Talkin’ Bout ~ King of Scars

Title: King of Scars
Series: King of Scars #1
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Publisher: Imprint
Genres: YA Fantasy

Blurb:

Face your demons… or feed them.

The dashing young king, 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, Nikolai 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 general, 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.

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Let’s Talk

I’m not sure if I have enough to say on this one to make it worth doing a whole post for, but I figured I should put down my thoughts on it anyway.

I actually started listening to this book at the same time that I started reading a kindle copy of Shadow and Bone. I had previously been told that all of the Grishaverse books were set in the same place but involved different characters. Well, let me make it clear that if you haven’t read the previous books, King of Scars will spoil a few things for you and does contain characters from the previous series. As soon as I realized this I put King of Scars on hold and read the entire Shadow and Bones series. Well, then, of course, I needed to reread the Six of Crows duology. After that, I finally picked up King of Scars and started over.

**Spoiler Alert**

Note here that this will contain spoilers. Proceed to my last paragraph if you just want my general thoughts on the book.

This book follows Nikolai and Zoya interspersed with chapters following Nina. I did not care for Zoya in Shadow and Bones, so I was disappointed from the start that there was a bit of pairing up being done with her and Nikolai. I fell in love with Nikolai in the Shadow and Bones series, and I’m not still 100% convinced that Alina doesn’t ultimately belong with him. And after finishing the book…I’m still unfortunately not convinced. But, it’s interesting, because I’m not sure if Bardugo even means for Nikolai and Zoya to be together or if there will become problems between them because one of them goes dark.

And I think it was that constant speculation that brought on so much intrigue for me. The intrigue is really the only reason I rated this as high as I did since it was seriously lacking in the romance department for me.

I do have to admit that I could appreciate where Zoya was coming from after getting her backstory involving her aunt. I’m still not in love with her character, but I feel like I understand her better.

Now for Nina. My heart hurt for her in Crooked Kingdom, and I so want to see her happy. King of Scars is set just too close to Crooked Kingdom for ultimate healing to take place, but we at least see her set goals for herself. It was a little weird, though, because I expected Nina’s story to tie in to Nikolai and Zoya’s but it didn’t. I’m expecting that to change in the next book, but I shall see.

Spoiler Free

Ultimately, there were two main plot lines that never came together. I found that a bit odd, but I expect that to be rectified in the next book (especially with that title). The book was full of intrigue for me and kept me turning the pages fully interested. But, it lacked in the romance department for me. I gave it 4.25 stars. And well, I guess I had more to say about the book than I thought. LOL!

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If you’ve read Rule of Wolves please don’t tell me anything. I like to go in as blind as possible. I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading it and watching the series!

Have you read the Grishaverse series? If so, which series was your favorite. Mine remains the Six of Crows duology! I need more Kaz and Inej in my life!!!

Happy Reading,

Alison