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A review by theespressoedition
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
3.0
Oh, Leigh, you broke my heart with this ending.
After binging Shadow and Bone on Netflix at least 10x in a row, I was so excited to pick up the last of the Grishaverse novels to fill even more of my mind with this world that I've come to adore so much.
King of Scars sent me on such an adventure and I was thrilled by the phenomenal cliffhanger. I couldn't wait to see how this picked up where that left off - but I was honestly disappointed overall.
To cohesively share my thoughts on this book, it must be jam-packed with spoilers from here on out. I enjoyed the adventure, seeing so many of the characters fully embrace themselves, and the reunions with other members of the Grishaverse that we've loved over the years. There were also some seriously sweet moments - specifically between Zoya and Nikolai - that brought such joy. I will say that I continue to hope for another book in the future. One that clears up the plot holes and the cliffhanger ending (because really, who ends a series on a cliffhanger?)
Why on earth did David have to die? And in such a cruel manner, no less. I've always been someone who appreciated a well-timed character ending to bring about emotion, but in the final book, I feel like it's really unfair to the reader (and the characters). Genya had been through far too much already and she and David were finally getting comfortable in married life and finding themselves. It shattered my heart into a million pieces.
Nikolai gave up his throne. Literally what he's been fighting for since day one. And he gave it up. I am shook by this. I realize he loves Zoya and respects her enough to sacrifice for her, but I think it could have easily been that he found a way to give her a title so she could still be his queen, rather than just fully handing the crown to her.
My heart sped up when they brought The Darkling to Alina and Mal - only to find them totally weak, easy to fool, and just nothing like themselves. I would think Alina would have seen The Darkling's motives from a mile away!
Another confusing plot line was Nina and Hanne. The first half of King of Scars showed Nina grieving Matthias and unsure how to move on. It seems totally out of character for her to so quickly jump from one person to the next. I would've loved to see her encourage Hanne exploring her identity, but not necessarily getting with them in a romantic sense. Nina is a really confident character who loves her home and wanted nothing more than to go back there, so to give all of that up in order to stay with Hanne - and not even as herself, but as Mila - just hit me wrong.
The Darkling didn't seem like himself either. He was witty and sardonic but didn't display the same level of power or finesse that we've come to expect from the character. I mean, he sacrificed himself in the end? And for what? He didn't receive any glory or praise from it.
All in all, it felt like this book wasn't even canon. I was so baffled by how different it was from the rest of the series. Like, take it out of the Grishaverse entirely and give the characters other names and I would've loved it for the story itself. However, it really did read more like fanfiction than anything else. Soooo less-than-stellar ending? That's a huge bummer but it's alright because I can just read the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology an infinite number of times for the rest of forever and be perfectly satisfied.
After binging Shadow and Bone on Netflix at least 10x in a row, I was so excited to pick up the last of the Grishaverse novels to fill even more of my mind with this world that I've come to adore so much.
King of Scars sent me on such an adventure and I was thrilled by the phenomenal cliffhanger. I couldn't wait to see how this picked up where that left off - but I was honestly disappointed overall.
To cohesively share my thoughts on this book, it must be jam-packed with spoilers from here on out. I enjoyed the adventure, seeing so many of the characters fully embrace themselves, and the reunions with other members of the Grishaverse that we've loved over the years. There were also some seriously sweet moments - specifically between Zoya and Nikolai - that brought such joy. I will say that I continue to hope for another book in the future. One that clears up the plot holes and the cliffhanger ending (because really, who ends a series on a cliffhanger?)
Nikolai gave up his throne. Literally what he's been fighting for since day one. And he gave it up. I am shook by this. I realize he loves Zoya and respects her enough to sacrifice for her, but I think it could have easily been that he found a way to give her a title so she could still be his queen, rather than just fully handing the crown to her.
My heart sped up when they brought The Darkling to Alina and Mal - only to find them totally weak, easy to fool, and just nothing like themselves. I would think Alina would have seen The Darkling's motives from a mile away!
Another confusing plot line was Nina and Hanne. The first half of King of Scars showed Nina grieving Matthias and unsure how to move on. It seems totally out of character for her to so quickly jump from one person to the next. I would've loved to see her encourage Hanne exploring her identity, but not necessarily getting with them in a romantic sense. Nina is a really confident character who loves her home and wanted nothing more than to go back there, so to give all of that up in order to stay with Hanne - and not even as herself, but as Mila - just hit me wrong.
The Darkling didn't seem like himself either. He was witty and sardonic but didn't display the same level of power or finesse that we've come to expect from the character. I mean, he sacrificed himself in the end? And for what? He didn't receive any glory or praise from it.
All in all, it felt like this book wasn't even canon. I was so baffled by how different it was from the rest of the series. Like, take it out of the Grishaverse entirely and give the characters other names and I would've loved it for the story itself. However, it really did read more like fanfiction than anything else. Soooo less-than-stellar ending? That's a huge bummer but it's alright because I can just read the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology an infinite number of times for the rest of forever and be perfectly satisfied.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Grief, and Death