Scan barcode
crosswarrior7's review against another edition
4.0
❧ Summary: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo starts off the third series in the Grishaverse, following Nikolai and Zoya from the original Grisha trilogy and Nina from the Six of Crows series. Ravka is threatened on all sides—Shu with their parem and super soldiers, Fjerda intent on war, Kerch desiring knowledge in exchange for debt help, the very demon within their king, and now worshippers of a war criminal claiming great events are signs of times to come. While Nikolai and Zoya struggle to handle this, an official and personal mission takes Nina deep within the Fjerdan borders. While there to discover a peace for what she has lost, she finds a horrible plot endangering all Grisha. Monsters hang over these three great Ravkans, but they may become ones themselves rather than being what’s within.
❧ Plot: Quite simply, I loved it. It didn’t go at all how I expected it to, mostly because the summary didn’t really point at anything specific. Look, we’re here, at this book. It’s the third series in this grand universe, and the summary treats it as such. It plays on our prior knowledge of a beloved character, the temptation of a dark spirit still dwelling within him, and it pulls us in.
The plot has two branching paths that it follows. The first path is with Nikolai, Zoya, and other beloved faces from the original trilogy. Ravka has always been a sort of weaker political kingdom that only thrives because of the Grisha power led by the Darkling because, well, their last king sucked. All the while, that beast that the Darkling turned Nikolai into in Ruin and Rising is apparently just now trapped within Nikolai, and he has started turning into the best again during the night hours.
So the Ravkan guys have a lot of stuff to solidify, and when mentions of a festival inviting all countries with the promise of finding a wife comes up early on... Well, quite simply, I was sure that the plot was going to be a mixture of Nikolai and Zoya wiggling around political and physical dangers while Nikolai tried courting girls just to fall for Zoya.
Boy oh boy, was I wrong. The plot takes a hard left with the introduction of this Starless One cult thing (people worshipping the Darkling as a Saint) which directs the plot in a more “slay Nikolai’s inner demon” way that just... Doesn’t let off the gas on surprises after that. I can’t really go into it without spoilers, but dang. I loved where it went because it added so much to Grisha lore that I adored and just hope is expanded upon more in Rule of Wolves. It wasn’t what I expected, perhaps not even done in the absolutely best way (as some felt it dragged and came too hard out of left field, which I can see to a point), but its contribution to the world at large plus the sheer weight that Nikolai and Zoya carry with their narratives made it very enjoyable and had me eager to discover more.
Then you have the other path: Nina. She’s returned from Kerch to re-join the Ravkan army, but due to her own interests and struggles, Nikolai sent her, Adrik (younger brother of Nadia, all grown up), and a new character on a mission to Fjerda to help hidden Grisha escape. Nina, however, has the secondary mission of her own to find a proper burial place for Matthias (WHICH I AM STILL ANGRY ABOUT, BY THE WAY). But while there, she is drawn to a nearby city. Dragging the others along, she discovers a sinister plot centered around a factory that seems to be poisoning the town’s water supply. A factory that just may have something to do with the tales of girls going missing in that town.
There was mystery to Nina’s plot. A very fun, compelling mystery at that. And when the mystery unfolded, I really liked it. So why was I a bit saddened every time I saw we had reached a Nina chapter? Well, quite simply, her tale wasn’t as compelling. It dragged a lot more, relying too hard on the mystery and, well... Building up a connection for Nina to a new character. Also a lot of sorrow at the start, but given that I’m still sorrowful (angry, sorrowful, same thing, right?) about the ending of last book, I get it. But still, there was that drag. And when that passing of an ex-lover drag is followed up by what is very evidently a brand new love interest being developed dragging...
Maybe there was less nothing compelling and more just “okay, Nina is going to try to open the eyes of a Fjerdan love interest again... Right after losing her last love interest...” There was some extra intrigue with this one because of some factors, yes, but yeah. When Nina’s plot was split between really interesting, compelling mystery and a romance that I didn’t really care about and was a bit repetitive of the one that I did care about that was randomly killed off... I’m sure you can see the issue.
