King of Scars

This book has been my most anticipated release of this year and you all can bet that despite this review being posted today, I actually did read and finish the book on the day of its release because I couldn't imagine going to sleep without knowing what happens to my darling Nikolai. And I'm so glad that this book lived up to all my expectations and more. Definitely going to be one of my top reads of 2019.

I am completely in love with the world that Leigh has created and it was so much fun to be back in Ravka. This is a different kingdom now, still ravaged by the failures of the previous king and the destruction wrought by the Darkling. The author gives us a tale of a young king trying his best to give his kingdom peace, of the people who are so desperate that some would rewrite history to project the Darkling as a Saint, of the Grisha and the first army within the country trying to develop their defenses to protect their country from multiple enemies, while the spy network is trying to protect the Grisha who are oppressed and killed in the enemy states. But what astounded me the most was that the author took everything that we knew about the Small Science and completely upended it. The implications of this new reality are staggering and I can't wait to see how it all plays out in the later books. We also get a much deeper look into the culture and the brutality of the Fjerdans and some history of the Shu royal family and it was great to know about them. And we obviously get more of what Leigh is best at - sassy, funny, sarcastic and extremely quotable dialogues between the characters and I absolutely fell in love again with the banter.

Nikolai my bae is back and I loved reading his POV. However, he is not the same man anymore and the stress of running and protecting his country while the coffers are empty and trying to control the monster in himself is totally stressing him out. This book is essentially his journey, him figuring it all out; how to be the King his beloved Ravka needs, how to vanquish his enemies without trying to plunge them into an all out war again and making the journey to the Fold - back to where it all started and decide what he is ready to sacrifice. We have mostly known his sassy and strategic side before, but in this book we get a more vulnerable side to him, someone who loves his country more than anything, a prince who never liked being idle and always wanted to be productive, who despite being the King and knowing the political reality, longs for true friends and companionship. He really is such an amazing character and even seeing him bare all his insecurities, I can only love him more and I can keep talking about him all day 😂😂

We get to also read from both Zoya's and Nina's POVs and they truly were revelations. Nina is drowning in her grief and survivor's guilt and is trying to live the only way she can - protecting the Grisha who can't defend themselves. We see more of how the new powers are affecting her and they play such a huge role in her journey. She, Adrik and Leoni are unwittingly thrown into a huge secret plot of the Fjerdans which would drastically affect the future of Ravka and in their efforts to destroy it, they are helped by a Fjerdan girl (possible LI for Nina). I loved this development of friendship between Nina and the young woman, it's tentative and sweet but also full of secrets and lies ... and when the truths get revealed, they are explosive and I'm awaiting with bated breath as to what their decisions will lead to.

Zoya was never written as someone who we'll like instantly because she can be very abrasive. But being in her head is a revelation. Despite showing the world her mask of the King's General, she hides a traumatic past and uses all of her grief and the lessons she has brutally learned to move forward, to protect her people and her King. Her friendship with Nikolai was the best part of the book for me and there is so much push and pull, their feelings quite intense but they never tell each other because their duty to their country comes first. However, they do share some of their truths and fears and insecurities and it was great getting to know more about them and both of them trusting each other so much. Zoya is also tested more than anyone and I totally came to admire her strength and drive and immense resilience in the face of adversity. She never backs down from a fight and I can't wait to see more of her.

I knew I was gonna love this book even before I started this, so my rating is not going to be a surprise. Obviously if you have read and loved any of Bardugo's books, I highly recommend this one. I have seen many discussions around if this book can be read without reading the Grisha trilogy and my strong opinion is that it's not possible to feel the magic of this story without reading both the original trilogy and the SoC duology. This book is full of little references to incidents and characters from them which made me insanely happy and I think the knowledge of the universe makes the reading experience of this book much better. This may not be as action packed as I probably expected, but the writing is wonderful as usual, the plot is engaging, the revelations and the ending are spectacular, completely blew my mind and I would give anything to read what happens next.

“Zoya of the lost city. Zoya of the garden. Zoya bleeding in the snow. You are strong enough to survive the fall”

I DID NOT KNOW I NEEDED THIS BOOK IN MY LIFE UNTILL NOW. lots of peoples say that this book is boring, but I found it so fun and exciting. Zoya is 100% my favorite character

GO TOO HELL THE DARKLING

This was cool! But a little repetitive...
When I see Leigh Bardugo's book, I need to read it! I really liked the Grisha trilogy and Alina's story. I read Six of Crows Series, which I also liked. (I found out there will be the third one!) So, I see this author's book, I need to read it!
However, I felt that King of Scars isn't adding anything new to the story. It was a book to fill the TVShow's gaps. It also helped to better develop some characters. So, I was a bit disappointed.

After a brief hiatus from the Grishaverse, it felt good to get back in! King of Scars picks up about three years after the events of Shadow and Bone. And it seems to be months after the Six of Crows books. This is also a duology featuring more Zoya and Nikolai.

It read pretty quick, as it jumps from character to character and I wanted to know what happened next! Reminded me of how The DaVinci Code read.

It almost seemed like two different stories at times, but I'm sure it's going to come together in a Rule of Wolves. Which I started immediately haha.

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...

I'm sorry, but this is just dreadful. I read some of it, but... I can't do this. As much as I liked Nikolai in the original trilogy, he couldn't save this. Leigh Bardugo found success among the trendy YA of today, but lost me as a reader. Yes, I know, I am also sure she is crying into her pile of money about that, it must be difficult to hear I won't be reading any more of her books. So let me also tell you why. The thing I loved about the first trilogy was the worldbuilding. I like the pseudo-Russia and the powers and the Little Palace and the monsters and shit. That was what got me into this. I also really hated a lot of the characters and just wished for the author to do better at that. What she did was... go for the exact opposite with the Six of Crows duology. Yes, every person who isn't me absolutely freaking adored that one. I found the setting boring and the characters the perfect example of juvenile “UWU, a bunch of quirky weirdos together”. They were caricatures and totally unbelievable as a band of for realsies badass gansters. Like do fuck off, actual criminals won't fear a bunch of teenie bopper cartoon characters. So... I quit in the middle of the first book, which is supposedly not a great idea, as like one of the POV characters is from there. Whoops, my bad? Now lets just talk about this one. I do not expect every single character to be a nice person, and that's perfectly fine. I love a good asshole (don't quote me on that, I don't want to be known as the person who said that), but I want them to be known and accepted as assholes. Authors, please. STOP making bitchy, rude, horrid female characters seem like they are not only right to be so, but adored and treated like they are perfect little cupcakes for being abusive to everyone around them. First [b:A Deadly Education 50548197 A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1) Naomi Novik https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596909044l/50548197.SY75.jpg 75543174], now this? Now some of you will be like “but ma'am, why are you saying that about female characters???”. Because male characters are regularly called out for this shit and we STILL pretend a cunty female character is yaaaas kweeeeen. Somehow people are stupid. Will I have to read through one more scene of Zoya being absolutely shitty and yet everyone falling over themselves for her? We all know she will end up with Nikolai and not change, so like. Just stop. Nina is annoying. Look. I know. Nina is fat. Which is... representation? Okay, but do we really have to mention it a million times that she does indeed like eating sweets? We all know what fat means and what you generally do to be so. I do eat a lot of stuff, candy included and I'm not skinny. Do you have to go there and do the whole “and Nina would never say no to a second slice of cake”? That sounds almost mean. Another piece of representation that went tits up is Nina being bisexual. Her boyfriend dies in a previous book, which is obviously a sad thing. At the beginning of this one she is absolutely wrecked by it still, perfectly understandable. So much so she drags his dead body through countries and hears his voice in her head. But like look, there is a girl riding a horse in men's clothes. Boom, bitch, a love interest. So what was that big fuss about the dead dude? Liking a woman is so different from liking a man that it's like romantic trauma doesn't matter if you just go play the other team. Again, so woke it's turning kind of horrible and hurtful. Besides, it's totally wasted writing, like what was such a big drama about Dude dying if she can just hop over like it's nothing? Another similarly tonedeaf moment. At one point Nina and her totally uninteresting companions (cheerful black girl and emo white boy with one arm) run into Girl in Dude Clothes and her similarly attired friends. To which Nina, traumatised by death, thinks ‘“oh, these oppressed girls, at least in my country women can be soldiers, that's so good”. Excuse me? They are FORCED. Grisha children are snatched from their families. Sure, supposedly not anymore, but I distinctly remember in the original trilogy extensively talking about this. How Grisha kids could never see their families again. They got abused into using their powers better. They were forced to hunt for special magical animals to have amplified powers. Then they became birds in gilded cages, who were just tools at the disposal of the rulers. One of the big plot points was the protagonist making herself sick with suppressing her powers to be allowed to stay with her friend! Hey, even the normal army had women. Surprise, they were all miserable and then they died. HOW EQUAL. HOW FREE. Why do people pretend that being forced into the exact same kind of slavery, pain and death as men is so much more free for women? What I've read of this was not great. I didn't have fun and I wasn't inspired to go on. It was just so... what sells now. In an uninspired way.

while it started slow, it was nice to visit the world again.

the characters were well thought out and old characters grew. Zoya had a deep level of depth I didn't foresee. Nikolai and Zoya banter was on point. And Nina was brilliant, as always but seeing her grow from Six of Crows was great.

I would have loved to see more internal emotions from Nikolai as he battles his monster, but that's my only issue with the book.

a simple enough plot, but the Characters drove this story. the twist at the end I foresaw, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The war with the Darkling may be over but Ravka is far from safe. Nikolai has his work cut out for him, trying to keep the countries surrounding Ravka from tearing it apart. But keeping the peace isn't the only thing Nikolai has to worry about. Scars left over from the Darkling riddle Nikolai's body and mind, filling him with dark magic. His nights are plagued by nightmares and the magic is beginning to take control of his mind. While Zoya and the others are doing all they can to keep Nikolai safe, he must find a cure as the darkness inside him digs its claws deeper.

