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bergha1998's review
- 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
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.”
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, War, Slavery, Kidnapping, Grief, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
danicakvcs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Murder, Slavery, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, and Child death
Minor: Suicide attempt and Fire/Fire injury
serendipity421's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Pregnancy, Addiction, Drug use, Murder, Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
shelvesofivy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Murder, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, Child death, Miscarriage, Medical content, War, and Pedophilia
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Torture, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, War, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit and Xenophobia
cecinamo's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Addiction, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, Blood, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: War, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Vomit
onefineelephant's review
- 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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Trafficking, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Child death, Rape, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War
michaelat21's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and War
queer_bookwyrm's review
- 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
4.0
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo is book one in the King of Scars duology, a continuation of the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows series. If you haven't read those yet, beware of spoilers for those series. I'm glad I picked this one up. I remember when this first came out people said is was slow or it wasn't good when compare with Six of Crows, but time has given me a gift. My opinions on Six of Crows is so clouded, that it impact how I feel about this book. I quite liked it.
This time we focus on Nikolai Lantsov, the King of Ravka, after the events of Shadow and Bone. We see him grapple with the monster inside him left by the Darkling. He struggles to control the beast, and seeks a ritual to rid him of it. We get to learn about Zoya's history in this book and get her point of view. I love that Bardugo never softens Zoya, and leans into her thirst for power. Nina Zenik is under cover in Fjerda helping persecuted Grisha and testing out her new powers granted by her use of jurda parem. I love Nina so much. I could read just about her. She gets to do some amazing things! Give me more Nina. And waffles.
I loved getting an inside look at Nikolai without all the bluster and charm he protects himself with, so we can see his insecurities and his doubts. It makes for some really great growth. As funny as Nikolai usually is, Davis stole the show with his dry, comedic timing, along with Genya. We get plenty of twists, some of which I saw coming and some of which I didn't.
Looking forward to Rule of Wolves.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Torture, Blood, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Death
prettynerdy3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Child death
Moderate: Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Slavery, and War