3.5 stars.

While they don’t always blow me away, I‘ve enjoyed all of the books Leigh Bardugo has written thus far. But the Six of Crows duology will always be my favourite, hands down. Early rumblings about King of Scars and its connection to characters featured in SOC had me super excited for this book. While it didn’t live totally up to my expectations, in general KOS was an enjoyable read.

Bardugo has once again created an engaging story, with complex characters and lush world building. This particular tale is actually two plot lines told in parallel: Nikolai’s in Ravka and Nina’s in Fjerda. I know the main focus was supposed to be on Nikolai, but to be honest I found Nina’s adventures to be much more interesting. While the Ravka storyline was enjoyable, it was also very predictable. I can’t be the only one who saw the twist ending coming from a mile away. And that ending really could have used a rethink - it felt like a tired rehash with the return of previous villains. A book totally focused on Nina in Fjerda would have knocked this out of the park.

However, while King of Scars may have its issues, but I’m still looking forward to eventually reading the second book. I need to know what happens to Nina!