Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.
Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.
LEIGH BARDUGO IS A QUEEN. I read the book the day it released and it's been 3 months now but I'm still unable to write a coherent review.
Me when I think about King of Scars - *incoherent screaming* *flapping my arms like a bird* *jumping up and down like a monkey* *more incoherent screaming*
Since I'm at such a loss for words, I'm gonna make a list
YAY! (
Yes I know lists are made of words but lists are LISTS okay? The moment I start using bullet points, words just flow so well)
↠ ZOYA MY QUEEN. ONLY Leigh Bardugo can make me love a character I once hated. I know she was
SUCH A meano in the trilogy but pretty much redeems herself in this one? I was starting to be okay with her in Ruin and Rising but I full on
LOVED her here. She's so freaking
badass, brilliant, snarky and loyal to a fault and AHHHH just
one of my all-time favourite characters *heart eyes*😍
“Because Zoya was not kind and she was not easy.
But she was already a Queen.”
↠ NIKOLAI is obviously my favourite character ever and again the character development is
A+++. I mean Nikolai was perfect to begin with but in King of Scars, we see the darkness in him, his vulnerable side and somehow that makes him even more perfect? I loved how even with the darkness in him growing, he doesn't falter and give up on Ravka. I mean occasionally the monster in him takes over and tries to hunt people but
Nikolai doesn't give up trying to make it all work and I love him all the more for it.
“Remember who you are. Nikolai knew. He was a king who had only begun to make mistakes. He was a solider for whom the war would never be over. He was a bastard left alone in the woods. And he was not afraid to die this day.”
↠ THE POLITICS. It's weird cause most people are complaining there was too much politics in the book but um it's a story about a
KING; a boy king who is trying to salvage his country from it's dark history;
OBVIOUSLY there's politics and to be honest I enjoyed it. Saving and running Ravka brings out the best side out Nikolai- his brilliance, creativity and wit just get multiplied manifold when it comes to his one true love Ravka.
“He did it because he liked learning the puzzle of each person. He did it because it felt good to feel his influence and understanding grow. But above all else, he did it because he knew he needed to rescue his country. Nikolai had to save Ravka from his own family.”
↠ I LIVE FOR THE BANTER BETWEEN ZOYA AND NIKOLAI. I mean these two characters rarely interacted in the Grisha trilogy and at first I was skeptical about seeing them on the same page
BUT MAN OH MAN. 😍
“Say something spiteful.”
“Why?” she asked faintly.
“Because I’m fairly certain I'm hallucinating and in my dreams you're much nicer.”
“You're an idiot, Nikolai.”
↠ NINA. So this is where it gets a little iffy for me. Nina is very different from the person she was in SoC which is obviously understandable after the tragedy she faced and I had no problem with that. But somehow her chapters lacked something I can't put my finger on. And I'm not a big fan of how it's going for Nina and a certain new character (
I won't say anything because spoilers but it felt kind of forced?)
BUT OH BUT, there's this Nina chapter towards the end that had
such a freaking powerful scene and I was crying and trembling as I read it SO ALL THE STARS TO THAT CHAPTER. But then I wasn't always onboard with Nina's decisions and her deception so like I said, it's a bit iffy.
“I don't like that word," Nina said, advancing. "Call me Grisha. Call me zowa. Call me death, if you like.”
↠ Isaak oh dear boy. I loved him so much. For those of you wondering who the hell is he, he's an absolute sweetheart of a Ravkan solider and I just can't say much about him because spoilers but
oh, all the feels for my sweet boy.
↠ Okay so I KNOW I KNOW! If you've read the book, I know many had issues with that ending but not me! I mean I kind of expected
THAT to happen and it did but it didn't happen the way I thought it would
but it was still awesome? Okay I'm rambling!
ANYWAY, LOVED IT.
↠ Also so happy to see all my favourite characters from Grisha trilogy. David threatening to kill the people who upset his wife just made me grin so much. It was lovely seeing David, Genya, Tamar, Tolya and others.
Basically this book has made me incredibly happy and I can't wait for book two! It was written brilliantly, with amazing characters and engaging dialogue and AAHHHH just perfection.
***
Have you read this book or any of the Grishaverse books? Did you like them? Tell me in the comments below!
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