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emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
If my ratings were purely based off how a book makes me feel, this would be getting a one star. However they are not, so I had to cede it one more star because there were some good, even great, parts. But mostly it just pissed me off.
I can credit Bardugo with creating a complex and layered plot. However, the only POV I truly enjoyed was Nina's, as her ambitions and methods were fascinating, and I like the romance with Hanne. Even there, however, I felt like she didn't get a strong enough character arc. I also enjoyed Mayu's POV as it was fresh and full of intrigue, but we barely got any of it. Finally, I adored where Zoya ended up. Her character development has been phenomenal across the Grishaverse. This series belongs to her.
And that's where my compliments end. The thing about this book is that it just feels like fan service. That may not even be the case, but it comes off that way. This is so disappointing, as I feel like for the most part King of Scars was setting up for Rule of Wolves to be an incredible and worthy addition to the Grishaverse - it was not. This is mostly going to be spoilers.
The first warning bell was the return of the Darkling. This completely undermines the impact of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Alina and Mal's sacrifice. And then his presence wasn't even USED properly?? He wasn't in character, did nothing important throughout the WHOLE of the book and decided to sacrifice himself as penance, while declaring he was repenting nothing? Make it make sense. I know Bardugo said that the Darkling did not deserve redemption, but she kind of gave it to him anyway?? And then Zoya has her idea to replace the Darking with the heart of Sankt Feliks anyway, so what was the point of this whole storyline?? You can't say to make Nikolai's demon make sense, as it stayed when the blight vanished. And you can't say the blight created a source of tension, as it really didn't - it was barely referenced throughout the whole of the book. You literally could have had the obisbaya performed at the end of King of Scars, it being successful, and one problem from Nikolai's life being removed, without reducing the impact of Rule of Wolves. Plus it required the involvement of Mal and Alina, whom I did not think had realistic reactions to the Darkling returning. It also meant their neatly tied up ending at the end of Ruin and Rising was frazzled. Their appearance felt like fan service, and was the second warning bell for me. Overall for this part, it would have been more interesting had Yuri (whom we don't see a proper end for, either), leading the Starless Saint's cult, having become a force to be reckoned with, perhaps involved with the Apparat in some way.
The second main part which felt like fan service was the involvement of the Crows. While this was much more logical to me, given Nikolai's need to steal something, the whole episode was so brief that the Crows felt like shadows of themselves. We literally barely see Jesper and Wylan, despite their involvement in the heist Nikolai is a part of. It kind of felt like it could have happened behind the scenes without Nikolai's involvement, so that they were still referenced in the story without being rushed.
The third part was David's death. I could see no conceivable reason why this occurred. It literally doesn't make sense and felt like Bardugo did it for shock factor, not for the sake of dismantling plot armour. If the latter was the case, it would have been more logical for someone like Tolya, Tamar, Nadia, Adrik or Leoni to die, who are exposed to much more dangerous things than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Furthermore, doesn't it contradict the ending of Ruin and Rising, which describes how the Triumvirate visit Mal and Alina for years to come? It's only been three years?? Make it make SENSE.
Aside from these concerns, there were other aspects I didn't like. For example, my disconnect from Zoya and Nikolai's POVs. I was somewhat expecting this from Nikolai's, as I had felt it during King of Scars, but was upset it happened with Zoya, too, considering I adored her POVs from the previous book. I think it's because Nikolai and Zoya conceal their plans from the reader a LOT during this book, which is good for the element of surprise, but as it was overused it ended up with me not being able to tell what they were thinking or feeling, hence the disconnect. I also wished that Zoya's POVs explored her newfound power more and learning about how to be open from a much earlier point. With Nikolai, I was frustrated that we were told how much he wanted to heal Ravka, but not why. Finally, I struggled with getting on board with Nikolai and Zoya's romance. Logically it makes a lot of sense, but I didn't feel the emotion behind it. I could tell they cared deeply about one another, but for the most part it was hard to believe this was in a romantic way.
