Reviews with content warning for Genocide - King of Scars

I read this book after having read the Six of Crows duology, being excited to continue the Grishaverse. I would not say that I was disappointed but it wasn't entirely what I had expected. The only crow it focusses on is Nina Zenik (who is an icon, I love her with all my heart, don't get me wrong) which is amazing, because she is so developed, driven by her grief and ready to seek revenge -

it is beyond fulfilling to see her get it not only for her but also for the dead women and children by having them speak their truth and avenge themselves through her power

, but I did wish for some insight of how the other crows have been going on. Apart from that, the plot was great and the writing very true to Bardugo but I do feel like it can not entirely match the atmosphere and brilliance of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. Nevertheless, the ending took some turns I did not expect and left me pretty shocked. I'm most definitely excited to read the sequel!

Content Warnings

lavenderbluestories's review

Go to review page

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!

Content Warnings

minavs's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

luluslittlelibrary's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings