Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

28 reviews

paili's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, War, Violence, Misogyny, and Gun violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

‘The pain was still there and she suspected it always would be’

“‘It’s very rude to make accurate observations’”

‘Grief was the shadow love left when it was gone’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Child abuse, Murder, Death, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

kevin_the_intern's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

flowers_blue's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Child abuse, War, and Grief

gayghostprince's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

this is my favourite grishaverse book, even over six of crows or crooked Kingdom. 
I am truly awestruck by how much I love this 
most importantly though: ZOYA!!!!! 
she's my fav character now I love her so very dearly 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Child death, Gun violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Kidnapping, Dysphoria, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death, Rape, Ableism, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Slavery, Infertility, Suicide, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Genocide

there's talk of wide scale use of missiles that can destroy cities.

a city is bombed and destroyed in the middle of the night

livreaderlife's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, War, and Xenophobia

stellenelcielo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Honestly, excellent ending to a series. 

Well, I think it’s an ending? Maybe? Haven’t checked if Leigh Bardugo plans to write more for it, would definitely read them if she did, but if she didn’t? This would be a good finish.

Where to start? There were chapters that I felt were slow, and others that were fast. 

Nina was a character that consistently took effort to enjoy. Truthfully, I just didn’t think Fjerda was a salvageable country, and had no interest of seeing any redemption or storyline surrounding it, more so than any complaints about Nina as a character (I digress, I did find her insufferable when Matthias was alive) only that her obsession with Fjerda was annoying.

The rest? Loved them. Zoya has my whole heart, and I’ll leave it there cause I’d rather not go into spoiler territory. 

But yeah. 5 stars because I was genuinely happy with the ending, the writing, the characterization. Left me feeling hopeful for any of Bardugo’s future works. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Body horror, War, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child abuse and Rape

nora_knight's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Overall, I thought it was a good ending to the series but it was just so sad how many things had to go wrong and 

how many characters had to die for Ravka to emerge victorious. I also really disliked the Darkling's redemption ark. Just why? And I thought Nina's ending could have been better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Racism

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Enemies are closing in on Ravka, and Nikolai is still not free of his demon. Zoya possesses a strange new power that she is still learning to understand. Nina is hiding in plain sight at the heart of Fjerda: the Ice Court. Ravka’s enemies are on the move. Will the too-quick fox be able to outsmart them one more time and keep his crown? Will Zoya open up enough to let in those who care for her—and use her new abilities? Will Nina forgive the wrongs done her and save those she loves?

The shining star of this book was the relationships.

I love Zoya and Nikolai—like, <i>really</i> love them; the blue ribbon made me go insane)— but Nina and Hanne might actually be my favorite fictional wlw. I love a slow burn, and the development of their relationship was excruciatingly slow through <i>King of Scars</i> and first part of <i>Rule of Wolves</i>. I was devastated when I thought that Hanne had died, and so relieved (but still worried for them) when I realized what she’d done. I’m going to need Bardugo to write another installment ASAP about the two of them ruling Fjerda.

To be honest, I wish Bardugo had come up with a new antagonist instead of bringing the Darkling back (I liked how his death in <i>Ruin and Rising</i> was very similar to Lord Voldemort’s in <i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</i>: it was almost anticlimactic in that it felt like a very final, mortal end for a character that had been essentially immortal), but since we got him, I thought Bardugo did a good job with the ending.

The only thing that made up for bringing him back was how Bardugo wrote his second end. I am a sucker for sacrifice, and the Darkling’s unceasing desire for Ravka to love him—even at the cost of eternal suffering—was well done. I agree with Zoya and Genya that his sacrifice does not absolve him of his many crimes, but I also agree that he should not have to remain there forever. I hope someday Bardugo will write more on that.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):

Happy, for the most part...but if Bardugo doesn’t write more in the Grishaverse, I will be very disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

rachellewiski's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Racism, and Torture

Minor: Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence