King of Scars Duology - Leigh Bardugo

Epic fantasy from the No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Shadow & Bone trilogy and international Netflix sensation. Discover what comes next for the daring rogue Nikolai in the start of the captivating King of Scars duology.

Genre: High fantasy

Pages:  Book One - King of Scars - 511 pages
             Book Two - Rule of Wolves - 588 pages

Spice level: Low spice

Themes and tropes: 

🗡️ Struggle between light and dark magic
🗡️ Romance subplot
🗡️ Grumpy x sunshine
🗡️ Civil war
🗡️ LGBT characters

Blurb from the first book:

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.

Goodreads reviews for the first book can be found here.