Reviews

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

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j4mj4ms's review

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5.0

i would say this was a perfect grishaverse ending, but SOC 3 will come someday <3

issianne's review against another edition

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5.0

HO-LY FREAKING CRAP. This book just absolutely wrecked my life--and this is going to be *so* spoiler-filled. And is going to be so cringingly fangirl.

WE GOT THE CROWS BACK!!! AND EVEN INEJ SHOWED UP AT THE END. Okay, let me compose myself...

This book seriously kept me on the edge of my seat. Did Ms. Bardugo add POVs I didn't care about?? Sure! But it was all so necessary... And wow, Zoya. My sweet dragon queen. I couldn't love her more. Nikolai. My sweet demon prince consort. I couldn't love him more. This book was seriously all over the board with what the did and who they interacted with and who died and who lived, and I LOVED it. I will be pouring one out for David because I loved him so and he will be so dearly missed.

AND WE GOT JESPER AND WYLAN LIVING DOMESTIC LIFE TOGETHER AND WE GOT KAZ WORRIED ABOUT INEJ AND WE GOT ALLUSION TO INEJ AND NINA HANGING OUT AND WE'VE GOT ZOYA IN POSSIBLE NEED OF A CERTAIN TEAM'S EXPERTISE. I WANNA SOB SO BADLY!

amabalama's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

logolepsy_e's review against another edition

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3.0

Why is this so hated?
______________

Ho trovato in questo secondo volume solo alcuni degli stessi difetti del primo.
La narrazione è un po' caotica e in alcuni punti fuori focus, ma sono difficoltà che in effetti il libro si porta dietro come conseguenza delle scelte di tematiche e storyline fatte dall'autrice col primo volume.
Tolto questo, però, ciò in cui il libro migliora sensibilmente, per me, è nella scrittura dei personaggi. Qui, alleggeriti dell'espediente dei continui flashback-tragici che per fortuna abbiamo già espletato nel libro prima, i personaggi tornano ad avere il loro peso e il loro spessore. Certo, Nikolai forse non è mai più tornato ad essere il Nikolai di cui mi sono innamorata nella Trilogy, ma la scrittura questa volta gli rende assolutamente più giustizia.
Le cose più controverse per cui questo libro è stato tanto criticato hanno a che fare con alcune scelte di trama. Non posso esprimermi troppo in merito, però diciamo che capisco le critiche: non è una duologia facile da apprezzare per i suoi contenuti. Il problema, poi, è sempre il livello a cui ci aveva abituate l'autrice, che qui risulta in effetti meno centrata rispetto alle altre opere di questo universo narrativo.

Io torno a dire che come lettura è interessante, ed è sia nel bene che nel male che si discosta un po' dalle nostre aspettative.

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alan_asc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-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

4.75

readingruth19's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

chrstn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

ollie_gracie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

ladygetslit's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.5

There's a lot I could say about this book that wouldn't make sense if you haven't read the rest of the Grishaverse, so I'm going to keep this review short and simple.

The King of Scars duology is about confronting our darkness, our demons. Every major character has to come to terms with the worst parts of themselves, but at some point that darkness is actually what saves them and others they care about.

Nikolai is terrified of everyone discovering that (a) he's a bastard aka not a "true" king and (b) he's got this whole demon thing inside him. What he discovers is that he has to make himself vulnerable, allow everyone to see his dark side, in order to save everyone he cares about and protect his country.

This is such a powerful metaphor for something I've been thinking about a lot lately: sometimes the scariest, most broken parts of us are exactly what people need to see to come to terms with their own messy parts.

I docked this book half a star because I'm honestly a little dissatisfied with the ending.

Bardugo spent three books really building up the villainous nature of the Darkling, and I honestly didn't want him to come back at all, but I definitely didn't want him to get a redemption arc.

Overall, this duology was such a satisfying end to the world that started with Shadow and Bone. I truly hope Bardugo eventually revisits this world in the future!

Content Warnings

zatulasma's review against another edition

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1.0

meh

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