King of Scars is the first book in the Nikolai's duology and the 6th of the Grishaverse books, written by the best-selling author Leigh Bardugo.
STORY
This book takes place a few years after the Ravkan civil war (after the end of Ruin and Rising), Nikolai Lantsov is King now, accompanied by the Triumvirate, made up by Zoya, Genya and David. They have had 3 years of peace, but peace is a fragile thing and Ravka still has a long way to go. Nikolai not only has to fight on every front to protect Ravka but to save himself too after what The Darklimg did to him. Nina Zenik rejoined the Second Army and is now an undercover agent for her country on Fjerda, where she will say her final goodbyes to Matthias and discover vital information on her fight to protect Grisha and her country.
The story was good, coherent and easy to follow, if I must say my favorite POV's were Nikolai's, and my least favorite were Nina's (I found some of them to be a little boring). I must say, the Saints part felt a tad forced for me.
We unravel new information on jurda parem, Grisha power, Ravka's enemies and Fjerda's plans.
THE ENDING! It was great! I mean I think we all saw it coming, but still, it was like WTF? And then it just...well, it ended, and I have so many questions!!
CHARACTERS
ZOYA.
She's a great and very complex character, we definitely see a part of her we had not seen before. She's loyal to the bone, brave, extremely candid, a badass woman who lives by her own standards and who has been through hell and back and emerged stronger. She is sarcastic and mean, but it's part of who she is. “Who did you dress for tonight?” she asked.
“Myself,” snapped Zoya. (HELL YES!)
NIKOLAI.
I've always loved him, but I realize now that before I didn't understand him completely, he was a brave, cunning, charming, patriotic, creative and strong prince
and privateer, willing to do anything to protect his people. He still is, but now we know why he cares so much about Ravka, why he's desperate to save it and its people and why he wants to be a better king than his father so badly. We get a better understanding of who he is, and specifically the effects the war had on him, especially after what the Darkling did to him.
NINA.
She's a feminist, and a badass, I love that about her, she's sensitive and will fight for what she believes is right, she's smart. However; she is impulsive. I get why her POV was vital to the story, I do, but, again, it was the one I liked the least. I just wasn't attached to her character.
I think there's a possible romantic interest here, although it might be just a great friendship, I still have my doubts (please let me know your thoughts on this matter).
ROMANTIC INTERESTS.
They were very predictable, actually, I think that might've been the point, besides, while they play and important role on this story, they are not the main focus of it. I didn't really loved them, I didn't feel anything for them until the very end and only on Nikolai's case.
IN CONCLUSION
I liked this book, it was a fun ride, I was happy to see characters from previous books, and really excited to read it because of my love for Nikolai's character. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, a novel where you will fall in love again with these characters and their stories, who are complex and badass. I'm eager to read the second book in this duology.
PS: I NEED TO SEE ALINA STARKOV AND NIKOLAI LANTSOV IN THE SAME ROOM IN THE NEXT BOOK!!
THANKS FOR READING!