Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

43 reviews

nightfell's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book was too long and too plot heavy for me. King of Scars intertwined plot and character in a way that told the story in an enjoyable way whilst building character arcs and telling their backstories. Rule of Wolves was mostly building plot, which was ok, but there were many storylines that I didn't feel had to be included. These storylines limited the amount of time spent fleshing out the main characters even more, which I wanted since this book is the last book (I think) with these characters. Overall, this book was ok, I did want more character focus and more scenes between Nikoli and Zoya. 

Why did Leigh Bardugo kill David? What was the reason? I've thought about it, and I genuinely don't know. I'm not even that attached to the man but why? 

I loved Nikolai, Zoya and Nina throughout the duology. I love Leigh for including a trans character in the Grishaverse (Hanne/Ilya?) - sidenote, I love him but his name is NOT ILYA WTF NOOO. Wasn't the darkling's ancestor named ilya??? 

I did like the darkling's character arc, they didn't forgive him out of obligation, and it seemed like they healed from the trauma he inflicted. In the end he did the right thing, and now we can all finally stop talking about him.

I LOVE that in the end Zoya became the Queen, and Nikolai gave up his crown for her. No other male love interest can ascend to his level of simp (apart from cardan). However, I wish that she gained her title through her own maneuvering and power and not as a result of a man giving it to her. 

I loved Nikolai and Zoya's relationship throughout the duology, I just wish they had more scenes or an arc that showed progression in their relationship. Form the beginning, I got a sense that they could have gotten together if Leigh wanted them to at any point, basically: they both seemed to want each other from the beginning, and the conflicts preventing them from being together were obviously not going to pose a serious threat to their relationship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Dysphoria, Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death, Confinement, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Rape

syd991's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.75

Oh god. Thank the Saints for Leigh Bardugo’s amazing writing.

After speeding through the rest of the Grishaverse and finally making my way to this amazing novel, I can genuinely say I was not disappointed. 

After the absolute cliffhanger that King Of Scars ended on, starting this book was no trouble at all, and for me it was fast-paced and brimming with an extraordinary plot. 

I adored watching Nina and Hanne’s relationship grow throughout this book, something I didn’t expect but also didn’t know I absolutely needed. 

Another thing I loved was both Zoya and Nikolai’s character development, both coming to terms with their power. 

One thing I loved was the appearance of a few certain characters, and the ending of this novel. I love how the option is open for Bardugo to write another book in the series, but at the same time, is left feeling complete.

The one book I haven’t read in the Grishaverse yet is Lives of Saints, and although I don’t deem it necessary, I still feel like it may have added a little more to the story for me, particularly with how this duology deals with the idea of Saints. 

As this is the last novel Bardugo has written thus far for the Grishaverse, I can only hope that we’ll be graced with another one soon, because I cannot bear to leave this universe just yet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Racism, Physical abuse, and Rape

aklovekorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, and War

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

meg_elyse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Rape, and Religious bigotry

sofiija's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, and War

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

piper_'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, and Pedophilia

Minor: Rape

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