Review: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Gosh, I just don’t know what to say about this book. 

I have FLOWN through the Grishaverse books. And being caught up is wonderful and terrible. Now I have to wait like everyone else. And that ending. THAT ENDING. 

We will get there soon. 

First, I really liked the pacing for this book! I have seen some reviews from people who did not but I really felt pulled into the story in the same way I have with the rest of the Grishaverse books. Even when I am not enjoying something in the series I have never had an issue with the pacing. And I really loved the flashbacks. I felt they added a lot to the characters and progressed the plot. I was interested and invested the whole way through. 

The characters! We all know Nikolai, Nina, and Zoya have been very dear to me throughout the series. They are massive fan favorites for a reason. I was ELATED to see these characters being POV characters, and I found Isaak to be absolutely precious. His genuine want to help, lack of knowledge that was needed, and desire for connection really endeared me to him. 

Nina. My love. My wonderful heartbroken waffle loving warrior. Who is now demonstrably bisexual. By that I mean now it is certainly on the page that she is bisexual, and not that you have to prove bisexuality. I loved her journey. When I think about Fjerda I think about all the Grisha who are also Fjerdian and how historically in the places with the most oppression there is also the strongest networks of people fighting it there in the place it happens. And I think Nina is drawn to both trying to understand people different from herself and to being a part of protection. I loved watching her be equal parts fascinated by Fjerdia and repulsed by it. Witnessing her wrestle with these complicated concepts was so wonderful. Seeing the ways she was shaped by other characters we know, and watching her point herself down the path I assume the next book will take has been top notch. Watching her dive more fully into her power, and seeing her so invested in the women who had been so deeply wronged was so wonderful and heartbreaking. I cannot wait for more Nina. Also, I certainly did the most sobbing in Nina chapters. Though everyone got me to cry at least once.

Zoya. She is terrifying, mean, ruthless, and focused. Which is why she is also crazy attractive. I don’t really care when a book says a character is hot, like it adds information to who they are and how they interact but it doesn’t affect how I think about them because I cannot see them. But just reading about Zoya is attractive. Her character absolutely draws you in. I think her backstory was one of the highlights of King of Scars. I was floored by her. I am so glad to see the progression of this character. She was totally a beautiful romantic rival caricature at some points in the Grisha Trilogy and getting to know her much deeper has been a major joy of this book. She is so competent. But she still totally had flaws! Her inability to look past her shame and anger and really see Yuri is part of the reason the ending could happen. And the Juris part. That was badass and heartbreaking. I love how smart she is. Come back later for my TED talk on why I am obsessed with Zoya. Last thing. She deserves to be Queen. We need a Grisha Queen. She loved Ravka and I love her. 

Nikolai! The King of Scars himself. Obviously, the majority of this story was about him. The emotional thrust of the novel was him battling his inner demons. Literal and physical. I loved reading about the ways all the characters were handling their myriad of trauma that life had heaped upon them. I really felt the roiling emotions and the difficulty in processing them while still being crushed by the weight of the new world they are dealing with. He is also obviously flawed! The ending would not have been possible if he was not so sure that Yuri would behave in the manner Nikolai wanted. He can be self-centered which leads to underestimating others. How did they not put together that Zoya was brought for Juris to teach, Nikolai was brought for Darkling reasons, and Yuri was there why? I was SCREAMING this at my book for like 200 pages. We finally get a vegetarian and he is terrible. 

Back to Nikolai. I just love this character. Obviously, everyone loves an underdog. And Leigh Bardugo has done an excellent job crafting a character so full of privilege but also so incredibly aware of how close he is to being utterly unimportant, unloved, and unrespected. I am so excited for the conclusion of his journey. 

Leoni is wonderful and I want the whole world to nurture her amazing self. I love her relentlessly happy self. And I loved the Jesper connection. 

Adrik is so grumpy. I loved this human embodiment of a storm cloud. I am going to be so sad if we don’t get more Adrik and Leoni in the next book.

Hanne was fascinating. I knew how her father was IMMEDIATELY upon a mention of her family, but I still enjoyed the build-up to that reveal. It was only a little frustrating that it took Nina so long to find out. She was such an amazing portrait of someone grappling with who they are. We got to see her wrestle with how the world is, how she wants it to be, and how to square loving people with hating what they hold dear. I was particularly impressed with the way she dealt with gender politics, I thought that was so well done by Bardugo. 

The Well Mother. Loved that ending for her. My vengeful ass was so down. 

Tolya. I want a whole book of Tolya just being the wonderful human he is while the rest of the world realizes this and vociferously adores his every action. I would also be down for a Tamar and Nadia romcom. 

I am also obviously interested in the storyline going forward with Princess Ehri. I don’t think she will actually end up Queen of Ravka, but I don’t think I would be angry if I was wrong here. I have long wanted more on the page interaction with Shu Han and its people, and this is the perfect opportunity! I love Tolya and Tamar, but we totally needed more Shu! And the fighting instructor was Shu. I cannot remember his name at the moment. I also am interested to see what this horrifying situation does to Mayu. 

I hate you Yuri. I am rallying the vegetarians to officially sanction you. I am just so not into the appeal of fascism. It is obviously important to show the allure of this world view, and to demonstrate why it is not righteous and how truly self-serving it is to such a small number of people. Especially now. But I am still so disgusted by it. I also low key think he might have been throwing shade at parts of the fandom. Maybe.

Couple critiques of this book. 

First, it mostly seems like the Nina storyline could have almost been its own book. I didn’t mind this, and I assume they will become more integrated in the next book somehow but this book only seemed to set that up. Obviously, Nina is going to be more fully involved because of the man claiming to be the real heir to the throne. 

Second, I still think Bardugo foreshadows a little too heavy-handed. I do want to feel like a genius and figure it out before the character does, but I don’t want to know 200 pages before they do. Unless she is doing that on purpose and she wants me to feel that frustration? But I don’t think that is the case in the things that rub me the wrong way. 

Third, and this is more of the series as a whole, are there any people of color who are main characters (or even secondary characters) who don’t end up with a white person? Seems like all the POC are in relationships with white people. And obviously interracial relationships are wonderful, and I have really been so down with all the couples of this world, but maybe one person of color could also be into another person of color? And I am open to having massively overlooked someone. But that thought kept popping into my head while reading. 

Now the end. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. 

I am not really a fan of bringing back the previous big bad. It is a trope I do not tend to enjoy. I MUCH prefer an approach that shows the way different people can embody the same corruption. I think essentially bringing back the Darkling potentially cheapens Ruin and Rising, and puts the audience in a space where nothing is final but also where evil is pinpointed onto just one person. But I also super cannot pass judgment on this until I read the next book. And I am going to choose to trust Leigh Bardugo until a point where I am proven wrong. I would just be disappointed if something in the next book were to retcon the epilogue of Ruin and Rising. Like how could Alina know about this and it not be given a line “everything was fantastic and magical and wonderful being awesome people who run an orphanage except for that little blip where the Darkling came back despite all the bullshit I had dealt with before. But everyone else fixed it this time so no worries!”

I feel both like I have gone on too long and that I have not even touched upon all my feelings. But I am going to leave it here! So invested in this world, so ready for more.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and finished reading it on March 8th, 2019.

Also now I am free to openly roam the Grishaverse tags! I am sooooo excited to be caught up and no longer need to avoid spoilers!