Scan barcode
lindasoderlundd's review
adventurous
dark
funny
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
Graphic: Death, War, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Dysphoria and Chronic illness
reading_mermaid's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I have so many feelings and problems with this book, I don't know where to begin.
Its definitely ridiculous and entertaining and slightly too long. Nearly every living character from the previous 2 series made an appearance, but ultimately felt shallow and bleh (sorry, I couldn't think of a better adjective), as the storyline felt spread too thin. The Shu Han and Fjerda storylines were my favorite. And I did love thatNikolai and Zoya end up together, although it still doesn't make any sense to me making her queen. It also bugged me that the rules around tailoring seemed incredibly inconsistent.
I have a huge problem with the military propoganda/moral gymnastics ofbuilding weapons of destruction, going so far as sacrificing David, who was the only one to speak out against it, that dominates much of Nikolai's story. I also disliked the re-emergence of the Darkling and allowing him to be named as a Saint because he was afraid of being forgotten, in exchange for his "sacrifice", which really wouldn't have been necessary if he never created the Fold. The only reason he came back from the dead seemed to be more about being able to write more books in the future than adding anything material to the current story. His chapters contained mostly nothing and the fact that he got to use his victims to regain his powers and manipulate them into solidifying his legacy as a saint......I feel like Bardugo wants us to pity him, maybe even root for him a little, but at the very least, treat him with banal humor.
At some point this evolved into a hate read for me and I skimmed a lot of the text to get to parts that actually moved the plot. If these were just fluff fantasy novels, I would laugh at the preposterousness of it all and leave it at that. But Bardugo introduces a lot of horrific, charged plots points into her stories and I don't think she has the range or the experience to take them on in a meaningful way.
Its definitely ridiculous and entertaining and slightly too long. Nearly every living character from the previous 2 series made an appearance, but ultimately felt shallow and bleh (sorry, I couldn't think of a better adjective), as the storyline felt spread too thin. The Shu Han and Fjerda storylines were my favorite. And I did love that
I have a huge problem with the military propoganda/moral gymnastics of
At some point this evolved into a hate read for me and I skimmed a lot of the text to get to parts that actually moved the plot. If these were just fluff fantasy novels, I would laugh at the preposterousness of it all and leave it at that. But Bardugo introduces a lot of horrific, charged plots points into her stories and I don't think she has the range or the experience to take them on in a meaningful way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction
krijemseoddusana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, and Fire/Fire injury
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
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
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.emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
If my ratings were purely based off how a book makes me feel, this would be getting a one star. However they are not, so I had to cede it one more star because there were some good, even great, parts. But mostly it just pissed me off.
I can credit Bardugo with creating a complex and layered plot. However, the only POV I truly enjoyed was Nina's, as her ambitions and methods were fascinating, and I like the romance with Hanne. Even there, however, I felt like she didn't get a strong enough character arc. I also enjoyed Mayu's POV as it was fresh and full of intrigue, but we barely got any of it. Finally, I adored where Zoya ended up. Her character development has been phenomenal across the Grishaverse. This series belongs to her.
And that's where my compliments end. The thing about this book is that it just feels like fan service. That may not even be the case, but it comes off that way. This is so disappointing, as I feel like for the most part King of Scars was setting up for Rule of Wolves to be an incredible and worthy addition to the Grishaverse - it was not. This is mostly going to be spoilers.
The first warning bell was the return of the Darkling. This completely undermines the impact of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Alina and Mal's sacrifice. And then his presence wasn't even USED properly?? He wasn't in character, did nothing important throughout the WHOLE of the book and decided to sacrifice himself as penance, while declaring he was repenting nothing? Make it make sense. I know Bardugo said that the Darkling did not deserve redemption, but she kind of gave it to him anyway?? And then Zoya has her idea to replace the Darking with the heart of Sankt Feliks anyway, so what was the point of this whole storyline?? You can't say to make Nikolai's demon make sense, as it stayed when the blight vanished. And you can't say the blight created a source of tension, as it really didn't - it was barely referenced throughout the whole of the book. You literally could have had the obisbaya performed at the end of King of Scars, it being successful, and one problem from Nikolai's life being removed, without reducing the impact of Rule of Wolves. Plus it required the involvement of Mal and Alina, whom I did not think had realistic reactions to the Darkling returning. It also meant their neatly tied up ending at the end of Ruin and Rising was frazzled. Their appearance felt like fan service, and was the second warning bell for me. Overall for this part, it would have been more interesting had Yuri (whom we don't see a proper end for, either), leading the Starless Saint's cult, having become a force to be reckoned with, perhaps involved with the Apparat in some way.
The second main part which felt like fan service was the involvement of the Crows. While this was much more logical to me, given Nikolai's need to steal something, the whole episode was so brief that the Crows felt like shadows of themselves. We literally barely see Jesper and Wylan, despite their involvement in the heist Nikolai is a part of. It kind of felt like it could have happened behind the scenes without Nikolai's involvement, so that they were still referenced in the story without being rushed.
