Sorry, but I hated Nina Zenik’s story in the King of Scars books

Warning: Spoilers for the duologies “Six of Crows” and “King of Scars”.

When I found out that Nina Zenik had expressed her own point of view in Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars series, I was excited, but the reality of her story was incredibly disappointing. After watching the Shadows and Bones Book series and the Six of the Crows Popular young adult author Leigh Bardugo has released two more books in her duology set in the Grishaverse: King of Scars And Rule of the wolves. These books followed Nikolai Lantsov as he literally faced his inner demons with the help of Zoya Nazyalensky. Meanwhile, Nina took on a new Grisha mission, after-Six of the crows.

I liked what Bardugo did with Nikolai and Zoya in the King of Scars Duology. As in her previous novels, Bardugo offered outstanding world-building, humor, and character relationships. I never thought I would become so invested in the charming King of Ravka and his cold and calculating general. However, Nikolai and Zoya were only half of the duology. The other half rested on the shoulders of Nina, who was one of my favorite members of Kaz Brekker’s novel series. Six of the Crows crew. However, her story took a completely different turn and I can’t say it was good throughout.

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The books of “The King Of Scars” do not give Nina enough time to mourn Matthias

Nina got over Matthias too quickly

Although I really expected Nina’s return in King of Scars, I knew her story would be sad. The last time readers saw Nina, she had just experienced the death of her lover Matthias. Six Crows many unique romances, Nina and Matthias were one of the most interesting couples. While Matthias had learned to hate Grisha as a Druskelle Grisha hunter, Nina’s life always revolved around preserving and cherishing Grisha’s magic. Since the two should never have worked together, their enemies-to-lovers romance was all the better. However, I couldn’t help but notice and be annoyed at how King of Scars have dropped this conspiracy.

Although the first third King of Scars saw how Nina mourned Matthias and talked to him in her thoughts, this phase of mourning did not last as long as I had expected. When Nina found a place to bury Matthias, the memory of him seemed to fade to a significant degree. While I understood that Nina had a mission to fulfill, it was still jarring to dump Matthias so quickly. After spending two whole books exploring their romance, his death seemed like something to put behind them rather than a core part of Nina’s story. I had to ask myself: what was the point?

Nina’s love story seems rushed in the “King of Scars” duology

Nina and Hanne have gone through different developments

What made Nina even worse than her ability to cope with Matthias’ death so easily was the fact that she also moved on romantically. While she was working as a Ravkan spy in Fjerda, Nina formed a close bond with Jarl Brum’s daughter Hanne. At first their relationship seemed to be purely professional, but before I knew it, sparks were flying between the characters. Although I liked Hanne as a character and wanted Nina to be happy, I found it hard to root for Nina and Hanne as a couple. Aside from Matthias, it didn’t help that their relationship seemed to be moving at an unrealistic pace.

While Nina and Matthias enjoyed several flashbacks that marked their journeys together through Fjerda long before Six of the CrowsNina and Hanne didn’t have that kind of past. Readers met Hanne at the same time as Nina. So her connection to Hanne felt a bit random and sudden compared to the slowly budding enemies-to-lovers romance Nina had with Matthias. The timing just didn’t seem right. If the couple had been given more time, I might have believed it more. But Since I only had two books to build up Nina’s relationship after her first great love, Nina and Hanne’s stories simply didn’t make sense to me.

The ending of Nina & Hanne has some glaring problems (despite the positive portrayal)

Nina and Hanne could not be themselves

The worst thing about Nina and Hanne’s relationship was its end. In the end Rule of the wolves, Hanne transformed into Prince Rasmus after accidentally killing him. By leaving her female body, Hanne was able to marry Nina and the two ruled Fjerda together. Hanne could never be Hanne again, and Nina had to remain tailored as Mila. In this way, Hanne and Nina could only be together by assuming other identities. For me, this was not only a disappointing ending, but also darkened what was originally presented as a positive portrayal.

While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Nina and Hanne’s romance, I could respect the representation it offered. Nina has always represented a positive attitude towards plus-size people, and her bisexuality was able to shine through in her relationship with Hanne in a way that wasn’t possible in her relationship with Matthias. Additionally, Hanne herself was a character who seemingly represented transgender or nonbinary people, a type of representation that Bardugo had yet to add to the Grishaverse. Yet that Hannes and Nina’s story ends without them being able to be their true selves harms the portrayal, In my opinion.

A continuation of Nina’s story in another Six of Crows book would have been better

Nina didn’t have to play in King of Scars

Unfortunately, I had the feeling Nina’s story worsened the quality of the King of Scars And Reign of the Wolves. Her storyline just wasn’t as interesting as Nikolai and Zoya’s. It also suffered from some serious pacing issues. However, I didn’t think Nina’s story should have been cut entirely. Instead, I thought it would have worked better in a third installment. Six of the Crows Book. Nina’s new story could have been better cushioned by her past, and therefore her future wouldn’t have felt so sudden and strange. Everything besides the crows could have been stronger from a narrative perspective.

The main incentive to tell Nina’s story in a hypothetical third Six of the Crows Book instead of King of Scars is that Matthias could not be forgotten so easily. With the perspectives of the other Crows, Matthias’ memory would have been more noticeable. That way, Nina’s new romance wouldn’t have felt like such a betrayal. Plus, readers were already familiar with Nina’s perspective, which appeared alongside those of the Crows. That sense of familiarity would have made Nina’s King of Scars story. However, I and other readers were left with a disappointing and unexpected plot instead.

The King of Scars duology is definitely still worth reading for Grishaverse lovers, but they should keep their hopes low for the return of Nina Zenik. Although we still saw Nina’s sassy, ​​charming side, her story just didn’t feel like it did in Six of the crows. Although Hanne and Nina were an interesting couple, there simply wasn’t enough time to tell them the story they truly deserved.

Six of the Crows

“Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo is a duology set in a fantasy world where a group of six misfits and criminals commit a dangerous heist. Led by the cunning Kaz Brekker, they must navigate betrayal, secrets, and dark magic to complete their mission. The series is set in the author’s larger “Grishaverse.”

Created by

Leigh Bardugo

Broadcast date of the first episode

23 April 2021

Pour

Daisy Head, Kit Young, Julian Kostov, Ben Barnes, Jessie Mei Li, Simon Sears, Gabrielle Brooks, Amita Suman, Kevin Eldon

Characters)

Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, Wylan Van Eck