Reviews with content warning for Rape - Rule of Wolves

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Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

68 reviews

stwriter92's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

When I heard that Rule of Wolves had come out, I don’t think I thought of anything apart from getting my hands on it. I read the Six of Crows duology back in 2019 and flew through the Shadow and Bone trilogy as well as King of Scars during the early weeks of quarantine. I honestly didn’t think I’d find another series that I could get so sucked into for a while, but I think the Grishaverse well and truly has my body, heart, and soul. I can’t think of a single bad thing to say about this series, which might say more about me than the book but who cares.

I have come to love every single character in this series like a dear friend (or perhaps a penfriend best kept at a safe distance) and watching their growth, their pain, their joys, their sorrows, their everything has been an absolute privilege. I am currently basking in the afterglow of finishing Rule of Wolves and I’m going to quote Romeo and Juliet here (probably because I’m teaching it to three classes of ninth graders and have had to hear this dialogue way too much in the past three weeks):

Parting is such sweet sorrow. (Juliet to Romeo; Romeo and Juliet II.ii.187)

It truly is. When I read the last lines (granted, the last lines seemed to hold a hint of a story bringing back my favorite ragtag group of schemers and sharpshooters), I had the bittersweet feeling of having truly enjoyed something wholeheartedly and all-consumingly mixed with the emptiness left behind at its end.

“In times of trouble, people tended to cling to tradition and superstition” (Nina to herself; Rule of Wolves, p. 84)

“Fear was a language universally understood” (Zoya to herself; Rule of Wolves, p. 520)

There were so many themes I have loved in this entire series, but I think my favorite one is the fact that people can change. Hatreds can be shed and love can be leaned. We learned that with Matthias during the Six of Crows duology (trilogy in the near future? Please, Ms. Bardugo!). Matthias’s entire character arc centered around him having to unlearn deeply rooted prejudices and having to go through the intense and painful introspection that comes from rooting around in your belief system to weed out the rotten parts of it.

Even Nina had to admit some hard truths about Jarl Brum, the cold witch hunter and father of her new love, Hanne. When seeing Jarl with his family, “Nina had assumed that Brum had always been a monster, but maybe he’d grown into one.” Nina has only ever known Jarl Brum as her enemy, but Hanne has only known him as her father. One quote of Hanne’s really struck me. When she was telling Nina about what it had been like when she was little and how her father slowly began to distance himself from her, she says “Have you ever seen a petrified forest? The trees are still trees, but they don’t bend to the wind. The have no leaves to rustle. He was the might Commander Brum, unyielding, the ruthless witch hunter, Fjerda’s scythe. The more he sopped up their praise, the less like my father he became.” Like Matthias, Hanne wanted so desperately to believe that there was still some good left in her father. But sometimes, the good is buried too deep. He was a man who grew to rule with and weaponize fear, just as Fjerda had for a long, long time. He was proof of the dangers of ruling and worshiping out of fear rather than out of love. While he was able to control his men, his men turned on him the minute something more fearsome than Djel’s wrath appeared before them. His need for total control came back to defeat him in the end (not that I’m complaining…).

'“Who enforces the laws?” Zoya asked softly. “Rich men. Rich men who do what they wish. Power doesn’t make a man wise.”’ (Zoya to Nikolai; Rule of Wolves, p. 145)

"Why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones?” (Varys to Ned Stark; A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin)

There were so many times that the difference between large men making large decisions and the smaller men set out to carry them out (often to their own demise) was brought into play. It was seen during the battle between Fjerda and Ravka. It was seen throughout the entire series when the Darkling weaponized his Grisha. However, it was shown most prominently, disturbingly, and heartbreakingly through

the khergud, Grisha in Shu Han that were put through painful transformations to add appendages such as wings and extra arms, stripping of their humanity, torturing them, dosing them with the highly addictive parem, all to create the perfect weapon to hunt for more Grisha. One of the character’s whose point of view we were able to see in this book was Mayu. She was put into the position of taking the princess’s place during King of Scars, acting as a sacrifice in order to save her brother, Reyem, from becoming a khergud. In reality, the Taban (ruling family) never intended to free her brother at all. They merely saw the twins as pawns to move around in order to weaken Ravka further.

This book showed what happened when the pawns stole their power back from the Queens, Kings, and Bishops that seemed to keep them under their control. It showed what happened when the thirst for freedom of a people whose freedom has been ripped from them one too many times is finally quenched. Watching every single horrible leader toppled was honestly one of the most satisfying things about this book. They were written so well and each one was so complex, so watching them being brought down was that much sweeter.

“There was nothing else to do but keep moving forward. You chose your path. You walked it. You hoped to find a way home again.” (Nina to herself; Rule of Wolves, p. 347)

“Zoya, do you know why the Darkling lost the civil war? How Alina stopped him?…Because he always fought alone. He let his power isolate him. Alina had us. You have us. You push us away, keep us at arm’s distance so that you won’t mourn us. But you’ll mourn us anyway. That’s the way love works.” (Genya to Zoya; Rule of Wolves, p. 473)

“The past lay shattered and bleak, torn by trenches, thick with mines. But the future was rolling hills and untouched forests, an open sea, a fair-weather sky.” (Nikolai to himself; Rule of Wolves, p. 576)

While some might think it an overdone theme, I think it is a theme that is worth repeating and shouting from the top of every building. The darkness will pass. We are not alone and we should not act like we are. This, I think, is what I connected to personally. I have never been good at allowing people to help me. Like Zoya, I have always kept people at an arm’s length (at times, I even do this with my family). Why do we fear love and connection? Why do we fear happiness? Why is it that happiness must be tinged with the promise of some future sorrow? Of course it is. Sorrow will always come. But so will happiness. As there will be dark times, there will be times of light and love and goodness. The clouds must give way to the sun at some point. But, will we be there to enjoy it or will we remain stuck under our beds and in our closets, convincing ourselves that the sun is a passing myth? I hope I will continue to look towards a better tomorrow, rather than being caught tangled in the thorns of the past and I hope, if you have bothered to read this at all, you do, too.

Just read this series.

Just do it.

Content Warnings

leahsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0

After binge watching the first season of Shadow and Bone on Netflix, I finally felt ready to start this book. And I didn’t even realize how much I missed all my babies until I started reading, but it felt like coming home!

There wasn’t a single thing that I didn’t like about this book! I’m complete trash for Leigh Bardugo, and this book literally blew her other books out of the water. So I’m just going to completely let my inner fangirl run free here and gush about everything I love.

The writing. I love how LB writes, and allows me to visualize everything that was going on. There was such an emotional component to this story, and I was able to really get all up in my feelings alongside the characters.

“In Ravka, they would be readying for the Feast of Sankt Nikolai. And for war. That was the knowledge that sat heavy on her chest every night when she lay down to sleep, that crept up to twine around her throat and choke the breath from her every day. Her people were in danger and she didn’t know how to help them.”

The characters. I truly loved seeing my favorite characters in the Grishaverse. And when I say that, I mean all my favorite characters, because some made cameos that I was super happy to see! There were some new POVs that I didn’t see coming, but it gave some perspective into what was happening in other parts of the story. I mean, who doesn’t love Nikolai, but Nina and Zoya are some of my favorite characters in the whole series. Seeing them all go through so much and still not give up, even in what seems like hopeless situations, was absolutely amazing. I love tough female characters, and everyone undergoes some serious emotional growth throughout the story.

“Zoya’s laugh sounded brittle to her ears. ‘A king with a demon inside him. A monk with the Darkling inside him. A general with a dragon inside her. We’re all monsters now, Nikolai.’”

The romance. There’s a slow-burn connection that has been building up between Nikolai and Zoya, despite all of their efforts to shove everything down and ignore it. And let me tell you, I have been waiting for those feelings to just explode out of them! They make such a great couple with their opposing natures and the way they just understand and complement each other.

“‘Tell me it’s more than war and worry that makes you speak those words. Tell me what they would mean if you weren’t a king and I weren’t a soldier.’”

Speaking of romance, the connection between Nina and Hanne was so heart-meltingly sweet! Especially after seeing the hell that Nina has been through in the last 3 books, I just wanted to see her get to be happy, but I wasn’t sure that it was going to happen. It was a bumpy road for everyone, and Nina was torn between her desire for revenge and her feelings for Hanne.

“Whatever she might feel for Hanne, she intended to see Brum dead, and she doubted Hanne would be able to forgive her for that. The divide was too great.”

The action. There’s a lot of action throughout the story, and a LOT of plot twists. There was just one twist that I was able to predict, and I was ABSOLUTELY THRILLED when I was right. But overall, I was on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire time that I was reading. I didn’t want to do anything other than read this book, because there was so much going on. It was never boring, and there were multiple subplots that always kept things intriguing, even with so many POVs.

The ending. While the entire book was absolutely incredible, the ending took this book to a whole new level. I loved how things wrapped up neatly without feeling rushed, but the best part? It left the door WIDE OPEN for a third Six of Crows book, which I will be eagerly anticipating.

Content Warnings

rhhapsodos's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0

Content Warnings

imamareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-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

4.0

Content Warnings

yavin_iv's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

Content Warnings

blakethebookeater's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

It was a bit long and there was a lot of fan service—but I am a fan and I loved it haha. Really great character development throughout, and I'm a huge fan of the ending. All the spoilers and specifics below.

The Six of Crows books are my fave so I LOVED all the Crows scenes in this one, even though the plotting was a little forced around some of them. And then the ending—give me more SoC books ASAP please! I was about to be real mad at this book for showing everyone except Inej but then she popped up at the end gloriously. I liked the Alina and Mal cameos too, even though it seemed out of character for them to not be fighting in the war...like I know it would have been a lot of characters to juggle if they were main characters in this story, but it seemed off to me that they would just choose not to be involved in finding/fighting the Darkling and then fighting for Ravka's freedom.

As for the main characters of this book, I love all three of them. Zoya really grew even more on me this book, and her character arc was fantastic. I love her relationship with Nikolai. And Nikolai and Nina I'll love forever and I'm glad they each got a happy ending here. Though will Nina pop up in the Crows book?? I'm kinda thinking not, or it'll just be a cameo, since she's about to be a queen and can't exactly go galivanting on a heist mission lol.

The Darkling chapters were probably my least favorite part of this book. I've never really understood the obsession with the Darkling (maybe the tv show will change my mind haha), but he was quite boring in this, and I'm still not sure how I should feel about him. I guess I'm ambivalent. I don't love him but I don't exactly hate him either.

Genya better appear in future books and get a happy ending. Did not appreciate her having to go through more trauma!! That was the only part I cried at. Let her be happy!!

The plot was a bit all over the place. It wasn't as slow as King of Scars, but still had some slow parts while also bouncing around everywhere. But I think some of this was to fit in all the cameos, so I forgive it. :)

Lastly, the title....doesn't make sense to me lol. I saw another review that was hoping the book would be called Queen of Mourning and I can't stop thinking about that title because I like it a lot more!

Basically, not quite as great as the Six of Crows books but so much better than King of Scars!

Content Warnings

totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

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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

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