because he’s just like “dang it Jesper your making the same mistakes as Jordie and your gonna get yourself killed!”

I think that acknowledging how a beloved parent fucked you up is a very important part of being in you mid 20s (which we al know is how old these characters actually are). As a parent you don't know how your child is going to internalise the lessons you try to teach. So to me it was really lovely that they said "yeah I internalised fear this way and it manifested as a gambling addiction and a need for action but I love you anyway and I'm trying to do better"

You brought up a lot of good points here, some of which I didn't notice myself, but now find absolutely agreeing with (like Wylan's closure) I personally liked CK more than SoC (which in itself was still great), because of its more branching out plot, as opposed to SoC's hyperfocused one. Still, the duology is my favorite YA story, mainly for its amazing characters ^^ It's been a while since I've read it, but for the Dunyasha plotline, I saw someone's take on it that CK is about people's "shadows" (I think that's the term used in the book). How Pekka Rollins was Kaz's shadow - what he could become if he went too far. The Fjerdan boy from the end was to be Matthias' shadow, representing his past, and to an extent Dunyasha was to be Inej's. Can't remember the parallels exactly, though

What I love about both books is the excellent, badass, cool action scenes and set ups. Also the outsmarting and scheming.

Okay, just hearing you talk about Crooked Kingdom and all your feelings makes me want to reread the duology again 😍😭

But wait a second, the thing about Jesper... (SPOILER ALERT) Didn't his gambling got so bad because he had to hide his powers? From what I understood suppressing grisha powers can be disastrous - that's why he got into gambling and threw himself so much into fights - he couldn't contain himself, he needed the "thrill" in life which normally using his powers could give him. That's why when his dad said "that's not how I raised you" he snapped and responded "yeah, you kinda did". His dad is amazing and lovely, Jesper knows that and he constantly felt bad about his mistakes. But even though his dad's actions (with telling Jesper to hide) came from the place of love, they were against the whole existence of Jesper. Which I think the dad needed to realize too. You can't force someone to not be themselves. That's why Jesper left home in the first place. The life of a farmer wasn't for him. Of course Jesper was at fault too because he should have realized sooner how bad gambling was and maybe he could have found different "hobby" that would give him the same "thrill" or at least try to use his powers everyday a little when no one is looking (but probably the hiding of his powers was too much ingrained in him at this point). Also his relationship with Wylan: most of the times he was just teasing him. And even though Jesper had a relatively good life before coming to Kerch, at home he felt like a bird in a cage. And later when his addiction got worse he really learned what is like to be alone in a dangerous place. That's why at first to him, Wylan was just a spoiled brat who had everything from the beginning and abandoned it on a whim (but later he learned the whole story). Also remember Jesper is older than Wylan. To every 17 yo a 14 yo is a "just a kid". And the thing with Jesper and money: if you live for a while in a constant fear that some scary dudes will come to collect your dept and hurt you then you really would start to think more money is your salvation (especially in a city like Ketterdam). But at this point he started to realize with all his actions, he made a lot of enemies and money can't fix all mistakes. In conclusion I know Jesper can be frustrating, he's just a slow kid. But I think you judged him a little too harsh. That's just my opinion. Sorry for the long rant✌.

Ok I'm back. I told you I have lots of thoughts. 😆 While I get your point about Jasper and his Dad, and I agree that there comes a point where you have to take responsibility for your own actions and addictions. I get Jasper anger. When a parent tells a child, actually forces a child to hide a part of themselves. To push it so far back and keep it secret. No matter what the reason may be, it teaches that child to hate a part of themselves. It teaches them something is wrong with them, they are broken somehow, not normal. That causes a lot of pain. So while his dad did it to protect him, he still taught his son to hate a part of himself, a part that was the only connection to his mom. I get the anger.

oh my gosh, i audibly gasped when you said you didn't like jesper! I didn't love him in the first book but in the second i felt like he was the most relatable character with his struggle to balance being the person people want him to be with his addictions. I didn't really interpret that scene with his father as him passing blame, though I do see why you do. I thought he was more saying that if his father had been honest with him and helped him cultivate his powers instead of repressing them, he might not have used gambling and killing as outlets for his pent up energy. Great video, though!!!

Haha! Thank you for such an on point review. Crooked kingdam is one of my favorite books ever, and although I love Jesper, I totally see your point of view. Uugghh I want to reread the book so badly! And Kaz and Inejjjjj I cried at the end. In public. No regrets. Anyway, amazing job as always, Elliot!