The third part was David's death. I could see no conceivable reason why this occurred. It literally doesn't make sense and felt like Bardugo did it for shock factor, not for the sake of dismantling plot armour. If the latter was the case, it would have been more logical for someone like Tolya, Tamar, Nadia, Adrik or Leoni to die, who are exposed to much more dangerous things than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Furthermore, doesn't it contradict the ending of Ruin and Rising, which describes how the Triumvirate visit Mal and Alina for years to come? It's only been three years?? Make it make SENSE.
Aside from these concerns, there were other aspects I didn't like. For example, my disconnect from Zoya and Nikolai's POVs. I was somewhat expecting this from Nikolai's, as I had felt it during King of Scars, but was upset it happened with Zoya, too, considering I adored her POVs from the previous book. I think it's because Nikolai and Zoya conceal their plans from the reader a LOT during this book, which is good for the element of surprise, but as it was overused it ended up with me not being able to tell what they were thinking or feeling, hence the disconnect. I also wished that Zoya's POVs explored her newfound power more and learning about how to be open from a much earlier point. With Nikolai, I was frustrated that we were told how much he wanted to heal Ravka, but not why. Finally, I struggled with getting on board with Nikolai and Zoya's romance. Logically it makes a lot of sense, but I didn't feel the emotion behind it. I could tell they cared deeply about one another, but for the most part it was hard to believe this was in a romantic way.
The final thing that made me frustrated and angry was the disability rep in this book.Prince Rasmus is chronically ill, and this makes him sour, evil and violent which he indulges as he gains strength. As a chronically ill person, it was simultaneously upsetting and infuriating that this was the path Bardugo chose for her only chronically ill character, and as such I couldn't fully get behind on the ending, dependent as it was on Prince Rasmus being evil and then being killed. This is especially so seeing as it seemed Bardugo handled disability rep well in her other books, such as in the character of Kaz.
I am honestly so disappointed that what is allegedly the finale of the Grishaverse disappointed me so greatly. I wish I had had a different experience but such is life.
I can credit Bardugo with creating a complex and layered plot. However, the only POV I truly enjoyed was Nina's, as her ambitions and methods were fascinating, and I like the romance with Hanne. Even there, however, I felt like she didn't get a strong enough character arc. I also enjoyed Mayu's POV as it was fresh and full of intrigue, but we barely got any of it. Finally, I adored where Zoya ended up. Her character development has been phenomenal across the Grishaverse. This series belongs to her.
And that's where my compliments end. The thing about this book is that it just feels like fan service. That may not even be the case, but it comes off that way. This is so disappointing, as I feel like for the most part King of Scars was setting up for Rule of Wolves to be an incredible and worthy addition to the Grishaverse - it was not. This is mostly going to be spoilers.
The second main part which felt like fan service was the involvement of the Crows. While this was much more logical to me, given Nikolai's need to steal something, the whole episode was so brief that the Crows felt like shadows of themselves. We literally barely see Jesper and Wylan, despite their involvement in the heist Nikolai is a part of. It kind of felt like it could have happened behind the scenes without Nikolai's involvement, so that they were still referenced in the story without being rushed.
The third part was David's death. I could see no conceivable reason why this occurred. It literally doesn't make sense and felt like Bardugo did it for shock factor, not for the sake of dismantling plot armour. If the latter was the case, it would have been more logical for someone like Tolya, Tamar, Nadia, Adrik or Leoni to die, who are exposed to much more dangerous things than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Furthermore, doesn't it contradict the ending of Ruin and Rising, which describes how the Triumvirate visit Mal and Alina for years to come? It's only been three years?? Make it make SENSE.
Aside from these concerns, there were other aspects I didn't like. For example, my disconnect from Zoya and Nikolai's POVs. I was somewhat expecting this from Nikolai's, as I had felt it during King of Scars, but was upset it happened with Zoya, too, considering I adored her POVs from the previous book. I think it's because Nikolai and Zoya conceal their plans from the reader a LOT during this book, which is good for the element of surprise, but as it was overused it ended up with me not being able to tell what they were thinking or feeling, hence the disconnect. I also wished that Zoya's POVs explored her newfound power more and learning about how to be open from a much earlier point. With Nikolai, I was frustrated that we were told how much he wanted to heal Ravka, but not why. Finally, I struggled with getting on board with Nikolai and Zoya's romance. Logically it makes a lot of sense, but I didn't feel the emotion behind it. I could tell they cared deeply about one another, but for the most part it was hard to believe this was in a romantic way.
The final thing that made me frustrated and angry was the disability rep in this book.
I am honestly so disappointed that what is allegedly the finale of the Grishaverse disappointed me so greatly. I wish I had had a different experience but such is life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Ableism
Moderate: Medical content, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Racism, Torture, Misogyny, Sexism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Rape, Vomit, Miscarriage, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry
More...