King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

January 14, 2021 Kirsty Hanson

For the past couple of months, I’ve been binging Leigh Bardugo’s books like there’s no tomorrow. And now that I’ve finally finished King of Scars, I can happily say that I’m now all caught up and I’m ready for Rule of Wolves! BRING IT ON!

*slight spoilers ahead for The Shadow and Bone trilogy. Before you read King of Scars, you definitely need to read the trilogy, and also the Six of Crows duology*

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, the young king 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 Squaller, 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.

There. Was. So. Much. Hype. For this book. I remember being at YALC in 2018, and samplers were being handed out of King of Scars, and a few lucky people got to win an ARC. The publisher was marketing the shit out of it and I gotta say, I don’t blame them. The Grishaverse books have done so well, and with each instalment that Bardugo adds to the world, fans just fall in love more and more.

“Stop punishing yourself for being someone with a heart. You cannot protect yourself from suffering. To live is to grieve. You are not protecting yourself by shutting yourself off from the world. You are limiting yourself.”

– Leigh Bardugo, King of Scars

After having already fallen in love with Nikolai, I was so ready to read more about him. King of Scars is set three years after the final events of Ruin and Rising (I think?), Nikolai is King, and he has surrounded himself with some of the fan favourite characters such as Zoya, David, and Genya. I loved seeing more of these characters, even if Zoya was more of the main character that David and Genya.

There were four point of views in this book: Nikolai, Zoya, Issak (can’t say anything about him due to spoilers), and Nina.

Yes, you read that correctly. Nina. From Six of Crows. Hence why I said at the beginning that it’s probably best that you read the SOC books before you read King of Scars.

“The monster is me and I am the monster.”

– Leigh Bardugo, King of Scars

I loved Nina in the SOC duology. She was just so precious and went through so much, but I can relate to her a lot. In King of Scars, her chapters just felt… extra? I can’t explain it. I just didn’t think her point of view added anything to the overall plot of the book – unless the adventure that Nina went on in this book is the plot for Rule of Wolves… Then, I guess it makes sense. Even though Nina is in mourning, I 100% shipped her with Hanne. Their chemistry was amazing, and if they end up together in Rule of Wolves, I will cry with happiness. Yes, Nina’s chapters didn’t really add anything to the book, but I still enjoyed reading from her POV again and reading all the food references! There was a passage in King of Scars where Nina is thinking about when she was younger, and how she was picked on about her weight. I completely resonated with it and I just wanted to cry for her.

“If men were ashamed when they should be, they’d have no time for anything else.”

– Leigh Bardugo, King of Scars

I was also glad to get chapters from Zoya’s perspective. I wasn’t really a big fan of hers during the Grisha trilogy, but she’s grown up a lot, and knowing more of her backstory (there were times where I genuinely cried because she’s been through so much shit), and just getting to know her a lot more, made me realise that she’s actually a very good character!

When it came to Nikolai, he was still the sassy, life-loving King that we all know and love. He goes through hell in this book, and I just wanted to give him a big hug because uggghhh… Boy, does he need one. Also… Him and Zoya. Yes, I ship it. I don’t know if anyone is going to understand this reference, but there was a moment in this book where Nikolai was so intrigued by Grisha magic, and he was fangirling over it, and it reminded me of the Wizard King in Black Clover.

The ending was… intense. I’m not quite sure HOW I feel about it. Even though was a slight build-up towards it, and there were a few hints, I just… I don’t know. I don’t know if I wanted that to happen or not. All I’m going to say about the ending though: just get ready to have your head knocked off.

Like with the rest of the Grishaverse books, I listened to King of Scars on audiobook, and Lauren Fortgang, as usual, was such an amazing narrator. I could listen to her all day. Her voice is so soothing, and she does an incredible job of voicing all of the different characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Yes, there were few things such as the point of Nina’s POV, and the ending that didn’t really make sense to me, but I loved being back with some of my favourite characters, some new characters, and being thrown into the politics of the Kingdom.

I need Rule of Wolves now…