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angele_vergoni's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I went into this book fully expecting it to be completely centred around Nikolai and for him to be the star of the show, but this was definitely not the case in a surprisingly good way. Instead, the female characters absolutely SHONE in this book and completely stole the show. They were just incredible. It was a joy to read from Nina's perspective again, but it was actually Zoya who I fell in love with. She's had such an incredible character arc over the course of the Grishaverse and that was really revealed and expanded upon in this book. She's such a bad ass and doing a much better job of being the main character than Nikolai is.
Being back in the Grishaverse was a delight, but so was reading Bardugo's writing again. It is wonderfully descriptive, and her plot development here is truly on another level in comparison to Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows. I really enjoyed seeing her expand her world-building, and she REALLY knows how to write incredible endings.
I docked a half-star for two reasons. The first is that I felt extremely disconnected from Nikolai, to the point where (shockingly, given he was one of my favourite characters in Shadow and Bone), I was dreading his POV chapters. The second is that for the first half of this book the plot felt a little directionless in that I didn't really know what the book was going to be about until like 250 pages in.Also, the return of the Darkling kind of feels like a cheap enemy and I'm worried about how it's going to impact my enjoyment of Rule of Wolves.
Being back in the Grishaverse was a delight, but so was reading Bardugo's writing again. It is wonderfully descriptive, and her plot development here is truly on another level in comparison to Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows. I really enjoyed seeing her expand her world-building, and she REALLY knows how to write incredible endings.
I docked a half-star for two reasons. The first is that I felt extremely disconnected from Nikolai, to the point where (shockingly, given he was one of my favourite characters in Shadow and Bone), I was dreading his POV chapters. The second is that for the first half of this book the plot felt a little directionless in that I didn't really know what the book was going to be about until like 250 pages in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, and War
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, and Vomit
luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
I really liked this book more than I expected. The beginning is painfully slow, so it was hard to get into, but once things started moving at a faster pace, I was hooked. I loved getting to read Zoya and Nikolai's POVs for the first time. They both have very clear "voices" so it was super engaging to read from their perspectives. I would have also been interested in getting a POV from Genya or David as well in this book.
I LOVE Nina's storyline. For me, I was a lot more interested in what was going on with her in Fjerda than I was with the others in Ravka. I'm not going to give any spoilers but I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading more about Nina and what she's doing as a Ravkan spy in Fjerda.
And then there's the sequel. I definitely liked Rule of Wolves more than King of Scars so I would recommend reading it even if you didn't love King of Scars (I think it is much better). Once again I love everything that happens with Nina (and Hanne!). And I think the connection between Zoya and Juris is very interesting. I'm not big on the storyline surrounding the darkling, I think it was interesting but maybe didn't belong in this book (?). Also, the ending is SO GOOD.
I LOVE Nina's storyline. For me, I was a lot more interested in what was going on with her in Fjerda than I was with the others in Ravka. I'm not going to give any spoilers but I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading more about Nina and what she's doing as a Ravkan spy in Fjerda.
And then there's the sequel. I definitely liked Rule of Wolves more than King of Scars so I would recommend reading it even if you didn't love King of Scars (I think it is much better). Once again I love everything that happens with Nina (and Hanne!). And I think the connection between Zoya and Juris is very interesting. I'm not big on the storyline surrounding the darkling, I think it was interesting but maybe didn't belong in this book (?). Also, the ending is SO GOOD.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Child death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Racism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia
ghostofthegallows's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
Great stand alone duology. It was a strange mix of fast and slow. A bit confusing as to what was going on but its very good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Torture, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Grief
tomi_delano's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. I fell more and more in love with familiar characters and some new ones. I got very angry at other familiar characters. Spectacular writing from Leigh Bardugo as usual.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
citymouse's review against another edition
3.0
Nina deserves to have her own series and her story entwined with Nikolai makes quite literally no sense. The book was good, but I would have preferred to see them as individual books rather than alternating between stories many lands apart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Infertility, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
queenmackenzie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
4.75
What an exciting new series! Leigh Bardugo has certainly come a long way from her first book, Shadow and Bone, which had a great premise and a very exciting world, but was full of worn-out tropes and somewhat shallow characters. This new duology follows Nikolai, now King of Ravka, trying to bring an age of peace to his country, but is beset by nations on all sides, and by the darkness within. Three years have passed since the Shadow Fold was destroyed and the Darkling defeated by Alina Starkov, but whatever force Nikolai was infected with has reared its head again, and at night the king turns into a shadow creature that longs for human flesh. Zoya and the rest of the Grisha Triumvirate – comprised of the familiar faces of Genya, David, Tolya, and Tamar – are doing their best to keep this hidden and find a way to cure it, but things are getting out of hand.
