King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1) by: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Published: January 29, 2019 by: Imprint
Pages: 527
Rating: 3/5 stars

Fresh off of Ravka's bloody civil war, Nikolai Lantsov is trying to get his country back together. The young king is riddled by growing enemies with a thirst for power. And, he has got a dark energy inside of him that grows stronger with each passing day. With the help of some former allies and new ones, Nikolai must rebuild Ravka's shattered state, and attempt to control himself and his magic at the same time.

I am not an expert when it comes to the Grisha universe. I read the Six of Crows duology a long time ago, and just recently started the Shadow and Bone trilogy. The kicker is, I have only read the first Shadow and Bone book so far, and I got really confused by the order of all of these series, so the entire Shadow and Bone series kinda got spoiled for me by reading this book. I thought that I could read this before finishing Shadow and Bone and everything would be ok. *shrugs.*

I'm not too bummed about getting the series spoiled for me, but I think that does reflect on my opinions on this book. Because I wasn't aware that this book takes place after Shadow and Bone, I was really confused about some of the things they were talking about. Again, this is my own bad, but it still did squander my interest in this book.

I was really happy to see Nina in this book. She is such a badass character from Six of Crows, and I was happy to see the crossover. I think Bardugo is doing something that Rick Riordan does so well: create a whole universe of stories that intertwine. I get really into crossovers, so I was happy to revisit a favourite old character of mine.

Bardugo's writing is beautiful, as always. I didn't like fantasy books for the longest time, but the Grishaverse is such a fascinating world that drew me right in. I think Nikolai is a very intriguing character, and I enjoyed learning more about him. That being said, I think I needed more background knowledge from the other books to help me along the way.

So overall, I think the reason I wasn't sold on this book is mostly my fault. I plan to finish Shadow and Bone, re-read Six of Crows, and the maybe revisit this series. That being said, I am happy to be a new fan of the Grishaverse!

Have you read King of Scars? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Published: June 5, 2012 by: Henry Holt and Company
Pages: 358
Rating: 4/5 stars

*review contains spoilers

The nation of Ravka is divided by the Fold, a mysterious layer of darkness ridden with monsters. Alina works and fights along it, but when her best friend is brutally injured, she uncovers a power she didn't even know she had. Soon Alina is whisked off to be trained as a Grisha, a group of magical elite people who learn under the Darkling, the most powerful being in Ravka. As the Darkling takes an interest in Alina, she must uncover his true secrets, and decide who she is able to trust in her war-torn country.

I finally did it, I read the book that book twitter can't keep quiet about! Honestly, I expected to hate this book. Fantasies are not my cup of tea, and I think that Leigh Bardugo's writing is something that I normally struggle to get into. However, I thought this book was fabulous. Full of action and intrigue, and captured me right in.

Basically, I was looking for a new series to obsess over, and this could very much be a contender! I loved all of the characters, and the mystery that they hold. Alina was resilient and strong, Mal was loyal (and in my opinion, way better than the Darkling), but the Darkling was also a really well-written villain. I enjoyed learning about him and I find his backstory to be fascinating.

I was concerned that the plot would be boring and pretentious, but I didn't find that at all! I thought there was consistent action from start to finish, and by the end of the book, I completely flew through the novel. In fact, I think I finished this book all in two days, which is a big win for fantasies in my opinion.

*Spoiler section:

The only thing that prevented this book from being a total win, was the romance aspect. I really don't get how Alina and the Darkling are a thing. He was incredibly abusive and manipulative, and I really don't understand the hype surrounding them? In my opinion, Mal is so much better for her, but in reality I would like to see Alina stand on her own. I don't think this series needs romance to be successful, but that's more of a personal opinion. We shall see once I continue with the series.

Anyways, I really did enjoy this book. I found it to be intriguing and unique. I really would love to read more.

Have you read Shadow and Bone? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess