Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - King of Scars

5 Stars

I honest to god really liked it! It was so much fun getting to see old characters again. I've always loved Nikolai, and I enjoyed his banter so much here. I love his relationship with Zoya. A bunch of reviews say that their relationship feels forced, but for me the it was really believable. They felt like an authentic slow burn, and I like the way they grew on each other. I didn't like Zoya in the Grisha trilogy, but here I got to really understand her character more, and I now like her a lot better.

I liked the quotes about growth, grief, trauma, and healing. The writing style here was explicit. The only thing I find lacking was the connection between Nina's and Nikolai + the gang's POV. It didnt quite make sense to me as to why Nina's POVs were put in the same book? They dont even relate to each other, I couldve skipped Nina's POVs and understood Nikolai's side fine. Some people say it's a set up for Rule of Wolves, so I guess I'll give it a shot.

Speaking of Nina, I love how fruity she is here 😆 Also, I lost someone dear to me recently and her journey through her grief really resonates with me. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I'm rating this 5 stars despite the lack of continuity between Nikolai + Nina's arcs, just because I love this world and I miss being in it :>

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michaelferlazzo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

This is the best one yet in the grishaverse

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stellenelcielo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. Bardugo definitely salvaged and made up for Ruin and Rising here, in fact, I think she made up for all of the worst parts of the Shadow and Bone series. She made up for the lack of diversity it had, for the internalized misogyny that featured heavily in it, and it gave depth to characters who were depthless before.

My favourite had to be Zoya Nazyalensky, she's ruthless, brutal, frank, and she had a reason for why she is all those things. She isn't secretly this soft girl, but she does briefly mourn never ever having the choice to be that, and I really liked that. It was a nice view into how trauma, neglect, and manipulation really force a person to grow up too fast, forcing them to have to be hard to survive. Despite all of this, and that she's portrayed as emotionless, there are times where Bardugo shows that she's anything but, making her one of the most enjoyable characters in the book.

This book also endeared me more towards Nina, and I'm finding this ruthless side suits her, though it took me near to the end to actually enjoy her chapters. Honestly, I can say that I don't really care about Fjerda in general, as Bardugo has gone out of her way to make it seem like a truly distasteful country, with its rampant sexism and anti-Grisha ideology, and I do enjoy the idea of Nina smashing it all into bits, I understand the need to make it a central plot to the series.

All that aside, I really liked how the book ended off, the "Oh shit, what now?" officially has me in a chokehold until I read the next book, so I'd have to say it's worth all four stars just for that.

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limiwh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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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 Six of Crows duology best in the Grishaverse but...I think I might actually prefer King of Scars and Rule of Wolves (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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laurennicold's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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pagebypaigereviews's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? Yes

4.5

The new King of Ravka is not what he seems.

"The monster is me and I am the monster."

After the Darkling's defeat, Nikolai ushers in a new era of peace and ingenuity. But he and his most trusted allies are harboring a dark secret from the masses: Nikolai has not completely recovered from the Darkling's curse, and the monster inside him constantly battles him for control. Meanwhile Nina works undercover in enemy territory, carrying precious cargo. Something dark calls to her, persistent enough to convince her not to give in to the sorrow that threatens to consume her.

King of Scars is the first of the newest series in the Grishaverse. This was a highly anticipated read, as the main character, Nikolai, is one of my all-time favorite characters. Even so, it was a bit of a slow start for me, and I actually ended up putting it down for a while before coming back to it, but I'm so glad I did!

As always, I adore Bardugo's writing style, but the plot and character development in this book were the best I've seen thus far. Her characters are so easy to get attached to. The magic in this series is on another level compared to the other Grishaverse books! I was pulled in to the story once it got going. It had me alternatively laughing and fighting tears, such was the emotional journey.

The hardest part for me was seeing Nikolai not always acting like the character I knew and loved from the other books. Since he is a main character, we get much more from him than just his witty charm, and reading about his inner turmoil was a little different than what I expected. Also, some of the content may be disturbing to younger readers, so I would highly recommend checking out the trigger warnings before reading.

Overall, I gave it 4.5 / 5 stars! This is by far my favorite book in the Grishaverse series so far and I am excited to get my hands on the next book, Rule of Wolves!

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