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emilywemily6's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.25
I enjoyed this book, I enjoyed this world! But the story was a little convoluted and had lots of moving parts, and my love for Nikolai waned throughout this book (not for any particular thing he did or didn’t do, but I lost my connection with him because of everything else going on). I loved the twists and turns at the end of the book because I really didn’t know how it would work out, and I like that the ending is open-ended for another duology/trilogy in the Grishaverse in the future. This book was definitely a culmination of the books that are already out and you see glimpses of characters (good and bad) from the other books in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Murder, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, Torture, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, and Pedophilia
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
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
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Murder, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Grief, Drug use, Gaslighting, Addiction, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Racism, Infertility, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Slavery
escapismforlife's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.75
Beyond perfect catharsis read to continue and finish reading the last books in the Grishaverse. I loved and wanted to hug every character. All of them had essential roles and dealt with a lot in this duology. But I loved every second of it. The good and bad moments of this Ravka's leaders.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse
theirgracegrace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Confinement
Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
lagiven's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I think at least half a star if not more is dedicated to the Crows that cameo because they're the reason I hoped Rule of Wolves would be better than King of Scars. Rule was somehow worse, and the plot made even less sense. The "plot twists" were more shock value than actually exciting, and there were some unnecessary subplots that cheapened the serious trauma some characters deal with. This was just a complete mess, way too fast paced due to too many subplots, and multiple characters drastically diverged from how they acted previously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Slavery
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