Six of Crows

Review of King of Scars by Leigh Bargudo

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King of Scars (King of Scars Duology Book 1) by [Leigh Bardugo]

Synopsis:
Face your demons…or feed them. The dashing young king, Nikolai Lantsov, has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, Nikolai must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha general, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

Review:
This book took me forever to get through. There was nothing necessarily wrong with it, but it was long, and a large part is due to not liking one of the characters that is a primary force in it. I did grow to like the character by the end, and was wishing and hoping for happy endings, but of course it is a duology so hopefully such things will be answered in book 2 (which I am currently more than halfway done, having not written this review immediately after finishing the previous one). I’m certain I had a lot of things to say, that I don’t quite recall now, but I’ll do my best.

I really enjoyed how this continued with characters we knew from previous books in the same grishaverse. I love Nikolai and I’ve wanted him to have a happy ending since the first three books (I was team Nikolai all the way in the Alina/Mal/Darkling/Nikolai debate). Seeing Nikolai as he struggles to find himself and his place was great, and while I really might not have liked her to start, getting to see more of Zoya and perhaps understand a bit of all that she was dealing with was good too.

One of my biggest issues with the end of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom was poor Nina and Matthias. In my head, I immediately thought then that Nina and Nikolai would end up together. Alas, that does not appear to be, but I do hope she ends up happy and free.

On to finishing Rule of Wolves…

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

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Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows by [Leigh Bardugo]

Synopsis:
When you can’t beat the odds, change the game.

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets—a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

Review:
This wasn’t just one story but several all in one (which is likely why the book is so long!) Everytime you thought things might be resolved and fixed and finished you would find yourself noticing there is so much more left to the book, that can’t possibly be everything. Kaz continued to be amazing, and I loved how he would alter his thinking to make his new games/plans work.

I will not give away a key element of the end, but I was pleasantly surprised what everyone’s ending looked like- except for one bit that absolutely devastated me.

Good tie in, got to the point where you were curious what was happening with everyone. On to the next… King of Scars.

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Synopsis:
A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction―if they don’t kill each other first.


Review:
Definitely more enjoyable than the original Grisha trilogy, but still found it somewhat hard to get into. Once all the main characters were established it was easier to care about them, but it was quite deep into the novel before you really got any insight into the characters and their backstories. I’ll take Kaz Brekker over Mal in the Grisha trilogy any day, but I also have a special love for Nina and Matthias. All in all, there were stakes, and everyone really grew by the end. I look forward to reading Crooked Kingdom and seeing what mischief the crew manage to get into (or out of).

Star Rating: ✯✯✯✯