Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

13 reviews

gillianengelbrecht's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5


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themiscyra_anna's review against another edition

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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

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aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25


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shalladin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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


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andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition

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

3.5

3.5 stars!

In this sequel we continue the story from book 1 after some time has passed. We try to deal with the aftermath of The Darkling's revival and the problems up north with the Fjerdans that Nina send word.

This one was a slow start...I don't reread books that often and for 200pages a was quite bored:(
We have the following perspectives alternating via chapters as Leigh Bardugo usually does:(in order of how much I liked them): Mayu, Nikolai, Zoya,The Monk and Nina.

CW: experimentation; violence; war crimes; drug use;

The atmosphere was tense and really good(a plus that arises from the author's writing style...so if you enjoyed that in other books by her...you'll like it here as well )
But when it comes to the plot....i feel that we had too much on our plates for most of the book...we have the workings of a war with Fjerda(battles, espionage, secrets revealed and all that); we have the political problem that Mayu created in the last book that is mixed in with some morality issues and suffering by people; we have the strange happenings that are connected to the fold somehow; we have the Darkling and his agenda; we have Nina's mission and her relationship with Hanne AND we have Nikolai and Zoya's dynamic to account for....pretty much if you ask me.
I will admit that all of this have a good/ good enough conclusion by the end..but it definitely feels like the author left a BIG door..more like a gate...>..>...to come back and add more books...and I don't know if they're necessary:(

As I said...in the first 200pages the pacing was rough...I kept reading this one due to the chapter /perspective carusel: I constantly found myself wanting to know more about what character was doing. After that...things started to pick up..we have a war on our hands and Hanne and Nina's story started to take shape into something a FINALLY began to enjoy...loved how Hanne managed to achieve a form she felt comfortable in at last.^^
I also enjoyed Mayu's development even though she wasn't necessary the main focus. But despite these praises...I FIRMLY BELIEVE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT WAS LACKING , especially for the lesser known POVs :(
We have 2 sad/ shocking moments in the book..one in Ravka and one with the Fjerdans and i must say...that these 2 cannot hold the whole book....-_-

We also have a small part with some beloved characters and a deeply enjoyed them.
Zoya's insecurities were really good and explored as were Nikolai's but...still...not enough to justify the why they had such a struggle in regards to their relationship until the end....>..>

I also hoped for more Darkling..and I understand what the author tried to do with him...but yeah...not sure if I like the ending. 
Overall, I expected a little bit more character work..the action scenes were nicely done and mostly landed well for me. I enjoyed that Fjerda's people were presented as more than frightened monsters towards Grisha(but I wanted more complexity from Prince Rasmus, the Queen and Hanne's family..especially her family..>..>); Mayu's side of things were explored well enough although I felt potential in regards to the Shu Han story that wasn't realised; the religion bit was nice and the crossover with other important characters in this universe was great! ^^
 
I recommend this book if you've read the first book and want to be up-to-date, but be aware you'll finish this book and feel not completely satisfied.

Enjoy

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overbooked207's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

📖 Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo Book Review 📖

7th book of January 2023 and 7th of the year:

I’m proud of myself because I read multiple books that were very long this month, and in a short amount of time if I may add, and I hope that I continue on with this trend throughout the year!

It was so nice to be back in this world as I wait for Shadow and Bone season 2! It had strong and lovable complex characters, great writing and world-building, beautiful relationships and friendships, witty dialogue, and well-written and engaging fight scenes. Six of Crows is still my favorite series in this world, but I still enjoyed this a lot and recommend the Grishaverse as a whole! Also, the sounds I let out when the crows were mentioned were alarming😂(and that’s not a spoiler because one of the point of view narrators is a crow). TW for ableism, abuse, addiction, blood, bullying, child abuse, chronic illness, classism, confinement, death, drug use/forced drug use, dysphoria, genocide, grief, gun violence and weapons use, forced institutionalization, kidnapping, medical content/trauma, misogyny, murder, panic attacks, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, slavery, slurs, suicidal thoughts, torture, trafficking, violence, war, and xenophobia📚🫀👑🐉

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hannahwhiteyy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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gayghostprince's review

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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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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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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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singing_in_the_downpour's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0


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