Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - King of Scars

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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elthechameleon's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I wasn’t expecting neither Zoya Nazyalensky nor Nina Zenik to be in this book. I’m so glad Bardugo chose to include them. Nikolai is a very loveable character, but it’s really these two who shine in this first book. Nina’s thorny dealings with grief and desire to hold space and mercy for Fjerdans is spectacularly and sadly woven. She grows more apart from the Ravka crew while bringing the Crows fondly to memory. Zoya has always been a one-note character in the trilogy, and this book shows that Alina’s perception was very much one-sided. Her history is rich, especially considered against

Lizabeta’s. Another woman who was denied power early on but used it to save her city. It’s understandable (reading the book of saints) why she turned on the rest of the saints. She hasn’t had respect or power yet, something she shares with The Darkling. Zoya is someone who could easily fall into that same pattern, even more so than the demon-plagued Nikolai. Their romance surprised me, but the way it is done is very honest. I love that Nina and Zoya both get to retain their grit in this book. It makes them more interesting as female characters, something that doesn’t always happen in fiction.

. This book is such a change from the Crows, but it deepens the original world from the trilogy with the same narrative complexity as the previous duology. One might be tempted to skip this duology thinking they know the grishaverse too well already. That would be a mistake. The continuation, grief, and mess after the trilogy’s happy ending is what makes this book shine.

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luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.5

I really liked this book more than I expected. The beginning is painfully slow, so it was hard to get into, but once things started moving at a faster pace, I was hooked. I loved getting to read Zoya and Nikolai's POVs for the first time. They both have very clear "voices" so it was super engaging to read from their perspectives. I would have also been interested in getting a POV from Genya or David as well in this book.

I LOVE Nina's storyline. For me, I was a lot more interested in what was going on with her in Fjerda than I was with the others in Ravka. I'm not going to give any spoilers but I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading more about Nina and what she's doing as a Ravkan spy in Fjerda.

And then there's the sequel. I definitely liked Rule of Wolves more than King of Scars so I would recommend reading it even if you didn't love King of Scars (I think it is much better). Once again I love everything that happens with Nina (and Hanne!). And I think the connection between Zoya and Juris is very interesting. I'm not big on the storyline surrounding the darkling, I think it was interesting but maybe didn't belong in this book (?). Also, the ending is SO GOOD.

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durrareadsstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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

Nikolai knew. He was a king who had only begun to make mistakes. He was a soldier for whom the war would never be over. He was a bastard left alone in the woods. And he was not afraid to die this day.

Oh wow, this book. 🤯🤯🤯 Leigh Bardugo just keeps on writing masterpieces. I was so excited for this book since, you know, Nikolai, duh🤭. Honestly at the beginning I was a little bit disappointed, I thought he was better in Siege and Storm. But, actually, the characters were consistent. We get to see another side to Nikolai, a more vulnerable and deep side and I loved it! I also despised Zoya before, but she's had her reasons for being a stone-cold witch. And in this book she is forced to face her past and because of that she became all the more powerful. I loved her POV, and as always with Leigh's characters - it was downright tragic.

All the POVs in the book were awesome, and so was the writing. Nina being a spy was just - that girl kicks ass dude!! I liked how Nina embraces her "new" powers and the grief written in this book was completely heartbreaking 💔. Reading about her transitioning between characters reminded me of Nikolai in Siege and Storm again. I loved Adrik and Leoni, and how they're the total opposite of each other. Once again, Ms Bardugo teaches you about trauma, in this case about the two very different ways people handle them. Having Hanne in the storyline added a new vantage point, from the Fjerdans who were stuck in their customs. I was skeptical about Isaak, but he did the job well, so he's good. Princess Ehri, OH MY GOD. (I can't say much more without spoiling anything, so I'll just leave it at that.) 😉

Another thing I absolutely adored: When the characters mention "the couple who runs the orphanage" and the crows, I sort of get nostalgic (?) Especially when Nina said she wished Inej was there, I STAN THEIR FRIENDHIP!!! 😍 Towards the end, plot twists kept coming like one of those automatic gun machines🔫. There is no way anyone could have guessed them. Or maybe I'm just naive, whatever. Anyway, the characters were developed so, so well. Even though you're not a total bada** like they are, you'll find yourself relating to parts of their stories, which makes them attach to yourself like super glue 😎 So much themes were discussed: Fjerdan bigotry, sexism, feminism, abandonment, child marriage, grief, and of course, facing your demons.

This book was everything I imagined and please please, Rule of Wolves, don't disappoint me. I can't wait to see more of Zoyalai and just everything else!

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tomi_delano's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.0

An emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. I fell more and more in love with familiar characters and some new ones. I got very angry at other familiar characters. Spectacular writing from Leigh Bardugo as usual.

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citymouse's review against another edition

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3.0

Nina deserves to have her own series and her story entwined with Nikolai makes quite literally no sense. The book was good, but I would have preferred to see them as individual books rather than alternating between stories many lands apart.

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maureenocal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad 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

5.0

I loved every minute. It’s the perfect follow-up to the Crows duology with tons of references to old characters and previous action. I waited to read this until I also had the sequel (Rule of Wolves) in my hands because once I realized Leigh wasn’t writing it as a standalone, I knew the end would leave me screaming. And it did, oh it did it suuure did.

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kaylamoran's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

Better than Shadow and Bone, but not as good as Six of Crows. I'm glad Leigh stuck with the multiple perspectives set up, as I much prefer it. However I will say that one of the storylines was much less interesting than the other ones, at least for me.

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