Nina has been struggling to find a purpose in her life. Across the sea, she is working in secret to save Grisha and return them to Ravka. She is drawn to a munitions factory in Gafvalle, where the dead are calling to her. What she will find, will bring a whole new horror to the Grisha and she will have to come face to face with her worst enemy.

I will admit this book started off a bit slow. I was worried that after devouring the previous novels this one would let me down. I shouldn't have worried, because once again Leigh Bardugo created a story that takes hold of you and makes you continue reading. Of course, I was excited to read this one because of Nikolai. A whole book dedicated to Nikolai? Hell yes! Throughout the Grishaverse he has stolen quite a few hearts, mine included. His first few scenes show a man who is losing hope. A man who has been battling for so long time and just wants it to be over. I was disheartened and thought the man I fell in love with was gone. But then as he begins to plot and scheme, the old Nikolai begins to shine through.

Now there's Zoya, a character I have absolutely hated since she first appeared. The minute I saw she had chapters I was appalled. Her cold attitude, her cockiness, everything about her grated on my nerves. But then something amazing happened. Leigh Bardugo painted Zoya in an entirely new light and gave her a storyline where I actually began attaching myself to her and enjoying her chapters. Now that takes talent.

On top of the talent Bardugo has with character development, she never hesitates to throw her characters into tight situations. You'll be on the edge of your seat knowing all hell is breaking loose and guessing how the characters are going to save themselves. Once the story gets rolling, there is never a dull moment. She also doesn't hesitate to throw the floor out from underneath of you with her ending. Seriously, get ready for a hell of a next novel because she just upended everything!

I care enough about these characters to read about them and there are some good ideas here:

Humanizing Zoya's backstory
Nikolai's real and metaphorical demons
Nina's bitter grief and quest across cultures
People unexpectedly worshiping the Darkling

Perhaps most of all, I really like what Brandon Sanderson in Mistborn calls “What happens after the good guys win.” Oftentimes we gloss over that in an epilogue, so I like the politicking here and thought the intrigue in the capital was a good subplot.


But overall, I confess I was pretty bored. It felt like the plot got tripped up around the time they went into the sand world, and the momentum never quite recovered. After the frantically enjoyable pacing of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (which both transcend the top tier of YA for me, nearing the HP/His Dark Materials/Mistborn quality tier), I'm just a little bummed to see a much more ho-hum YA entry here.

I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS FANTASY KINGDOM

This had me consulting Wiki a bunch because I barely remember anything from the other books except that I love every character, but honestly it didn't impact my enjoyment.

Leigh Bardugo is so good at creating fully-realized characters to love and root for, and fantasy worldbuilding that makes sense and is complex and interesting without being totally fucking bewildering. IT'S EVERYTHING I WANT.

King of scars brings back my favorite character from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Nikolai and one of my favorite characters from Six of Crows, Nina. This book follows Nikolai returning to being King and battling his “demons”, Zoya helps Nikolai secure his throne and rebuild the Second Army, and Nina who is trying to get over the loss of her love and must fight an old enemy to release Grisha slaves.

There will be some spoilers towards the end, so you have been warned.

I was so excited about this book/duology. I had been hoping that Bardugo would have used what she learned writing the Six of Crows duology and she did to some extent. I'm glad that after the Grisha trilogy she doesn't write in first person and she switches up the POVs. However, what came back from the Grisha trilogy was this macguffin-driven plotline which is not super compelling.

It was the same problem with going after the amplifiers, it seemed really random and convenient and it took what could have been a really cool premise, which was Nikolai dealing with this monster inside him into seemingly directionless storyline. Not to mention seemed to be more focused on bringing back a popular character (the Darkling, or–as I like to call him–Hot Topic) rather than saving Nikolai. Even Elizabeta's betrayal didn't seem like a twist just because it fell so neatly inline with what the end goal clearly was.

With Nina's storyline, which I found much more compelling, it felt like two very different books together. I'm guessing that the second book there will be this “THIS IS ALL CONNECTED” twist thing, but this first book... it literally was like jumping between a generic fantasy macguffin plot and this really gritty horror mystery plot. This made it a lot easier to put it down if something wasn't grabbing my attention.

I think Nina's story was the stronger of the two because it focused so much on her character which was already so well established and showed her growth as well as her burgeoning relationship with Hanne. Bardugo's at her best when the stakes seem more personal.

With Six of Crows, yes you could argue that the jurda parem is a macguffin, but the real threat was how dangerous it was to the individuals we know and love vs. Nikolai's macguffin where they keep tying it back to Ravka and what would happen if he wasn't king etc. etc.

Overall, better than the Grisha trilogy, but not Bardugo's best. I might just get the second book from my library.