The final thing that made me frustrated and angry was the disability rep in this book.Prince Rasmus is chronically ill, and this makes him sour, evil and violent which he indulges as he gains strength. As a chronically ill person, it was simultaneously upsetting and infuriating that this was the path Bardugo chose for her only chronically ill character, and as such I couldn't fully get behind on the ending, dependent as it was on Prince Rasmus being evil and then being killed. This is especially so seeing as it seemed Bardugo handled disability rep well in her other books, such as in the character of Kaz.
I am honestly so disappointed that what is allegedly the finale of the Grishaverse disappointed me so greatly. I wish I had had a different experience but such is life.
I can credit Bardugo with creating a complex and layered plot. However, the only POV I truly enjoyed was Nina's, as her ambitions and methods were fascinating, and I like the romance with Hanne. Even there, however, I felt like she didn't get a strong enough character arc. I also enjoyed Mayu's POV as it was fresh and full of intrigue, but we barely got any of it. Finally, I adored where Zoya ended up. Her character development has been phenomenal across the Grishaverse. This series belongs to her.
And that's where my compliments end. The thing about this book is that it just feels like fan service. That may not even be the case, but it comes off that way. This is so disappointing, as I feel like for the most part King of Scars was setting up for Rule of Wolves to be an incredible and worthy addition to the Grishaverse - it was not. This is mostly going to be spoilers.
The second main part which felt like fan service was the involvement of the Crows. While this was much more logical to me, given Nikolai's need to steal something, the whole episode was so brief that the Crows felt like shadows of themselves. We literally barely see Jesper and Wylan, despite their involvement in the heist Nikolai is a part of. It kind of felt like it could have happened behind the scenes without Nikolai's involvement, so that they were still referenced in the story without being rushed.
The third part was David's death. I could see no conceivable reason why this occurred. It literally doesn't make sense and felt like Bardugo did it for shock factor, not for the sake of dismantling plot armour. If the latter was the case, it would have been more logical for someone like Tolya, Tamar, Nadia, Adrik or Leoni to die, who are exposed to much more dangerous things than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Furthermore, doesn't it contradict the ending of Ruin and Rising, which describes how the Triumvirate visit Mal and Alina for years to come? It's only been three years?? Make it make SENSE.
Aside from these concerns, there were other aspects I didn't like. For example, my disconnect from Zoya and Nikolai's POVs. I was somewhat expecting this from Nikolai's, as I had felt it during King of Scars, but was upset it happened with Zoya, too, considering I adored her POVs from the previous book. I think it's because Nikolai and Zoya conceal their plans from the reader a LOT during this book, which is good for the element of surprise, but as it was overused it ended up with me not being able to tell what they were thinking or feeling, hence the disconnect. I also wished that Zoya's POVs explored her newfound power more and learning about how to be open from a much earlier point. With Nikolai, I was frustrated that we were told how much he wanted to heal Ravka, but not why. Finally, I struggled with getting on board with Nikolai and Zoya's romance. Logically it makes a lot of sense, but I didn't feel the emotion behind it. I could tell they cared deeply about one another, but for the most part it was hard to believe this was in a romantic way.
The final thing that made me frustrated and angry was the disability rep in this book.
I am honestly so disappointed that what is allegedly the finale of the Grishaverse disappointed me so greatly. I wish I had had a different experience but such is life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Ableism
Moderate: Medical content, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Racism, Torture, Misogyny, Sexism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Rape, Vomit, Miscarriage, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry
luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Drug use, Torture, Gun violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Chronic illness, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
lagiven's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I think at least half a star if not more is dedicated to the Crows that cameo because they're the reason I hoped Rule of Wolves would be better than King of Scars. Rule was somehow worse, and the plot made even less sense. The "plot twists" were more shock value than actually exciting, and there were some unnecessary subplots that cheapened the serious trauma some characters deal with. This was just a complete mess, way too fast paced due to too many subplots, and multiple characters drastically diverged from how they acted previously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Slavery
lennie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
So after the ending of KoS, we have 2 extra POVs in this book. I won't tell you who because spoilers but I definitely appreciated one more than the other!
In this book Ravka and Fjerda are at war. Nina is deep undercover in Fjerda, Nikolai & the monster are still joined but they've come to more an amicable arrangement and Zoya is trying to master her new powers.
This book is heavy, and definitely slow at some points but it's worth sticking with.
I also think that by the time you get to RoW (after reading all the other GrishaVerse books), you know not to immediately believe everything you read. Especially when it comes to Kaz and Nikolai; Leigh uses a Lot of similar plot devices and, well at least for me, I could always assume there was an alternative / back up plan.
We do have romance in this book, as well as tragedy (if you know, you know 😭) and there are a lot of different threads weaving together at the same time.
There is also discussions about race & heritage, as well as confirmation of a trans character and an aro/ace character.
And we get to see the Crows and Mal & Alina in this book 😍
I also really enjoyed seeing more of Shu Han; the characters, the governing, the Khergud etc.
A lot of issues are resolved in this book but not all of them and Leigh has left a few storylines open for the new third Crows book.
It's hard to review this book without giving away spoilers but if you enjoy the GrishaVerse and were annoyed by the ending of KoS, you should hopefully enjoy this!
There is Trans rep, pan / bi rep, lesbian rep, POC rep, aro/ace rep, mixed race rep and more
CW: reanimated corpses, addiction, death, grief, murder, body horror, torture, medical trauma, confinement, chronic illness, dead children
In this book Ravka and Fjerda are at war. Nina is deep undercover in Fjerda, Nikolai & the monster are still joined but they've come to more an amicable arrangement and Zoya is trying to master her new powers.
This book is heavy, and definitely slow at some points but it's worth sticking with.
I also think that by the time you get to RoW (after reading all the other GrishaVerse books), you know not to immediately believe everything you read. Especially when it comes to Kaz and Nikolai; Leigh uses a Lot of similar plot devices and, well at least for me, I could always assume there was an alternative / back up plan.
We do have romance in this book, as well as tragedy (if you know, you know 😭) and there are a lot of different threads weaving together at the same time.
There is also discussions about race & heritage, as well as confirmation of a trans character and an aro/ace character.
And we get to see the Crows and Mal & Alina in this book 😍
I also really enjoyed seeing more of Shu Han; the characters, the governing, the Khergud etc.
A lot of issues are resolved in this book but not all of them and Leigh has left a few storylines open for the new third Crows book.
It's hard to review this book without giving away spoilers but if you enjoy the GrishaVerse and were annoyed by the ending of KoS, you should hopefully enjoy this!
There is Trans rep, pan / bi rep, lesbian rep, POC rep, aro/ace rep, mixed race rep and more
CW: reanimated corpses, addiction, death, grief, murder, body horror, torture, medical trauma, confinement, chronic illness, dead children
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault, Miscarriage, and Racism
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
https://youtu.be/_dH-mSya8uY
This. Book. Is. A. Masterpiece.
WOWOOWOWOWOW. Now this is how you end a series.
I can't say too much without going into spoilers, but DAMN Leigh really played with ALL of my emotions throughout this entire book. It was action-packed, intense, emotional, and perfect. A wonderful finale to the end of this duology and also the entire Grishaverse. It's definitely worth it to read the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows duology before this series as it makes this book pack a huge punch, but even just being a sequel to King of Scars it is PERFECT.
Nina, Zoya, and Nikolai are all at the BEST they have EVER been in this entire universe and it's such an amazing thing to see. I need more people to read this book so I can scream about it with them
This. Book. Is. A. Masterpiece.
WOWOOWOWOWOW. Now this is how you end a series.
I can't say too much without going into spoilers, but DAMN Leigh really played with ALL of my emotions throughout this entire book. It was action-packed, intense, emotional, and perfect. A wonderful finale to the end of this duology and also the entire Grishaverse. It's definitely worth it to read the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows duology before this series as it makes this book pack a huge punch, but even just being a sequel to King of Scars it is PERFECT.
Nina, Zoya, and Nikolai are all at the BEST they have EVER been in this entire universe and it's such an amazing thing to see. I need more people to read this book so I can scream about it with them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Racism, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, and Slavery
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexism, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
jennalwiegand's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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? No
4.5
Really loved this book! I have to say it was wayyyy better than the king of scars in my opinion. I loved the character development and general badassery of the female characters, the diverse cast and the cameos from the Dregs. My only “issue” was that a new point of view was added that I didn’t love, but I understand why it was there.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
carolinewithane's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Sexism
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