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A review by jayal
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
"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 from the world." - Sankt Juris
I believe Nikolai's kindness stems from his compulsive tendecy of people pleasing. If he wasn't such a people pleaser, given his origin story, he'd be a villain.
In addition, I declare that Nikolai is by far my top favorite male character written by a woman. I'm so used to reading about brooding and mysterious male characters that Nikolai is sooooo refresing to read. He's unabashedly vain and charming with a strong sense of style. Not a hint of misogyny or him feeling emasculated whilst being around strong female characters. If Brooklyn Nine-Nine has Jake Peralta, then Grishaverse has Nikolai Lantsov.
Also, the Nikolai and Nina RIZZ is effortlessly amazing. I sure hope these two would get to meet each other again soon. I need to see more interactions between these two!!! I believe they'd make a great duo.
I liked Zoya's background story, it gave her character much more depth and justifies her behavior towards Alina and other people in the original trilogy. I liked how the author showed Jarl Brum's human side. I liked Sankt Grigori and Sankt Juris. And I soooo loved the the twists and turns in Isaak's story.
However, if not for the revival of a character that should've never returned, this easily would've been an easy 5-star for me. This twist felt lazy to me. His death and Alina's deed by the end of the previous trilogy was suddenly for naught. This character already had a good ending, in my opinion, in the previous books, it doesn't feel necessary to bring him back again. Why don't we get a new villain instead? Come on, I really thought we were about to have a queen bee for a villain. That would've been cool.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
I believe Nikolai's kindness stems from his compulsive tendecy of people pleasing. If he wasn't such a people pleaser, given his origin story, he'd be a villain.
In addition, I declare that Nikolai is by far my top favorite male character written by a woman. I'm so used to reading about brooding and mysterious male characters that Nikolai is sooooo refresing to read. He's unabashedly vain and charming with a strong sense of style. Not a hint of misogyny or him feeling emasculated whilst being around strong female characters. If Brooklyn Nine-Nine has Jake Peralta, then Grishaverse has Nikolai Lantsov.
Also, the Nikolai and Nina RIZZ is effortlessly amazing. I sure hope these two would get to meet each other again soon. I need to see more interactions between these two!!! I believe they'd make a great duo.
I liked Zoya's background story, it gave her character much more depth and justifies her behavior towards Alina and other people in the original trilogy. I liked how the author showed Jarl Brum's human side. I liked Sankt Grigori and Sankt Juris. And I soooo loved the the twists and turns in Isaak's story.
However, if not for the revival of a character that should've never returned, this easily would've been an easy 5-star for me. This twist felt lazy to me. His death and Alina's deed by the end of the previous trilogy was suddenly for naught. This character already had a good ending, in my opinion, in the previous books, it doesn't feel necessary to bring him back again. Why don't we get a new villain instead? Come on, I really thought we were about to have a queen bee for a villain. That would've been cool.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