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A review by writervid
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
(3.5/5 stars)
Okay. Here's the thing you have to keep in mind when reading this: This book is for us. It's not going to be easy for new readers to understand all the time, although Bardugo does a good job of making this a good gateway to her world. It's for us fans who read The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows and wanted MORE. And that's clear from the way the book is written; it's more characterization based than conflict based. Which could get tiresome, after a time, but if you're a fan, you're going to love this. A lot of characters we know and love, like Zoya (ZOYA oh my god) and Adrik, get more page time in this book, and we get more insight into them, which was wonderful. The most compelling things about this book were the characters and the world.
However, there were flaws. I think what felt off for this book for me was Nina. I don't think she, as much as I love her, added to the plot at all. There was no inherent theme she was attached to, other than perhaps that of a second chance. Her story took away from the main plot, slowed down the pacing, and brought me out of the action. I'd much rather see her again as a cameo later than have her doing things in an entirely separate location with an entirely different goal. I would die for Nina, but here, I was just unclear as to why she was there outside of fanservice.
This book walks a fine line between fanservice and great. I loved this book, despite the slower pacing, the confusion of Nina's plotline, and how hard it was to get into.
Okay. Here's the thing you have to keep in mind when reading this: This book is for us. It's not going to be easy for new readers to understand all the time, although Bardugo does a good job of making this a good gateway to her world. It's for us fans who read The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows and wanted MORE. And that's clear from the way the book is written; it's more characterization based than conflict based. Which could get tiresome, after a time, but if you're a fan, you're going to love this. A lot of characters we know and love, like Zoya (ZOYA oh my god) and Adrik, get more page time in this book, and we get more insight into them, which was wonderful. The most compelling things about this book were the characters and the world.
However, there were flaws. I think what felt off for this book for me was Nina. I don't think she, as much as I love her, added to the plot at all. There was no inherent theme she was attached to, other than perhaps that of a second chance. Her story took away from the main plot, slowed down the pacing, and brought me out of the action. I'd much rather see her again as a cameo later than have her doing things in an entirely separate location with an entirely different goal. I would die for Nina, but here, I was just unclear as to why she was there outside of fanservice.
This book walks a fine line between fanservice and great. I loved this book, despite the slower pacing, the confusion of Nina's plotline, and how hard it was to get into.