A review by elthechameleon
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

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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