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, the young king 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 Squaller, 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.

I have been meaning to read this book since I finished the Shadow and Bone Trilogy last year, and now that I finally have read it, there's only one thing I want to say. This book is my best read this year so far!

I became a fan of Leigh Bardugo when I read the Six of Crows duology. I fell in love with her writing and her characters and the world she built. I wanted to learn more of the Grishaverse and so I picked up the Shadow and Bone trilogy. It didn't really live up to its hype because I didn't love the trilogy as much as I loved Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. But I fell in love with Nikolai, who was one of the characters in the trilogy, and when I learned that he was going to have his own book, I was ecstatic! I held off reading it until I came home to the Philippines because I bought its physical copy.

I had so much fun reading through Nikolai's perspective. The thing I least expected was having Nina's perspective in this book! I thought I read the last of her in Crooked Kingdom but having her here was something I never knew I needed.

This book takes place 3 months after the Crooked Kingdom. I don't want to give away too many details because I don't want to spoil anything. I just wanted to write how much this book has made me happy. As I was reading through the middle, I was thinking about how this book would end up. When I was finally in the last chapters, all I could think about was about the book not ending at all. 😂

Leigh gave us action and thrill with King of Scars. This book made me love and respect Zoya, made me root for Nina and Hanne, made me scream when betrayal was made (although I should've predicted that one) and made me love Nikolai even more (that I didn't think was possible). It also made me miss the Six of Crows crew with their names coming up often in Nina's chapters. 

Overall, King of Scars is a MUST read for those who have already read the previous Grishaverse books. The plot is rich and the twists are cruel, you'd never really expect them to come until they hit you on the face.

I cannot wait for book two! I just can't. And even more, I cannot wait for the Netflix Series! I hope 2021 comes fast! Till my next book rants!