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gayghostprince'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Infertility, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
there's a paragraph describing insects burrowing into skin. it's not pleasant, but not very graphic. the content warning for drug use is for a fantasy drugsofiaa_'s review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Sexual assault
theirgracegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
stellenelcielo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My favourite had to be Zoya Nazyalensky, she's ruthless, brutal, frank, and she had a reason for why she is all those things. She isn't secretly this soft girl, but she does briefly mourn never ever having the choice to be that, and I really liked that. It was a nice view into how trauma, neglect, and manipulation really force a person to grow up too fast, forcing them to have to be hard to survive. Despite all of this, and that she's portrayed as emotionless, there are times where Bardugo shows that she's anything but, making her one of the most enjoyable characters in the book.
This book also endeared me more towards Nina, and I'm finding this ruthless side suits her, though it took me near to the end to actually enjoy her chapters. Honestly, I can say that I don't really care about Fjerda in general, as Bardugo has gone out of her way to make it seem like a truly distasteful country, with its rampant sexism and anti-Grisha ideology, and I do enjoy the idea of Nina smashing it all into bits, I understand the need to make it a central plot to the series.
All that aside, I really liked how the book ended off, the "Oh shit, what now?" officially has me in a chokehold until I read the next book, so I'd have to say it's worth all four stars just for that.
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Okay I know that everyone loves the <i>Six of Crows</i> duology best in the Grishaverse but...I think I might actually prefer <i>King of Scars</i> and <i>Rule of Wolves</i> (review to come)! This book started out a little slow but picked right up and then I could NOT put it down. The tension between Nikolai and Zoya is immaculate, and literally any scene with Nikolai bantering with one of his friends makes my heart explode. Even more than that (if that’s possible), I loved Nina’s storyline as she deals with her grief and throws herself headlong into every dangerous situation she can find.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
laurennicold's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Being back in the Grishaverse was a delight, but so was reading Bardugo's writing again. It is wonderfully descriptive, and her plot development here is truly on another level in comparison to Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows. I really enjoyed seeing her expand her world-building, and she REALLY knows how to write incredible endings.
I docked a half-star for two reasons. The first is that I felt extremely disconnected from Nikolai, to the point where (shockingly, given he was one of my favourite characters in Shadow and Bone), I was dreading his POV chapters. The second is that for the first half of this book the plot felt a little directionless in that I didn't really know what the book was going to be about until like 250 pages in.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol
luluslittlelibrary'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 LOVE Nina's storyline. For me, I was a lot more interested in what was going on with her in Fjerda than I was with the others in Ravka. I'm not going to give any spoilers but I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading more about Nina and what she's doing as a Ravkan spy in Fjerda.
And then there's the sequel. I definitely liked Rule of Wolves more than King of Scars so I would recommend reading it even if you didn't love King of Scars (I think it is much better). Once again I love everything that happens with Nina (and Hanne!). And I think the connection between Zoya and Juris is very interesting. I'm not big on the storyline surrounding the darkling, I think it was interesting but maybe didn't belong in this book (?). Also, the ending is SO GOOD.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
theseventhcrow'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
emmagrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry