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deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
TL;DR REVIEW:
It’s not easy to wrap up a whole universe, and it wasn’t perfect, but I loved Rule of Wolves as the Grishaverse series conclusion. It made me laugh and cry (!) and shake my fists and cheer.
For you if: You have read the other Grishaverse books!
FULL REVIEW:
“This is what love does. In the stories, love healed your wounds, fixed what was broken, allowed you to go on. But love wasn’t a spell, some kind of benediction to be whispered, a balm or a cure-all. It was a single, fragile thread, which grew stronger through connection, through shared hardship and trust.”
It’s not going to be easy to review this book without spoilers for other books in the universe, but I am going to try! (If you’ve read it, DM me on Instagram because I have a lot of thoughts I can’t say here, lol.)
Basically, Leigh Bardugo had a tall order on her hands here. How do you write a conclusion to a universe and all its conflicts — one with a massive, very dedicated fan base (with very strong opinions)? Well, I think she pulled it off well. This book had me IN MY EMOTIONS. I laughed, I cried (!!!), I shook my fists, I cheered. There are a few choices that I’m not quite sure how I feel about — and obviously parts that made me VERY SAD, LEIGH, but okay fine, I recognize the necessity — but overall, I’m a happy reader.
One of Leigh’s greatest strengths has always been her characters, and that talent really shines in Rule of Wolves. The growth for our main characters is incredible — from all the way back in Shadow and Bone, yes, but even just going back to the start of King of Scars. I love them all. PROTECT EVERYONE.
If you’re making your way through the Grishaverse books, keep going! You have a good one to look forward to.
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Confinement and Kidnapping
lennie_reads's review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, and Sexual assault
valyn_grebe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
leahsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicide, and Medical trauma
Minor: Rape
chaotic_abi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use and Torture
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, and Sexual assault
yavin_iv's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Homophobia and Rape
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, and Slavery
libbyhb's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, and Grief
aseel_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
first thing first, i love these characters SO MUCH. i would literally die for zoya, nikolai, genya, david, the gang, everyone (except the darkling, he can leave). bardugo created a bunch of characters that i root HARD for, which is rare for me these days :'(
BUT - this book was something... incoming spoilers
everything from the plot to the characters actions/dialogue/(questionable)development was flat and odd and argh, so DISAPPOINTED.
first thing: what was with zoya's inner monologue for her development? all this stuff about needing to open up and love other people, not be so cold etc etc etc. it just felt so forced and inorganic and honestly, why cant we have a strong female MC who does not apologize for being like that????? also her suli heritage? was so random and not really played a massive role in the plot, when it could have
nina: what was that? i dont like her staying at fjerda with Hanne (who i liked being trans [?] but i dont like how vague it was made and not dealt with properly, like pronouns) and kind of not grieving mathias in this book (it was a sudden shift from the first book)
nikolai: loved him giving up his crown but his relationship with zoya went from 0-100 in this book. we had the slow burn/sass in KoS, which was lovely. but in this one, it was so quick, and not much banner etc. it just felt too rushed and i wish it wasnt because i loved there relationship so much
other points: WHY DID DAVID DIE??? not really a consequence being as he wasnt there much and then didnt come back to impact the plot for long...
generally: i wish we only focused on the politics and not the magic. we had magic in the first series so it would have been cool to see the political problems of Ravaka. and since we had both, neither were done well. a third book would have helped make the ending not rushed at all. and the darkling? juris? that whole subplot was so weak and just an afterthought really. and i can't believe they are literally going to make the crows go on a heist to get the heart so they can kill the darkling, HE IS A SUCKY VILLAIN LET HIM STAY DEAD. also, why the cameo of the crows??? it felt so fan-servicy and unnecessary
in conclusion: super disappointed in this from both a weak plot point and illogical/weird character development/action. still love these characters though
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder