King of Scars is part of the vivid and beautiful Grishaverse created by Leigh Bardugo. She combines characters from Shadow and Bone as well as Six of Crows and the result is fantastic. The story seamlessly connects to so many existing elements established across the Grishaverse and it enhances the impact of this book so much more. Needless to say, you should read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy as well as the Six of Crows Duology before getting to King of Scars.
Each if the 3 main characters get an ample amount of focus. I loved the backstory of Zoya since that gave her so much depth. It also brought to light the reason for her behavior in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Overall arcs for Nikolai as well as Nina were really well constructed. Each of them gets to grow and blossom into something more complex, more real.
The pace of King of Scars is relentless. Just the way it starts, it pulls you in tight and keeps you tethered. My favorite line from the book is from the first chapter - "The coachman did not look at the monster and say Go On You Beast…as a hero would, Instead, in the deep shadows cast by the swaying pines, Dima thought he heard the coachman say, Watch your head, Your Highness”. There are no dull moments and no slump in the middle. The climax is very satisfying and sets up the Rule of Wolves really well. I will be starting that one very soon.
However, I was really hoping that this book had something extra. That's because King of Scars follows the Six of Crows Duology which was fantastic. On top of that, this book centered around my favorite character from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Nikolai. In the main trilogy, Nikolai had a supporting role and only entered the storyline from book 2. In King of Scars, he is very much in focus. Hence, I expected a bit more. Nevertheless, King of Scars was a good read and definitely better than the entire Shadow and Bone trilogy.
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