Reviews tagging 'Violence'

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

100 reviews

brynn_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book! I enjoyed getting to see my favorite characters again (I love Nikolai and Zoya!) 

I feel like this world just gets more and more intricate with every book. It's so good! I love this world and these characters so much. I was stressed throughout most of this book because I was constantly scared that something bad was going to happen. 

I loved the introduction of new characters. I'm excited to see this develop in the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Death

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Child death, Confinement, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

lavenderbluestories's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I was so, so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint… for the most part. Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina, whose perspectives the story is told from, are all fascinating and enjoyable characters to read about. Nikolai has got to be one of my all time favourite characters. I adored exploring more of his backstory and the struggles he faces throughout his journey. Zoya was someone who I never felt too strongly about in the S&B trilogy, but in this book I absolutely loved her. Discovering more of her story made her so much more powerful in my eyes, and she was a pleasure to read about. And then there’s Nina. As much as I love Nina as a character, her part in this book felt a bit… misplaced. I wasn’t really sure how her storyline fit into the rest of it until, well, I started the next book. However, I can’t deny that she did contribute a few brilliant scenes to King Of Scars.

The scene where she finally buried Matthias was more heartbreaking than anything the Grishaverse has produced so far, and I actually got choked up. That’s saying something since I never even liked Matthias…

Anyways, this book is definitely worth the read if you love the Grishaverse as much as I do!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

minavs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and Genocide

jessicax941's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Death

lxxnne's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body shaming, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, and Addiction

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Darkling is gone and the Fold is destroyed, but this is Ravka, so nothing is ever easy. Fjerda and Shu Han are at Ravka’s borders, ready to exploit any weakness left by the civil war. The Kerch are already asking Ravka to pay its debts, but the nation will only need more money if they are to survive the coming battles. Miracles have been appearing all across Ravka, and while most of the devout take heart from the old saints, some believe that a new saint should be added to their ranks: the Starless One. Amidst this chaos, King Nikolai is still playing host to the shadow demon forced on him by the Darkling’s nichevo’ya, and it is becoming increasingly hard to hide. Zoya serves by his side, trying to keep her king safe—and others safe from him. Nina is dealing with her grief as best she can, but throwing herself into her work as a spy in Fjerda.

Okay I know that everyone loves the <i>Six of Crows</i> duology best in the Grishaverse but...I think I might actually prefer <i>King of Scars</i> and <i>Rule of Wolves</i> (review to come)! This book started out a little slow but picked right up and then I could NOT put it down. The tension between Nikolai and Zoya is immaculate, and literally any scene with Nikolai bantering with one of his friends makes my heart explode. Even more than that (if that’s possible), I loved Nina’s storyline as she deals with her grief and throws herself headlong into every dangerous situation she can find.

I am also obsessed with her relationship with Hanne...it might actually be my very favorite wlw relationship that I’ve read!

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):

Cliffhanger, of course, because this is Leigh Bardugo and there’s a sequel on the way. Thank god I picked it up almost immediately!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Xenophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

angstifies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

YES LOVED IT. i cried a lot. i wanted genya’s POV and i’m glad Nikolai was less annoying, i kinda like him now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Addiction, and Death

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

talislibrary's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I always welcome more Nikolai content and loved seeing more of the well-loved characters from previous books (including my all-time favourite Grishaverse character). At its heart, King of Scars delves into how different people respond differently to traumatic experiences, such as SAB and SOC.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence

marplellous's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

maybe the real demons were the ptsd we gained along the way

(also: i only watched sab on netflix & read soc / ck, so diving into ravkan politics was... a lot)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Violence