A review by stellenelcielo
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. Bardugo definitely salvaged and made up for Ruin and Rising here, in fact, I think she made up for all of the worst parts of the Shadow and Bone series. She made up for the lack of diversity it had, for the internalized misogyny that featured heavily in it, and it gave depth to characters who were depthless before. 

My favourite had to be Zoya Nazyalensky, she's ruthless, brutal, frank, and she had a reason for why she is all those things. She isn't secretly this soft girl, but she does briefly mourn never ever having the choice to be that, and I really liked that. It was a nice view into how trauma, neglect, and manipulation really force a person to grow up too fast, forcing them to have to be hard to survive. Despite all of this, and that she's portrayed as emotionless, there are times where Bardugo shows that she's anything but, making her one of the most enjoyable characters in the book.

This book also endeared me more towards Nina, and I'm finding this ruthless side suits her, though it took me near to the end to actually enjoy her chapters. Honestly, I can say that I don't really care about Fjerda in general, as Bardugo has gone out of her way to make it seem like a truly distasteful country, with its rampant sexism and anti-Grisha ideology, and I do enjoy the idea of Nina smashing it all into bits, I understand the need to make it a central plot to the series.

All that aside, I really liked how the book ended off, the "Oh shit, what now?" officially has me in a chokehold until I read the next book, so I'd have to say it's worth all four stars just for that.
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