❧ Characters: Nikolai has always been a favorite of mine, so I’m sure you can only imagine how excited I was to hear that this series focused so much on him. It did not disappoint me one bit. He continued to be his glorious self, and on top of that, we have the wonderous angst of being in his head! It is a controlled angst that is very enjoyable to read, and the demon in him added a really fun element to it all :D
Zoya wasn’t a favorite in the original Grisha trilogy (okay, I literally only really liked the Darkling and Nikolai...), so I was always very confused when I saw how much love she got from friends. But now... Well, now I understand. I just have to repeat how much better this is from the original trilogy, okay? The skeleton that was there of Zoya has been expanded upon so much, giving us a much deeper understanding of her, more of an understanding than I think Bardugo even had when she wrote Zoya to begin with. Not to say some of the framework wasn’t there, but Zoya grew as Bardugo’s talents did. Or maybe I’m wrong and Bardugo did know, but Mal and Alina just sucked all good writing away. It expands a lot on the weaknesses that she keeps buried, explores why she acts the way she does, and really pushes her to grow in a way that could cause all Grisha to evolve, depending on the route it goes.
Nina was already a good character because SoC was just a good duology, and having a Crow amongst all the Ravkans had a very good contrast with morals and schemes and stuff. It just made for a really interesting show of seeing Nina’s Crow-self and her soldier-self collide. However, I have a handful of gripes with her, mostly that sometimes she feels too different from her SoC self. Which yeah, I get it, a lot has happened. So I’m not saying it’s not understandable. The execution is just questionable to me.
There are other characters introduced, mostly main characters from the original trilogy aged up, but we see some new ones that add a very interesting dynamic, like a very up-beat Grisha that is along with Nina and a very... misguided dude who worships very questionable people. Overall, all very fun and good characters and I repeat HOW DO MAL AND ALINE EXIST???
❧ Romance: So, like with Zoya, I went into this wondering how in the heck Nikolai and Zoya ended up being shipped, and although sometimes things feel a bit bumpy, it just... Works? Which I think it only does because Zoya’s character was built upon so much and Nikolai given more 3D elements to his perfection.
As I’ve mentioned, Nina gets a new love interest. Or at least they’re really setting the new character up to be. It’s blah. I’m not the biggest fan of it for multiple reasons, primarily the repetitive nature of it to her prior romance (in my opinion).
There was another romance set up between a couple background characters that I really enjoy, but it’s never going to take off for... reasons xD
So all in all, I look forward to more Nikolai and Zoya, even though I feel like it’ll not be a major focus because it’s a very plot/character driven narrative rather than focused on romance because, like... Lotsa fun issues these two have to handle!
❧ Writing: It’s Bardugo’s writing. Sometimes drags, overall pretty good while still being simple, but falls prey to PoV issues at times because she’s too intent on keeping us in the dark. It’s nowhere near as bad an issue as it was in the Six of Crows duology, but it’s still there.
❧ Overall: Sometimes the story felt long, but this was overall a wonderful addition to the Grishaverse, expanding upon its lore, giving love to much deserving characters, and wonderfully melding the Ravka we left in the original trilogy with the troubled world we met in the SoC series. 4 stars!
❧ Plot: Quite simply, I loved it. It didn’t go at all how I expected it to, mostly because the summary didn’t really point at anything specific. Look, we’re here, at this book. It’s the third series in this grand universe, and the summary treats it as such. It plays on our prior knowledge of a beloved character, the temptation of a dark spirit still dwelling within him, and it pulls us in.
The plot has two branching paths that it follows. The first path is with Nikolai, Zoya, and other beloved faces from the original trilogy. Ravka has always been a sort of weaker political kingdom that only thrives because of the Grisha power led by the Darkling because, well, their last king sucked. All the while, that beast that the Darkling turned Nikolai into in Ruin and Rising is apparently just now trapped within Nikolai, and he has started turning into the best again during the night hours.
So the Ravkan guys have a lot of stuff to solidify, and when mentions of a festival inviting all countries with the promise of finding a wife comes up early on... Well, quite simply, I was sure that the plot was going to be a mixture of Nikolai and Zoya wiggling around political and physical dangers while Nikolai tried courting girls just to fall for Zoya.
Boy oh boy, was I wrong. The plot takes a hard left with the introduction of this Starless One cult thing (people worshipping the Darkling as a Saint) which directs the plot in a more “slay Nikolai’s inner demon” way that just... Doesn’t let off the gas on surprises after that. I can’t really go into it without spoilers, but dang. I loved where it went because it added so much to Grisha lore that I adored and just hope is expanded upon more in Rule of Wolves. It wasn’t what I expected, perhaps not even done in the absolutely best way (as some felt it dragged and came too hard out of left field, which I can see to a point), but its contribution to the world at large plus the sheer weight that Nikolai and Zoya carry with their narratives made it very enjoyable and had me eager to discover more.
