theinquisitxor 's review for:

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

4.0

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I have so many mixed emotions about this book that I'm not sure I can write all of them down. On one hand, I thought this was a very good book, but it did not have quite the awesomeness of a five-star book. I'm one of those people who liked SoC and CK better than the Grisha Trilogy and this book definitely falls into the category of a Grisha book, which is maybe part of the reason I did not love it as much as SoC. Secondly, many parts of this book felt fairy-taleish? And I did not care for that overall vibe. I enjoy the realistic parts of the Grisha world (which was mainly highlighted in SoC). I adored reading The Language of Thorns, and I feel like Bardugo drew heavily on the themes of those short stories for this book.
One thing that I did not mind is the plot pacing. I have seen a lot of people complain about how slow the book seems at some parts, but that did not bother me- but I usually like books with a slower plot anyways. Last two things that I did not really like: It felt a little like FanFiction? Some of the events seemed as if it came out of a really great fanfiction. Which I am kinda laughing at that thought, but its true. I think Bardugo made it work, even if some of the ideas felt a little off. Lastly: I still do not know if I liked the ending at all. Again-it felt a little like Fanfiction. But I am curious to see how Bardugo continues this. I did really enjoy reading this and I am really looking forward to whatever happens next. The characters got me hooked and so did all the magic of Bardugo's writing and world-building.

I am going to put some spoilers under this (because I need to share my thoughts) :

I think that Darkling should have been left alone. I feel like he died, and he should stay dead, especially after all the Alina went through and the fact that she is still alive, all that she did seems worthless now. And the whole thing with the saints also was a bit too fantasy-like for my taste. I know this review may seem really negative, but I promise, I really did like this book! I continued to love all the characters. Nikolai was charming as ever, but we also got more of a feel of who he really is. I never had really cared much for Zoya in the other series, but boy I stan her now. And I had suspicions going into the book that Bardugo would try to pair up Nikolai and Zoya, which I was hesitant about, but now I am all for it. I adored Nina's story. I got so emotional when she was trying to say goodbye to Matthias and find a proper place to bury him. The way that she was still able to hear him broke my heart and I secretly wished that Nina would still be able to bring him back. And TRASSEL. That part also hurt, but I hope those two do eventually find each other. I am also very excited for Hanne and what she and Nina will do together to bring change to Fjerda (and hopefully get a little romance too!) Anyway, my rant is over but I am excited to see what happens in the next book!