Reviews with content warning for Murder - King of Scars

Leigh Bardugo has done it again. My compliments to the chef for this great dish I've been given.
I always loved Nikolai and couldn't fathom why Alina didn't choose him over LITERALLY EVERYONE. I LOVE MAL (and loathe the Darkling) AND I WOULD'VE DROPPED EITHER OF THEM THE MINUTE THAT NIKOLAI OFFERED ME HIS HAND IN MARRIAGE. LIKE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?! HE WAS FUNNY AND SWEET AND CHARMING IN THE SHADOW AND BONE SERIES AND WAS EVEN MORE SO YEARS LATER IN KING OF SCARS. Needless to say, I love this man to death.

Zoya isn't a character I loved when she was first introduced (though I can agree her confidence and her strength is top tier) but I grew to love her immensely in this novel. She was so funny and melds so well with Nikolai that I'm surprised they AREN'T fucking in the novel like ???? Girl... please. But also... I get it, beware of men with power Zoya.

Nina was a character I ADORED in Six of Crows but during her POV I kept finding myself tryign to rush through her story to try and get to Zoya and Nikolai (and later Isaak). I really liked Leoni (and the fact that she's the girl Jesper's mom saved) and Adrik but... seeing Nina without the other Crows was a little heart breaking. She's a great character on her own but I think I loved her more within the context of the heists in the Six of Crows duology. Which is not to say that I hate her in this novel in any capacity it's just that I found the other POV's more interesting and relevant to the plot. I'm sure in Rule of Wolves Nina's plans will make more sense but this is how I feel for now.

ISAAK!!!! MY POOR BABY BOY!!!! HE DESERVED SO MUCH MORE. He was so much smarter than he gave himself credit for. Not anyone could mimic someone (let alone a King) for SO LONG and not have anyone notice. Since he was friends with Nikolai he was able to adopt his mannerisms so well and I WISH THAT HE COULD HAVE SURVIVED HIS WOUNDS JUST LIKE THE FAKE EHRI DID. His gut wound should not have killed him that fast! If they had managed to save the False Princess, it should have been easy for them to save him too...

Yuri... I wanted to wring his neck from the moment he appeared... and they should have done that too.

What I don't like (and the reason why this book is a 4 and not a 5) is that the Darkling was resurrected AGAIN. I think I would have preferred if Elizaveta was the one who had survived/escaped the fold and had entered Yuri's body (if that's what happened at the ned). It would have been more fun in my opinion. I'm tired of the boring, dusty, old Darkling. Elizaveta's motivations were similar to the Darkling's anyways and it would have been fun to know that, even if part of the Darkling had escaped as well, that Elizaveta would admit that she killed what was left of him in favor of escaping. *sigh*

Anyways, I'm excited for Rule of Wolves.

Content Warnings

audlittlebookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I enjoyed this so much! This one is more political drama with a touch of espionage. We also got to see characters dealing with grief and PTSD. Leigh Bardugo is a master at writing stories with multiple perspectives and giving each character a unique voice. There was a portion in the last half of the book that felt a bit hard to follow and didn’t flow as smoothly as the rest. In all fairness, that could have been intentional, given the context, but it made that section less enjoyable to read.

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themiscyra_anna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-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

Content Warnings

onecheesetoasty'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.75

The emotional whiplash that this book has left me with is astounding. Leigh Bardugo has perfectly crafted the Grishaverse and has perfectly tied in character history with the other books in the series. This one broke my heart and gave me hope for future books in the best way.

This book follows Nikolai, Zoya and Nina and takes place 3 years after the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and a year after the Six of Crows duology. All three of these characters are aome of my absolut favourites from this series.

As someone who loved Zoya from book one of Shadow and Bone, rightly or wrongly, this was more her book than Nikolai's story. This gave her already tenacious character a brutal backstory and an awe-inspiring yet tragic redemption. This gives us understanding of who she is and why. I am honestly in love with her.

This book, from the Triumvirate's perspective, and Zoya and Nikolai's perspectives turned the whole Grishaverse on its head and the second that happened I was lost in the story in the best way possible.

Nina's character has always been a law unto herself, but her story in this felt disconnected from the rest of it. I feel Nina, Adrik and Leoni could have done with their own spin-off really however I did love learning more about their characters and recognising the references to previous books.

However, I am very confused as to what happened with the men from the very start of the story. Maybe I misread that bit but the whole time I was asking where they went and if they ever made it to Ravka.

That ending honestly has me in a spin, what an absolutely genius yet evil way to end a book.

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.0

I hadn’t done enough research to even realize this one should be read after the Shadow & Bone Trilogy & the Six of Crows Duology, but luckily I did read it after. I found it really fun & insightful to finally have Zoya & Nikolai’s POVs, but also so happy to get Nina’s again too. The duo storylines were interesting, too, but with all Nina’s grief I did find Zoya/Nikolai’s more compelling.

Found Family, No True Romance Subplots

“Each spine had been an open doorway whispering, Come in, come in. Here is a land you’ve never seen before. Here is a place to hide when you’re frightened, to play when you’re bored, to rest when the world seems unkind.”

“Hope was the wind that came from nowhere to fill your sails and carry you home.”

“It must be easy to ponder the universe, safe in your palace, away from the petty, brutal dealings of man. Maybe you don’t remember what it is to be powerless. I do.”

“You’ve spent your life only choosing the paths at which you knew you could excel. It’s made you lazy.”

“Most of us can hide our greatest hurts and longings. It’s how we survive each day. We pretend the pain isn’t there, that we are made of scars instead of wounds.“

“Stop punishing yourself for being someone with a heart. You cannot protect yourself from suffering. To live is to grieve. You are not protecting yourself by shutting yourself off from the world. You are limiting yourself.”

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