King of Scars

3,5* stars

Okay, first of all:
- the ending was so so so good, but fuck Isaak should have lived
- the last part of the book was so much better than the first
- I LIVE for Hanne and Nina's interactions.
- I am SO scared Brum is gonna find out Nina is Nina (AGAIN) please
- ZOYA AS THE DRAGON??? I HAVE BEEN BLESSED

Second of all:
This book was a bit of a roller coaster especially it took me literally months to finish it ....
I just found the first part of the book boring and slugging on with characters we do know, but also not really. It is also a much more political centered book (with Yuri/the monk) and Ravka's obvious financial problems and I simply do not care much for it.
The adventures in Fjerda were also a bit lost on me in the first part and Nina's chapters just felt out of touch with the other part of the story.
And as I said before, it was just really really slow pacwd, but as soon as the second part began action came back up and from then on I loved it!

Isaak as Nikolai? Both funny and scary and the ending Leigh gave him was not deserved.
The meeting with the three saints (Juris, Grigori and Elisaveta) with their corrupted powers of who they once were, stuck in the fold and limited to one place. They were described like gods and it worked. It convinced me they were great beings with great powers and their chapters were interesting with even some lore. I should have seen Elisaveta's betrayal coming with my knowledge of Rule of Wolves being released this year, but I was truly hoping for them to succeed.
But alas the monster remains and the saints have perished, except Juris who lives on in Zoya, and our favorite Starless Saint has returned in little Yuri.

What a book. If the first part could have been different I would have given it a 5/5 for sure, but I cannot just forget the reading slump that part gave me despite the addicting ending. Let's not forget the fact Nikolai is barely in this book, despite it being his duology...