Then you have the other path: Nina. She’s returned from Kerch to re-join the Ravkan army, but due to her own interests and struggles, Nikolai sent her, Adrik (younger brother of Nadia, all grown up), and a new character on a mission to Fjerda to help hidden Grisha escape. Nina, however, has the secondary mission of her own to find a proper burial place for Matthias (WHICH I AM STILL ANGRY ABOUT, BY THE WAY). But while there, she is drawn to a nearby city. Dragging the others along, she discovers a sinister plot centered around a factory that seems to be poisoning the town’s water supply. A factory that just may have something to do with the tales of girls going missing in that town.
There was mystery to Nina’s plot. A very fun, compelling mystery at that. And when the mystery unfolded, I really liked it. So why was I a bit saddened every time I saw we had reached a Nina chapter? Well, quite simply, her tale wasn’t as compelling. It dragged a lot more, relying too hard on the mystery and, well... Building up a connection for Nina to a new character. Also a lot of sorrow at the start, but given that I’m still sorrowful (angry, sorrowful, same thing, right?) about the ending of last book, I get it. But still, there was that drag. And when that passing of an ex-lover drag is followed up by what is very evidently a brand new love interest being developed dragging...
Maybe there was less nothing compelling and more just “okay, Nina is going to try to open the eyes of a Fjerdan love interest again... Right after losing her last love interest...” There was some extra intrigue with this one because of some factors, yes, but yeah. When Nina’s plot was split between really interesting, compelling mystery and a romance that I didn’t really care about and was a bit repetitive of the one that I did care about that was randomly killed off... I’m sure you can see the issue.
❧ Characters: Nikolai has always been a favorite of mine, so I’m sure you can only imagine how excited I was to hear that this series focused so much on him. It did not disappoint me one bit. He continued to be his glorious self, and on top of that, we have the wonderous angst of being in his head! It is a controlled angst that is very enjoyable to read, and the demon in him added a really fun element to it all :D
Zoya wasn’t a favorite in the original Grisha trilogy (okay, I literally only really liked the Darkling and Nikolai...), so I was always very confused when I saw how much love she got from friends. But now... Well, now I understand. I just have to repeat how much better this is from the original trilogy, okay? The skeleton that was there of Zoya has been expanded upon so much, giving us a much deeper understanding of her, more of an understanding than I think Bardugo even had when she wrote Zoya to begin with. Not to say some of the framework wasn’t there, but Zoya grew as Bardugo’s talents did. Or maybe I’m wrong and Bardugo did know, but Mal and Alina just sucked all good writing away. It expands a lot on the weaknesses that she keeps buried, explores why she acts the way she does, and really pushes her to grow in a way that could cause all Grisha to evolve, depending on the route it goes.
Nina was already a good character because SoC was just a good duology, and having a Crow amongst all the Ravkans had a very good contrast with morals and schemes and stuff. It just made for a really interesting show of seeing Nina’s Crow-self and her soldier-self collide. However, I have a handful of gripes with her, mostly that sometimes she feels too different from her SoC self. Which yeah, I get it, a lot has happened. So I’m not saying it’s not understandable. The execution is just questionable to me.
There are other characters introduced, mostly main characters from the original trilogy aged up, but we see some new ones that add a very interesting dynamic, like a very up-beat Grisha that is along with Nina and a very... misguided dude who worships very questionable people. Overall, all very fun and good characters and I repeat HOW DO MAL AND ALINE EXIST???
❧ Romance: So, like with Zoya, I went into this wondering how in the heck Nikolai and Zoya ended up being shipped, and although sometimes things feel a bit bumpy, it just... Works? Which I think it only does because Zoya’s character was built upon so much and Nikolai given more 3D elements to his perfection.
As I’ve mentioned, Nina gets a new love interest. Or at least they’re really setting the new character up to be. It’s blah. I’m not the biggest fan of it for multiple reasons, primarily the repetitive nature of it to her prior romance (in my opinion).
There was another romance set up between a couple background characters that I really enjoy, but it’s never going to take off for... reasons xD
So all in all, I look forward to more Nikolai and Zoya, even though I feel like it’ll not be a major focus because it’s a very plot/character driven narrative rather than focused on romance because, like... Lotsa fun issues these two have to handle!
❧ Writing: It’s Bardugo’s writing. Sometimes drags, overall pretty good while still being simple, but falls prey to PoV issues at times because she’s too intent on keeping us in the dark. It’s nowhere near as bad an issue as it was in the Six of Crows duology, but it’s still there.
❧ Overall: Sometimes the story felt long, but this was overall a wonderful addition to the Grishaverse, expanding upon its lore, giving love to much deserving characters, and wonderfully melding the Ravka we left in the original trilogy with the troubled world we met in the SoC series. 4 stars!
shaunasbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3.75⭐️ rounded up. Definitely preferred the masterpiece that is soc duology over this, but once I got into the second half of the book, it picked up a bit, and I started to enjoy it more. I loved nina and zoyas chapters but I found nikolai a bit boring especially towards the start I was just so over him I felt his chapters were so lackluster compared to the others and his character wasn't as well fleshed out. Overall, I did enjoy the book, though, and I will be reading rule of wolves to finish out the series!
syrairai's review against another edition
4.0
I missed the grishaverse!! I was so happy to keep reading and find my way back to Nikolai! He was one of my favourite characters in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the only difference now is that Zoya is now probably my favourite lol
This book takes place after all that happens in Crooked Kingdom except we hear from Nikolai, Zoya and Nina who is actually in Fjerdan. I am happy to be back with Nina <3 and her power is so crazy!! In fact all their powers are so crazy and made for a very entertaining read. I felt as though this was a build up for Rule of Wolves so i'm curious to see how I find that one.
This book takes place after all that happens in Crooked Kingdom except we hear from Nikolai, Zoya and Nina who is actually in Fjerdan. I am happy to be back with Nina <3 and her power is so crazy!! In fact all their powers are so crazy and made for a very entertaining read. I felt as though this was a build up for Rule of Wolves so i'm curious to see how I find that one.
thea_maarup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Didn’t have me hooked from the beginning, but definitely in the end. Leigh Bardugo does it again.
Amazing, must read.
Amazing, must read.
rose_argentina3's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
sheax15's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
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
kenzaap's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
abbyl819's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I was torn on this book while reading it. It is definitely a slow book for me, it felt like nothing happened for the first 200 pages, which made it a struggle to read. I stuck with it mainly for the characters. I love the Shadow and Bone series and Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, but this just does not compare. Not as much happens, it is not as interesting, and while it kept some characters, the ones chosen to be in this book I wasn’t too attached to to begin with, and I felt my attachment to them fading as I read this book. I thought for sure that Zoya and Nina would come together in the end, but their two stories never tied together, so I’m not really sure what the point was since Nikolai still has no idea what was happening with Nina and everything in Fjerda. I did not like this ending either, for many reasons. I love this world, the magic system, and most of the characters, so that is why this still gets a decent rating and I will read the next book, but the plot and the story doesn’t compare to Leigh Bardugo’s other books, unfortunately. I hope we get some of the characters that I like more than these ones back in the next book.
I was torn on this book while reading it. It is definitely a slow book for me, it felt like nothing happened for the first 200 pages, which made it a struggle to read. I stuck with it mainly for the characters. I love the Shadow and Bone series and Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, but this just does not compare. Not as much happens, it is not as interesting, and while it kept some characters, the ones chosen to be in this book I wasn’t too attached to to begin with, and I felt my attachment to them fading as I read this book. I thought for sure that Zoya and Nina would come together in the end, but their two stories never tied together, so I’m not really sure what the point was since Nikolai still has no idea what was happening with Nina and everything in Fjerda. I did not like this ending either, for many reasons. I love this world, the magic system, and most of the characters, so that is why this still gets a decent rating and I will read the next book, but the plot and the story doesn’t compare to Leigh Bardugo’s other books, unfortunately. I hope we get some of the characters that I like more than these ones back in the next book.
fromverotohero's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Can I give it more than 5 stars? WHAT A JOURNEY!
Coming back to the familiar characters going though a new, even more dangerous, adventure.. it was attacking my feels left and right.
It did take me forever to finish the book, because I was afraid of my beloved characters getting battered and hurt, and as per usual, Leigh Bardugo did not disappoint.
Coming back to the familiar characters going though a new, even more dangerous, adventure.. it was attacking my feels left and right.
It did take me forever to finish the book, because I was afraid of my beloved characters getting battered and hurt, and as per usual, Leigh Bardugo did not disappoint.