King of Scars: return to the epic fantasy world of the Grishaverse, where magic and science collide

’ Ravka was many things to him: a grand lady who required constant courting, a stubborn child unwilling to stand on its own, and most often, a drowning man—the more Nikolai struggled to save it, the harder it fought. Having adored the other two series set within the Grishaverse – and being adamant in my desire to read all three series before finally allowing myself to check out it’s adaptation – I was desperate to read the ’King Of Scars’ duology; especially as Nikolai was one of my favourite characters from the initial series. Admittedly my memories of that are hazier than I’d have liked but I was delighted to find myself reacquainted with some of the characters from the first series and thrilled to fall instantly back in love with this world. Firstly I’d strongly advice reading the ’Shadow & Bone’ series and ’Six Of Crows’ duology before diving into this book. It features characters from both of these series – although mostly from the first one – and contains some pretty major spoilers from both story arcs. The storyline also continues on and contains elements from both series and certain aspects of it will make more sense if you’re familiar with them from the previous books. From the very first line of ’King Of Scars’ I was swept back into the world of the Grisha and utterly hooked upon Leigh Bardugo’s talent for storytelling. No matter how much – or little – an individual features in the text she manages to make them come utterly to life. Everybody feels so layered, detailed and fascinating. Every individual that you meet leaves you longing to know more. And the writing itself contained countless segments that I longed to highlight. Getting lost within Bardugo’s world and revelling in her words is always an utter delight. One of the many features that I loved within the ‘Six Of Crows’ duology was how seamlessly the author manages to merge an individual’s backstory into their present timeline; the two unwinding beautifully in a manner that never fails to leave me starstruck. It’s something that happens again here and once again blew me away. These stories also have a true tendency to hollow you out emotionally and make it near impossible not to feel for the characters in question. Although it’s not just these segments that pack an emotional punch; there are heartbreaking and warming moments – along with the occasional burst of humour – throughout. If, like me, you’re a fan of god-like beings in fantasy worlds then you’re sure to find yourself mesmerised by this book. It’s also highly likely to appeal to fans of villainous characters too. And , upon reaching it’s end, leave you clamouring for a copy of it’s follow up. Needless to say I absolutely adored this book and am planning to pick up ’Rule Of Wolves’ as soon as I’ve finished posting this review. If you’re a fan of intriguing fantasy worlds, complexly layered characters, god-like beings and an abundance of danger then this is absolutely the book for you.

King Nikolai Lantsov survived the Ravkan civil war with more than just scars. The Darkling turned him into one of his creatures and though the Darkling was defeated, a remnant of the darkness still resides inside him. He fights daily for control but his grip is slipping. Together with his loyal and tenacious General Zoya, they search for a way to rid him of the demon while keeping his secret hidden. Fjerdan armies are readying at the Ravkan borders and threatening to expose his dubious parentage. He may not be a true Lantsov but he is the King Ravka needs. He is inventive, determined and has the ability to make the impossible possible. With weakened defences, depleted finances and a new threat to his Grisha soldiers to contend with, Nikolai must form new alliances if he is to have any chance of keeping his throne and protecting his people. Nikolai must wed to solidify his throne but his affection for Zoya grows daily and he can't bear to be apart from her. Zoya in turn harbours feelings for her King but knows that duty to Ravka comes first and she can never be with him. She must face the scars from her own past in order to find the strength to save the Grisha from those who hunt them. As Nikolai faces down his personal and physical demons, those closest to him must do the same. Will their secrets remain hidden or will the darkness find a way to make itself known and destroy all their hopes for the future? 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. Just when I thought the GrishaVerse reached its peak with the Six of Crows duology, this book shows up and blows my mind. Nikolai is my favourite character from Shadow & Bone so I was delighted to delve into his backstory and see how his story developed afterwards. His flirtatiousness and resilience hasn’t dampened and I loved how passionate he is about life, his creations and his quest to defend Ravka. This book was a rollercoaster of emotion, action and shocking surprises. There was never a dull moment. I adore all these characters but I worry where they will end up in the sequel. Leigh isn't shy about bringing the pain.

I hadn't read six of crows before I read this book and had no idea who the other persons were in this book. Truly recommend reading the trilogy and the duologies before you read this book. But even tho I didn't know some of the characters and learned major spoils for six of crows I loved every second of it. :)

I am totally amazed by this book. I just finished reading it and i was so happy to have read this.... fantasy is one genre which i really like and this book further strengthens my love for this genre... Kings, demons, genral, spy, secret and amazing powers and all the thrilling schemes and action was amazing... That humour used at places really made me love the book more.... The characters are amazing not only the lead three but all the characters are amazing i loved to read about them all... It did take me a bit of time to get used to the names but after getting through some 100 pages i kind of flew through the book... The different twists at the end has left me shocked.. but ofcourse you have to read it yourself to know what it is... And now starts the wait for the sequel, i am so eager to know what all is going to happen in the story ahead... I will highly recommend this book to every one... it has made my time enjoyable and i hope you will enjoy it too... do give it a try... Happy Reading..

I have been so hyped for this book ever since I first caught wind of it. Nikolai was not my favorite character in the Grisha Trilogy, but I did love him and I was very excited to see how his story played out! In case you didn't already know, I am OBSESSED with the original trilogy, but didn't much care for Six of Crows. It felt too different, but King of Scars is a nice blend of the two and it was amazing to be back in Ravka! I'm going to try really hard to keep this coherent, but no promises. First, it's important to point out that, although this is marketed as Nikolai's book, the title is literally Nikolai, and the synopsis is 100% Nikolai, this is not really his book. There is so much more going on here, most obviously that about half the chapters are from Nina's perspective. As I said, I didn't love the Six of Crows duology, but I didn't dislike Nina here. Although I would have been just fine with it if her chapters were left out completely, I do think it was a nice way to bring together the two series. So, let's get to Nikolai. He is the prince/privateer we all remember, but a little more grown up. To me, Nikolai was obviously a bit more mature than he was in the trilogy and I loved seeing this side of him. Of course, he still has the snark and remains full of himself. His journey in this book revolves around purging the darkness put in him by the Darkling and it is a long and fascinating one. I loved his struggle with the demon inside him and the complexity it brought to his character. I also loved his banter with Zoya, who I found myself loving even more than I already did! I definitely ship the two of them. Speaking of shipping, there was not much romance in this book and that surprised me. While not every book needs romance, a Grisha book without anyone to swoon over didn't feel quite right. As I said, I loved Nikolai and Zoya together, so hopefully we get some of that in book two! It also seems possible that there will be a new Nina romance, but I won't say anything else to avoid spoilers. My biggest question about King of Scars was whether or not the Darkling would be back. While it seemed a little impossible, we all know what that word means in the Grishaverse. Here's what I'll say about that: This book does a really good job of solidifying that the Darkling was a BIG BAD. I'll come right out and say he will always be my problematic fave. But there was a LOT of focus on how terrible he was in this book and I assume it may have something to do with how many readers loved him despite his being kind of awful. I still love him. As you can see, the story is quite complex. There are multiple points of view and two to three main storylines happening at any one time. I enjoyed the entire book, but there were most definitely points where it dragged, especially the chapters with Nikolai and his crew. His story should be the most interesting, but there was quite a bit of walking and talking and sitting. At 528 pages, this is a big book and I did love it, but it could probably have been whittled down a little. The only other thing I'll say is THAT ENDING blew me away and took this book from four stars to five in a page! I am going to be throwing one long fit between now and when book two is finally published because I cannot wait to see what happens next. I'll admit, this book was a little different than I expected, but Leigh Bardugo knows how to write a great story and I can't wait to read the next chapter!

The Grishaverse is my home now. And Nikolai my king (although that was always the case). I was really excited about this book because he's one of my favorite characters and I was even more excited when I learned that both Nina and Zoya were going to be main characters in this story. It felt amazing to dive back into this world with the characters I love so dearly. The story was really interesting and I loved how the characters had evolved since we saw them last. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking to see what they have become and the issues they still face after all this time. Leigh's writing is truly addictive, and I much prefer this more adult vibe to the writing in Shadow and Bone. The pacing was excellent and the different plotlines happening at the same time were very well mastered. I had an absolute blast reading this book and the story really blew me away. I did not expect things to take this turn at all. I felt a lot too, because I'm very attached to those characters and everything they went through was very strong for me as well. I cannot wait to read the sequel although I don't want to leave the Grishaverse... I highly recommend if you enjoyed the other Grishaverse books or even if you're new to this! "To live is to grieve." TW: death, violence, demon, blood, murder, torture, assault, abuse

Ho aspettato un po’ prima di scrivere questa recensione per valutare al meglio questo splendido e utilissimo prodotto. La spedizione è stata davvero veloce con Amazon Prime e il prodotto è addirittura arrivato prima del previsto, come sempre Amazon è una garanzia. Il venditore è davvero affidabile e svolge in modo meticoloso il proprio lavoro. L'imballaggio è molto buono, di giusta grandezza, facile da aprire e curato in modo da nascondere il proprio contenuto. Tutti i materiali che compongono il prodotto in questione sono ben realizzati nei dettagli. Tutti i componenti del prodotto funzionano alla perfezione. Il design è gradevole. Sono davvero soddisfatto di questo acquisto che consiglio vivamente per il suo eccezionale rapporto qualità/prezzo. I colori del prodotto corrispondono a quelli in foto. Ero un po’ scettico in fase di acquisto visto che non vi era alcuna recensione dettagliata, ma chi mi segue sa che a me piace rischiare, quindi ho effettuato l’acquisto e devo dire che questa volta sono stato davvero fortunato perché il prodotto è davvero straordinario e molto utile per le mie esigenze quotidiane. 📦 Imballaggio ottimo da nascondere il prodotto all'interno 📦 💲 Ottimo Rapporto Qualità/Prezzo💲 ✅ Consiglio Vivamente L’acquisto Di Questo Valido Prodotto ✅ 🚧 GRAZIE PER L’ATTENZIONE CHE MI HAI DEDICATO!!! 🚧