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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo is book one in the King of Scars duology, a continuation of the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows series. If you haven't read those yet, beware of spoilers for those series. I'm glad I picked this one up. I remember when this first came out people said is was slow or it wasn't good when compare with Six of Crows, but time has given me a gift. My opinions on Six of Crows is so clouded, that it impact how I feel about this book. I quite liked it.
This time we focus on Nikolai Lantsov, the King of Ravka, after the events of Shadow and Bone. We see him grapple with the monster inside him left by the Darkling. He struggles to control the beast, and seeks a ritual to rid him of it. We get to learn about Zoya's history in this book and get her point of view. I love that Bardugo never softens Zoya, and leans into her thirst for power. Nina Zenik is under cover in Fjerda helping persecuted Grisha and testing out her new powers granted by her use of jurda parem. I love Nina so much. I could read just about her. She gets to do some amazing things! Give me more Nina. And waffles.
I loved getting an inside look at Nikolai without all the bluster and charm he protects himself with, so we can see his insecurities and his doubts. It makes for some really great growth. As funny as Nikolai usually is, Davis stole the show with his dry, comedic timing, along with Genya. We get plenty of twists, some of which I saw coming and some of which I didn't.
Looking forward to Rule of Wolves.
Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death
prettynerdy3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
potalian's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
infjkiki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Drug use
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit
math_scooter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
jessicaludden's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved being back in the Grishaverse and seeing what these characters are up to now. I loved the politics in this and there were definitely some plot twists I didn’t see coming. I really liked learning more about Nikolai and Zoya especially because we really didn’t get a lot from them in the books before. Of course I loved seeing Nina again, even if it meant hurting my heart every time she mentioned Matthias.
But I did feel like there was some pacing issues which caused a disconnect with the characters and the plot. I just couldn’t get into it and never really cared a huge amount about the characters. It was very slow in some parts and very repetitive which often left me feeling like I was reading parts that were unnecessary to the character and plot development. But overall, I’m excited to read the next one!
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
marine2907's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism
readingelli's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
shalladin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Torture