King of Scars (King of Scars Duology, 1)

🖤📒🖤 5 years have passed since the death of the Darkling, strange occurences are happening across Ravka and King Nikolai is struggling to hold onto his throne. Ooh I really liked this. It was led by the best side characters from the previous series, Nikolai, Nina and Zoya. All hail Zoya, who is fierce and fabulous! Other favourites from the Grisha Trilogy make appearences too such as Adrik, Tamar, Tolya, Genya and David. There's two main storylines, one in Fjerda, one in  Ravka which meant the story never got stagnant. The writing is good as always. I really think Bardugo's books are getting better and better. The only niggly point I have is that it is not believable that Nina is 18...after her appearence in Six of crows I had her pegged for at least mid twenties. When did she find the time to train as grisha... (oops almost put in a lot of spoilers for six of crows duology in here-trust me shes done a lot!) and still only be 18?! I loved the six of crows series and this book did not disappoint. Just want more please! 🖤📒🖤 Additional point I bought as soon as i saw the gorgeous golden cover but i think the cover underneath is even better !

O livro é MARAVILHOSO. Sem a jacket é perfeito! Sobre a história,acho maravilhoso poder ver mais do Nikolai,e também ver muito mais sobre o poder dos grishas! E conhecer mais da Zoya me deixou bem feliz também! Além de fazer um retorno ao GrishaVerse e nos deixar ainda mais apaixonados! O plot sempre ótimo e a escrita da Leigh nunca falha! Particularmente amo cada coisinha!

I'm a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo and the "Grishaverse". The original Shadow and Bone Trilogy is one of my all time favourite reads, and I really enjoyed Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom too. So I was really looking forward to returning to the world, particularly as this first instalment in a new spinoff series promised a return to Ravka and starring roles for some old favourites from both of the previous series. Ultimately, I enjoyed this. Bardugo seems to be a naturally talented writer, but has also grown slicker and more polished over time. The prose is strong, the world is extremely well-developed, and the characters really come to life. The plot is nicely executed with plenty of twists and turns and a good mix of dramatic and more reflective moments, and of scary, funny, and romantic scenes. So there was certainly nothing to really complain about and plenty to be impressed by. All that said, I didn't adore and devour this to quite the extent I was hoping and expecting. I think the main reasons were the POV character choices, the disconnected plot strands, and the lack of clear stakes and narrative drive for large swathes of the book. Character-wise, it's narrated by three people: Nikolai and Zoya from the original trilogy plus Nina from SoC. Nina is one of my favourites from the later series, so I was really happy to see her back. I'm not sure she works quite so well as a standalone character (which she basically was here) instead of as part of an ensemble. Still, no real quibbles with her point of view. I know Nikolai tends to be a bit of a fan favourite, so I'm probably going against the grain here, but I was never a huge fan of him as a character and while he's undoubtedly had some good scenes in both prior series, I think he works better in small doses. Bardugo is absolutely amazing at characters treading a fine line between fairly villainous protagonists (Kaz) and fairly charismatic and sympathetic villains (The Darkling) and compared to them I find Nikolai a little bland and overly perfect. Attempts here to suggest an inner darkness and conflict just didn't come off for me. Zoya was the one who left me really conflicted. I hated her in Shadow and Bone, even after she was fairly thoroughly redeemed, because she was just so pointlessly cruel to Alina in particular and to people in general in the first book. I usually like unlikeable female characters, and she certainly provided some of the moral ambiguity I've suggested Nikolai was lacking. But someone who's previously been horrible to a character you already have an emotional attachment to feels different to a ruthless character you're coming to cold. It was undoubtedly interesting to get some insight into her background and her psyche and her chapters ended up being some of the stronger ones as a result, but I just couldn't bring myself to root for...

King of scars is the latest addition to Leigh Bardugos Grisha universe. While I read and enjoyed the Original series I didn’t love it, a fine read just didn’t entrance. It was the follow up the Six of Crows duology that convinced me that Leigh bardugo should join my must read pile of authors. Set in world heavily influenced by Russian folklore Grisha are born with power alternatively despised or worshipped. The country of Ravka is recovering from a war and the Depredations of the semi immortal leader of the Grisha known as the Darkling now deceased. One of those struggling is Nikolai the King of Scars, the ruler of Ravka who is suffering from a curse one of the last acts of malice from the Darkling. Beset on all sides by enemies there are two main plots running side by side and eventually twinning together. The A plot follows Nikolai and Zoya, ruthless powerful Grisha and General of the 2nd army as they try to find a cure for Nikolai, while the other members of their councils try to hold off there enemies who are Encroaching on all sides. The B side follows Nina a Grisha, undercover in enemy country trying to find the source of an addictive destructive drug known as parem that enslaves Grisha and twists there power in unexpected ways, a victim of it herself from which she gained her new nickname as the Corpsewitch. Suffering the loss of her lover, Nina is caught in a storm of grief and loss looking for vengeance trying to find a way forward. Fast paced, well written this is an excellent addition to the Grisha series definitely wouldn’t recommend this is a jumping off point to start reading this author. There are a lot of cameos and Easter eggs to events the original series and the six of crows series, with Nina’s plot especially tied into the six of crows and having read the original series while not as essential to understand the A plot, Nikolai’s story does make it easier to follow. So in short for those already following the Grisha universe this gets a enthusiastic recommendation for those new go back and read the original series or at least the Six of Crows series. There is a treat waiting for you.

I’m not your usually YA fantasy reader, but sometimes I like to try new genres and Leigh Bardugo is one of the authors I picked up last year. I actually started with her Six of Crows duology (Six of Crows #1) and really enjoyed the heist theme and the cast. It reminded me of Ocean’s Eleven – which is always a draw. While going into King of Scars, I knew nothing about the Darkling or Nikolai. But I must say, I felt fine without reading the trilogy first. Of course parts of the history of the world building and the different races went over my head, but the overall enjoyment of the book didn’t suffer much. It just wasn’t as fascinating as Six of Crows – but it’s hard to compete with a heist and Kaz (love KAZ he is my kind of hero). But coming back to King of Scars, the author wove three different stories neatly together. Nikolai, Nina and Issak’s story. Nikolai and Zoya have an interesting relationship that I can’t wait to explore more – and I wouldn’t mind seeing them end up together either. Their level of comfort with each other speaks volumes, even though Zoya is the one that is holding back the most, which makes her being so secretive even more interesting. Zoya’s growth throughout the book was maybe the most extensive of all. I can’t wait to see what else she is capable of doing. And the possibilities of Nikolai are immense as well, in the end all is open, and I’m interested in what’s to come. Nina, after the ending of Crooked Kingdom, is on a journey of closure. And unknowingly starting her own quest, that will or will not come to completion in the next book. I understand why the author gave Nina the opportunity for closure, it just wasn’t a favorite part of the story. But the danger that she is getting into in the next book, has me wanting to read more. I liked how all three stories wove through the book, without really connecting, but still moving the storyline forward. The author certainly knows how to write a well written book, but she also has no issue killing people if it suits her storyline. Again, I’m reminded that getting invested with her characters is not the smartest or healthiest move. All in all King of Scars was slower, and more similar with the first trilogy than the action pact Six of Crows. I wasn't wowed by it, but I wasn't bored by it either, it was just ok. The excitement that I felt for Six of Crows and its incredibly charismatic leader Kaz was missing - and it was felt.