Ok i just finished Crooked Kingdom last night and I definitely have some thoughts on the relationships (all of which are spoilers so read at your own risk) Kaz and Inej are one of my favorite couples of all time. I just love how they interact with each other, rely on each other, trust each other. Every scene with them together is both heartbreaking and beautiful. I also loved the ending with them. When Inej is going to meet Kaz for the last time and she's thinking of how much she wants to stay with him, but she knows she can't save him and if she stays she will be dragged down into the darkness. So she decides to save herself. Then when she meets him and he has no gloves on and he hold her hand. My heart almost exploded. And when she's turns to Kaz and is like I'm going, but I'll be back. I'm not giving up on this city yet. It was just such a beautiful moment. Ok on the Jasper and Waylen. I think their relationship was the weakest only because it was the newest. By the time we meet them, Nina and Matthias have been through hell and back with eachother, Kaz and Inej have been relying on each other for years, so of course Jasper and Waylens relationship in comparison will be weak. And let's face it every couple is annoyed and unsure when they first start dating. Ok I can ramble on for days about this book so I'm going to just stop. In case you couldn't tell I loved it.

While these books aren't perfect, they hold a very special place in my heart, because I love the characters so much! Love your review of it as well :)

Not gonna lie, I teared up during your spoiler section!! I’m excited for you to read king of scars. It definitely got a mixed reception so I’m not sure if you’ll like it - but I loved it!

Matthias' arc at the end ruined the book for me, not gonna lie. It felt a bit cheap and forced, just because the stakes needed to feel high "^^

I loved Matthias and think he deserved better than what he got in this book. I definitely like SoC more (didn’t love it though), but I do like that we get to know the characters more in CK. Kaz annoyed me as usual though 😅 I do think there weren’t really high stakes in this book and it bothered me that it felt like Kaz always had something up his sleeve, I wasn’t worried that things weren’t gonna be solved at any point in the book, which I don’t think is great in a fantasy book.. a good series, not great

I get what you're saying about Jasper. If you don't understand why you engage in antisocial behavior, that's one thing. But if you know _and continue to engage in it_ , that's on you. Gotta take responsibility at that point for your own behavior.

I loved both books, but Crooked Kingdom broke me emotionally. I cried so. many. times. Crooked Kingdom was a bit more indulgent with the character scenes, but since Book 1 had me so invested in them and because I loved them so much...I really enjoyed all those scenes - I ate them up!

SPOILERS!!! But I was dissatisfied with Matthias’s end, because I felt like his and Nina’s relationship had really far-reaching implications that could have really influenced change in the world for the better. Matthias had influence and could have done a lot to rid Fjerda of its hatred and prejudices against the Grisha. I get that his past caught up to him yada yada, but I can’t help but think that his entire arc ended up being a waste. He could have done so much moooore and he just... died lol 😩

Jesper and Inej are my faves, but i really didn't like Kaz he felt a lot like badass characters i already read about so.many times that i kind of wasn't into him as much, i still enjoyed the books gave them 4 stars

I love these books to bits, and I love lnej and Matthias most of all, and while I don't care much about the "symbolism" of his death nor the "randomness" for the matter - I like how it was handled. The ONE thing that I don't like about it - and I know it's because of the history of my own country and the values I've been taught - is how its end up saying that Nina has to fix Fjerda. This might sound terrible, I thing the conviction of revolution should come from the country itself and not from an outsider, it's not Nina's job to fix Fjerda, they have to see what is right and stand up for it. I'm sure there are people who find find witchhunting horrible and should work to revoke it...instead of Nina swooping in as their messiah. That drive has to come from Fjerda itself, I dont care if Nina is nowhere in the picture. This is also the reason why I didn't care much about her role in King of Scars (but that's a discussion for another day)

The part of the book that bothered you about Jesper I think I can explain. He is a grisha so not using your power makes you sick. His dad told him never to use his power so that is the reason that he developed the gambling addiction.

You never said ... did you prefer Six of Crows or Crooked Kingdom more? I personally preferred SoC a bit more although I enjoyed them both!

I love Jesper's dad too. But Jesper is a teenager, and teenagers say terrible things to their parents, and often blame them for whatever their problems are. I didn't dislike Jesper though. I liked all of them, Matthias was my least fav but he was still fine in the second book.

Both are definitely NOT 5* books for me but I enjoyed SoC more. I loved the character development and banter in both books but the ending in CK is a bit unsatisfying. I scored SoC 4* and CK 3*.

I recently started reading books and I'm not that better at analysing the characters and stories(still learning). When I read Six Of Crows, I loved the book and could not out it down. I loved the characters and wanted to be with them more. I instantly started reading Crooked Kingdom, but I found myself feeling bored until the very end when all Kaz's plan comes together. Now that I'm watching your video, I found why I was bored, because we don't have a definite plot in this as SoC, it is all over the place and it bothered me a lot. Thanks for the lovely video 😁

Morning!!! I love watching ur videos, evvvvvvvvery day!!! 10/10

I ended up rating Six of Crows lower than Crooked Kingdom because the whole of the 1st book seemed like a buildup to...well, nothing and I thought it would've read much better if the two books were actually one longer novel. But then, 700pages long YA just doesn't sell...

