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Home » King Of Scars | Book Review

King Of Scars | Book Review

By Deborah June 29, 2021

by Leigh Bardugo

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

 Took me over 12 weeks to finish this book. There was nothing wrong, I just had a lot going on and barely had time to read. Not to forget my yearly book slump which showed up recently. Nevertheless, I took it everywhere with me like a comfort blanket.

I loved this book. I want to complain that maybe things felt a bit slow but I don’t think that was the case. This book progressed just fine and the last chapters, Wow.

It sucks that I can sometimes predict endings and plots so I know what is going on before it happens. when it happened I’m just like: Yes I said it.

All I have read and bought this year is Leigh Bardugo and there is obviously a reason for that because she is a great writer as well as a good storyteller. She tells these stories that are beautifully written, that the stories have a life of their own. Her characters feel like your best friends or best enemies it depends. You feel like you’ve known them all your life and you’re rooting for them. 

There were new characters introduced in King of Scars and every single one of them, even those just mentioned in passing, were interesting and beautifully written.

You should read King of Scars after the other books in the Grishaverse for better understanding and to avoid spoilers that might be revealed if you decide to read the other books.

Also Leoni being connected to Jespers mom just goes on to show how it is a small world, and how your actions have consequences that lead to a butterfly event of things yet unknown no matter how small. 

Synopsis:

Face your demons… or feed them.

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.

King Of Scars Review

Is King Of Scars worth reading? 

Yes, it is. Even though it felt like a big prologue. However, I didn’t get into it expecting it to be like the Shadow and Bone trilogy or the Six of Crows duology. I expected Nickolia’s story since I loved him so much as a character in the previous books, hence the 3-star rating. I didn’t get much of that character in this book. Stormhound was missing. I didn’t get to see him as king so much as himself.

Zoya

Zoya, I surprisingly loved her character and her chapters. I loved her character development.. It was interesting to get to know more about her backstory and what made her into who she is today based on decisions she had consciously made in the past.

Nina

I wasn’t much for Nina’s chapters in fact whenever I would go on a long break from the book and resume later I realised I stopped reading at her chapters. I loved her character, still do. I am just tired of the Fjerda arc. I am impulsive and she has also got an impulsive streak in her. I guess I hated seeing that bit of myself in her. I am just tired of the story I mean her story started with her hauling Mattias’ body to bury and stuff. I grieved his death in the Crooked Kingdom. I moved on. Of course, I don’t want to go back to that and have to process all that emotion again. Plus I was not a big fan of Hanne. Adrik seemed to be a whole new character from the person I read about in the other books.

Issak

Issak’s character was like a breath of fresh air. I liked Issak and actually enjoyed his chapters and it was interesting to see how his character processed things, I wish he had another ending compared to what he got but that’s by the way.

Overall it was a good book.. The growth from each new book coupled with the great storytelling and dialogue technique of Leigh Bardugo made this an interesting read. Also that ending, I’m not even sure how I feel about it but I am excited as to how it will play out in the second book. 

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