At the same time, miracles seem to be sprouting up all over Ravka, and a new group called the Cult of the Starless Saint has arisen and are demanding the Darkling be made a saint. Their leader, Yuri, is brought into the palace by Nikolai to try and placate the crowds, and the king quickly realises that he might be able to use Yuri’s knowledge to rid himself of the monster within him. This will take Nikolai and Zoya back to the Unsea, to the place in which the Darkling first created the Fold and was then defeated centuries later.
‘Ravka was his first love, an infatuation that has begun in his lonely boyhood and that had only deepened with age. Whatever it demanded, he knew he would give.’
I’m not always a fan of when a series brings back a villain that has already died, but in this case the Darkling hasn’t actually returned and it is his memory, his actions, and the remnants of his power are what hangs over Ravka and over Nikolai. I appreciated this because it shows the long-term effects of this great good vs evil war; the darkness may have been defeated, but unlike the sweet fairytale ending of Ruin and Rising (in which Alina and Mal get to retire to a cottage and the kingdom seems happy) the problems don’t magically disappear because the villain has died. In the same way, though the Crows managed to free Kuwei from the Fjerdans and the knowledge jurda parem is in the hands of the Grisha, there are still threats to the Grisha’s lives, still the danger of kidnapping and murder by the Fjerdans or by the Shu for their experiments. I really like the way this series brought in so much more of the politics of the Grishaverse.
We see this in Nina’s storyline as well. She is undercover in Fjerda, working to smuggle vulnerable Grisha out of the country to offer them safety and build up Ravka’s Second Army. Even in a place that hates Grisha, though, effigies to Sankta Alina are spouting up, and tension is building between soldiers and villagers, especially in a town to the north where a factory has been set up, and where Nina can hear the voices of the dead calling to her. Nina’s points of view were heartbreaking; she is not only in Fjerda on a mission, but she has been trailing the body of her love Matthias (kept intact by Fabrikator magic) and is looking for a place to lay him to rest in a country that branded him a traitor. Throughout her chapters there are moments in which she hears Matthias’ voice in her head, and it’s as if they are still having a conversation, and that hit me hard. It’s also a bit of a shock to the system to see a character that previously has been so cheerful and full of life even in hard circumstances, become so grey, which is augmented by the way her powers were changed by jurda parem so that she no longer sense life but death.
‘For a moment, Nina had stood alone with death on the docks, two weary travellers, long time companions.’
There are also a few new characters introduced in this story, and I enjoyed all of them, as well as getting to know Zoya more. She is a complex character, which we see hints of in the first Grishaverse trilogy, but Bardugo really develops her in this new series. Her and Nikolai’s relationship, built on the desire to improve their country and the trust they have in one another was really nice to read, and there are parts of her arc that definitely went in unexpected directions!
In fact, the last thing I’ll say is that one of the things that really elevated this book for me, along with the development of the world, the politics, the banter, and the characterisation, was the plot twists. There was more than one moment that had me raising my eyebrows in surprise at the turn of events, and I thoroughly enjoyed that feeling. Now my only tragedy is that Rule fo Wolves is only out in hardback and I can’t ruin my collection of grishaverse paperbacks, so I’ll have to wait a while for the conclusion to the story. Or maybe I’ll buy the ebook to read it in the meantime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Violence
aviery's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
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