I agree with you about Jesper! Personally, I didn't like him much the first time I read the books, but I did think his character was well developed. Then I reread and I realized "wow. Even though his life wasn't as bad as Kaz or Inej, he still had these things happen to him, things that a lot of readers can actually relate to." I HATED that he blamed his dad for the gambling addiction, but I do think it is true. He didn't have anywhere to channel his energy and he got into a really bad spiral. His character isn't my favorite, but I can appreciate him now.

I wish Matthias had some closure with all the crew. He seemed to start warming up to them more or less (more to Inej, less to Kaz obvs) and I would like to hear him calling Kaz Demjin for the last time. Or saying that his ghost may deign to have something with their ghosts after all. The farewell scene was beautiful, but I'd like some more reflection.

While I have a list of issues with it, I enjoyed it overall and would recommend it to others. There are so few things that I read nowadays that I would, so it is the best I can give.

Omg we agree with so much (except liked jesper) , like yeah wylan and his mom , the winged people, dunyasha , the characters not talking about Mattias, being kept in the dark about certainly plot points. But in the end I really enjoyed it anyways haha

I feel you with Jesper/Wylan. It's as if Bardugo needed to place everyone in the group in couples. Just seemed forced.

I love these books so much ❤️ I agree with everything you said except disliking Jesper. I didn’t really feel like I loved him or hated him. I thought he was a really well developed character, but definitely not my favorite from the group. I do really love his dynamic with Kaz though! Also just a warning that King of Scars is nowhere near as good as this duology in my opinion 😂

Kaz Brekker is awesome.

I love jesper tho xd his inner sabotage I relate a lot... On the contrary I never liked kaz that much uwu i hated what happened with matthias

*spoilers* I really disliked the ending because of what she did to Matthias, it felt like it didn't serve anything for the narrative, it felt forced and unnecessary. It felt like once again the YA obsession with killing a character in the last few pages, just to show the stakes are high. I feel like his arc was cut short, he might not be the most interesting character but he arguably had the most significant development out of the six, and it felt like all of that was thrown away just for that moment of shock value. I feel like his story would have been much more meaningful had he continued and him and Nina going on and trying to help the other Grisha and work against that prejudice and make actual change. However Inej's ending is my favourite.

Jesper is also my least favorite, but I think some of that comes down to the writing. In the first book I felt that his chapters were barely about him. I didn’t feel like she had a voice for him yet. Crooked Kingdom was better in that regard, but I never felt as connected to him as I did the other Crows. I also didn’t think the ending was satisfying. I really disliked the last chapter. But overall I thought it was a great book.

Since i haven't read the book series (yet) i just wanted to drop a like & supportive comment my friend 😊💖 I will ask tho, is this a book you would reread in the future? I think that could be a great question for you or anyone in a book review. Anyways as mick foley says, have a nice day 🤙🤙

The hair, nice!!!! And ur gestures...

Funny, the people around me who've read the book all love Jesper but I didn't like him either, and certainly not him and Wylan together, I like Wylan way too much to want him with Jesper, all that "He's be good for you", yeah maybe, but what about Wylan? Doesn't it matter if Jesper is good for Wylan? They just make no sense to me. And don't get me started on the "Oh no I kissed the wrong Kuwei" scene, that just confirmed that I won't ever vibe with that. All in all, my reasons for disliking him/them are pretty much the same as yours^^ And also with things like the Dunyasha thing feeling kinda ... unnecessary, yup, agreed to pretty much everything you said. A dynamic I really loved was Kaz and Wylan and the mentor-ish aspect as well. They seem so different but when you look at it, you can find a lot of parallels between the two of them and their lives. Inej seeing her parents is the best scene, YES. it should've been the end, in my opinion. Not the actual epilogue. Would've been way more emotional for me personally, the last chapter took away a lot of the intensity. Matthias was my favourite character, apart from Inej, he had the best development in my opinion, because there was so much room for him to grow and become a better person, and in the end it's just tragic. Also his sincerity, and his genuineness, I love characters like that. Also him and his wolf, wolves in general, like his intro scene, huhhh, some of the toughest, most emotional scenes for me. And I would've really liked his and Nina's relationship if it would've been platonic. It would've been so, so amazing if it just would've been a friendship, tentatively building between enemies, then becoming allies. That's so much more powerful to me than a romantic relationship in that vein could ever be. That's of course highly subjective^^ Inej and Kaz really were the only romantic relationship I was on board with, but with them, very much so. And I love how it didn't end in a kiss or something comparable, or even them staying in the same place, but with them parting ways but still knowing that yes, she can always come back, they have *something* now, but the circumstances don't matter, you can make up your own rules. This got long, sorry not sorry ;)

I need more Kaz 😭

Only watching this now since I recently finished the book :D With Jesper, for me it felt like the teasing of Wylan in SoC had always been an expression of his crush on him, as a sort of flirting with teasing - not saying that's generally a very affective way of flirting, but I think it's just how Jesper expressed his feelings :D so for me there wasn't much of change in his feelings towards Wylan with CK. But I think, although I did overall like Jesper, he definitely was my least favourite of the main characters. And I totally agree with you that the accidentally-kissing-Kuwei was unnecessary - I literally was like "Seriously Leigh??" when I read that scene. But it didn't create as much annoying drama as I had feared, so it's okay. :D

have u ever read Kingdom of Ash?

I’ve not read this book the crooked kingdom. But thank u for book review!!

The audiobook presentation wasn't my favorite. The multi cast was jarring since the characters are never apart from each other

I don’t think Jesper is dumb I think that the author needed to use him as a “jordie” that Kaz can yell at lol. If anything Kaz also gets Inej and the team almost killed when he messes up the plan at the ice court/when he looks at Inej. He’s never really called out for that which sorta made me not like him. I loved Jes, I’m sad you didn’t 🥺

I'm glad i wasn't the only one who didn't really like Jesper and Wyland together, lol! Like, Jesper was a BULLY to Wyland! He was the one who actively made Wyland feel like crap the entirety of the first book! I feel like Kuwei and Wyland would've fit more better together. The nerdy, awkward chemist with the quiet, charming biologist? Shoot, cracking shipping over here all of a sudden, oh dear. But anyway, i seriously didn't like Jesper and Wyland together, and really didn't like how the author treated poor Kuwei? Like... he was just there to create drama. In plot, and out of plot. That's it. He literally had NOTHING else going for him except being a creepy, gross stalker towards Jesper? I was really really angry that the author demeaned that poor character like that, i wanted more from him. Like okay, sure have him be highly antisocial, to the point where he pretends to suck at Kurch JUST so that he could get out of talking with people (honestly a high key mood, which is why i'm as upset as i am with how the author demonized his character, he seemed like a really interesting person). Have someone notice that he's paying a little too much attention to the conversation, call him out when they have a moment alone, have him be chagrined and then start building a cheeky friendship with him. Get to know the guy, let us learn how intelligenthe really is, how competent is he with his powers, what are his views on Panem, and just give him more character traits than "I really really wanna bang Jesper." Like... ew? No? Pick a different character choice? Lol, anyway, i liked this duology, but i... don't think it lives up to its hype. There were a number of things i didn't like, how the plot went, how quite a few character decisions went, some character building decisions, and more nit-picky stuff. And, to top it off, i really... don't... like... Matthias' death.... AT ALL.... and am really mad about it, even though i saw it coming. Kaz, Inej, and Wyland were the best parts of this book, in decending order for me, though Kaz and Inej are very nearly tied. But i will give the book one thing i enjoyed. All the characters finally felt like they were troubled teenagers. All of them. In the first book, i would get taken out of the story whenever their ages would be mentioned, or when they would start doing 'childish things', because it felt like the author either had NO idea on how to write teenagers, or would forget what age group she was writing in and would forcefully put in dorky, "hehe, oh look, I'M A TEENAGER!" moments that would give me whiplash, and felt out of left field. They felt like 20+ adults that would occasionally get shoved into moronic scenarios to check off a 'yup, totally teenagers' list. But in CK, all of the cast members felt consistently young adults struggling with their own personal trauma. Kaz has serious feelings for Inej, but can't stand even the thought of touching her, so he just violently shoves his emotions into a closet, but god have mercy on whoever even looks at his Wraith the wrong way. Kaz and Wyland break into the house successfully, but realize they can't get out the same way they got in. Chaos then breaks loose as Boys Will Be Boys and destroy everything around them while basically screaming: "EVERYTHING IS GOING *TOTALLY* ACCORDING TO PLAN AND WE HAVE EVERYTHING COMPLETELY UNDER CONTROL!" (Proceeds to jump out a window) And a lot of similar stuff that TEENAGERS would think up and act out throughout the book. So there was that, at least, that i enjoyed from CR. XD

I voted first yay

You say you loved this book yet it sounds like a rant.

Elle: about to say something profound. KZfaq: time for commercials Me: ................dick

The ending was a bit anticlimactic in my opinion 😕