Rule of Wolves (King of Scars Duology, 2) Paperback – March 7, 2023

This is a review I’ve been waiting a long time to write. I preordered this book and got it on launch day, but haven’t gotten to reading it until now. And boy have I missed Leigh Bardugo’s writing.This is the sequel to King of Scars, which followes king Nikolai, Zoya and Nina on their journey to basically save their country Ravka.As usual, Leigh Bardugo has a way with weaving multiple characters into a story in a compelling and interesting way. The plot is perhaps not anything groundbreaking and new, but it’s a solid story that leads our characters from one point to the other. But the brilliant thing about this book is its characters. They are well developed and lovable, and we get a few bonus appearances from old favorites.The main romance in this book is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. It’s done well and for the first time in a long time I actually wanted and hoped that things would work out for the couple in question. I’m not going to spoil anything, so I won’t give away what I thought of the end result, but nevertheless, the journey towards the end was very well written.I’m happy to see that the author has made an effort to diversify and be more inclusive. And there’s representation of LGBTQIA+ in this book. Especially where one of the characters seems to be trans, or at least Hanne expresses that she’s uncomfortable with her femininity and seems to identify as male. I adore Hanne as a character, and I really wish we’d gotten to know her a little better. This whole thing feels a little shallow, as if her gender identity was an afterthought that wasn’t fully developed. There were just the tiniest of hints to what the character was feeling, and by the end everything felt a little flat. In turn, it made Nina seem a little blind to what Hanne was going through, and I don’t think it felt quite right.I would have loved more time developing their relationship and the trust between them. I think it all felt a bit rushed, and the ending too fell a bit flat for me because of how underdeveloped it was.And there would have been room to develop the important stuff, because the book is, in I guess true Bargudo style, a big jampacked with everything and a little more. This book is attempting to pack a lot in a small box. A lot of the things in the book isn’t necessary, and it bogs down the reading experience and makes it hard to keep track and to focus. At the same time, a lot of things that seem important are just glazed over, like Nina and Hannes relationship.There was this whole side quest with a random character that didn’t have anything to do with anything really, and then the Darklings few chapters and his journey, well, that didn’t do much either. The highlight of the story is as always Nikolai and Zoya. They are great. And unlike King of Scars, this time Nina’s chapters actually seemed relevant to the story that was being told.So, what can I say. It’s a great book, a lot happens, it’s interesting, the plot works, but there’s a lot of unnecessary stuff here, and a lot of scenes that feel like they are just put in there for please fans with a glimpse of old favorites. Like a whole plotline where Nikolai travels to Ketterdam to meet Kaz and do a heist. All these little spin-offs feel rushed and flat instead of immersive and interesting.I think Leigh wanted a little too much with this book, which with all that’s in here could (and should?) have been several separate stories instead.I’m still giving this book five stars because it’s great and I love Nikolai and for the most part I found the ending satisfying.

Maybe the gift of being human is that we do not give up- even when all hope is lost.How do I start this review? Of course warning you, this review is full of spoilers from the Grishaverse, Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows and King of Scars.So, where are our beloved heroes at the beginning of Rule of Wolves? Remember what happened at the end of King of Scars? Well, we are there. A wedding needs to happen, some alliances must be completed, a war is coming and someone has returned home. Ravka is facing one of the most difficult moments, Fjerda wants war, and puts another King on the throne and, Nikolai is trying to save all of them, with the help of a hell of crew, Zoya, Genya, David, Tolya and Tamar. In the meantime, Nina is in the Ice Court trying to spy on one of the most dangerous drüskelle.So, some faces from the past are back in action. New plots with some friends with love for gambling, war strategies, experiments and intrigues are the perfect recipe for the doom of Ravka, the Lantsov dynasty and for one of my favorite characters ever, Nikolai, the King of Scars, half man, half monster and full of love for science and with an special talent for chaos.I've been waiting to read this book since 2019, when I read King of Scars, so I had quite expectations after reading that masterpiece, and did Rule of Wolves fill them? The answer is more complex than just saying yes or no. On one hand we have the whole plot of the war, the claim for the throne of Ravka and the ice court intrigue. On the other hand, we have the starless one. So, I will try to talk about these two storylines avoiding spoilers.First, Nikolai and Zoya’s story was amazing. I loved it, it was full of action and the battle scenes were epic. Zoya is a powerful and strong General and Nikolai is a King who is ready to give his life for his country. He is the monster and the monster is him, this never felt so real until this book. Everything was awesome, almost perfect. But c’mon Leigh, have you enjoyed your tea with Satan after writing chapter 20?. The only thing I can say about this was why? Are you happy now when my dark heart is broken? Maybe yes, and I get it, war means horrors, pain and suffering, and you did an incredible job writing about that.But there were two things that I particularly didn’t enjoy as much as Nikolai’s storyline. First, the starless one, I wanted more of him, more of the villain I met, more darkness and less existential crisis, I wanted to see the world burn in chaos made by the one and only *spoiler*, so I think this part of the story needed more. Deserved better? Definitely yes, which brings me to the next thing that I didn't enjoy as much as the rest of the book; the last two chapters, I was happy and angry, and lowkey a little disappointed. I don’t like open endings, I wanted a close, especially when this is officially the last book of the Grishaverse. But secretly I’m praying to the saints for another book about the Crows. Last line of the book gives me hope and light. In other happy moments, I love Nina, she is amazing and deserves the world, waffles for the rest of her life, she needs happiness, love and to be free to be herself.This review is longer than I expected, so in conclusion, this book is very good, epic, full of action and with a very interesting character development, but I really wanted more about some little secondary plots. This is everything in the grishaverse for now, but I’ll be one of the happiest readers if Leigh Bardugo writes more about this world.4.5 of five because I love Nikolai and Zoya :D

Very minor spoiler having almost nothing to do with the plot of this book: the ending leads into the possibility - likelihood, really - that another story is being written to continue a plot line from this story. I've never been a huge fan of "ending" a story only to set up another. It seems a cheap way to try to make readers interested in the author's next endeavor. An advertisement at the end of the story. I really hate being advertised to, which is why I enjoy reading over television. This ploy irritates me.That's not the reason it lost one star, so don't think that. The story is very good, the writing is great - not her best, in my opinion, that would be her Six of Crows duology - and the characters are as likable and complex as ever. The only issue I had was that there were "twists" that were entirely predictable to me.Again, this series is wonderful for adolescent readers who enjoy fantasy, a bit of romance, and a story revolving around a nation's survival. It's less adventure than politics and washing war, but it's not so technical that those who don't care for every bit of strategic maneuver would be bored by it.I'm glad to have read it, and I would recommend the series/author to students. (I'd have them start with one of the other two series first, though.)