Rule of Wolves King of Scars Duology 2 by Leigh Bardugo
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Web ID: 11775518Impeccable character development!
Danger surrounds Zoya, Nikolai and 19yo Nina as they fight to make their own paths and live with what has been dealt to them. Zoya is trying to figure out her powers and her place next to Nikolai. Nikolai is determined to conquer his beast and help his kingdom with Zoya alongside him. Nina is working to free the pregnant, enslaved, and drugged young Grisha, stop the evil ruler of Fjerda and create a new life without Matthias. Will they be able to stop war between Fjerda and Ravka or will evil conquer all? Likes/dislikes: I love the author’s writing. The character development is impeccable. I love the perseverance of the characters. Language: R for 36 swears and no f-words. Mature Content: PG-13 for passionate kissing. Violence: PG-13 for bloody death. Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with the following: bronze skinned, tawny skinned, light brown skin, Zoya is Suli (similar to Indian) and Nikolai, Genya, and Nina are white.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
One of the best novels you will ever see.
Rule of Wolves is a thrilling fantasy novel embedded with fantastical magic, yet all of it is explained so scientifically that it’s almost believable. Set in the world of Grisha, this stunning novel is the second of the duology with “King of Scars”. Continuing the story where the king of Lantsov, Nikolai Lantsov, is infected with a monster from the previously dead Darkling. He goes to find a way to eradicate and force the monster out. He goes to incredible lengths to try and save his kingdom and makes several decisions that would even make the bravest of people falter. Perhaps the most enticing detail about “Rule of Wolves”, or rather all of Leigh Bardugo’s previous novels from the Grishaverse, is how it creates an entirely new world, but is still so detailed that it could pass off as another place that could exist. This is one of my favorite points about this novel, how believable Bardugo makes her story. Something that could compare to this might be the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Though, while that is based on real-world locations and previously created mythological ones that we are more familiar with, the setting of this novel is something very few would recognize. Perhaps it was based on territories in Europe long ago, but either way, it’s an entirely new universe to most readers. Another high point of this novel is how it incorporates different characters from past novels. For example, the reintroduction of the character Kaz Brekker from the “Six of Crows” duology is definitely something noteworthy. Even if it isn’t necessary to have read every book prior to the “Rule of Wolves”, the rest are just as good, and definitely do not disappoint. One of the most redeeming qualities of this book and the series, in general, is how it can switch between perspectives, so we can understand the choices our characters make, all the while understanding why it wouldn’t be the best path to take. And, we get to experience a wide variety of personalities that are, more or less, conflicting with each other. From the cool and stolid personality Kaz Brekker gives off, to the aloof and extravagant personality of Nikolai Lantsov, and even the aggressive and fierce nature of Zoya Nazyalensky, we are introduced to so many new ways of thinking. All of the different characters have different thought processes. However, I realize that there are certain chapters that don’t really contribute to the plot, and while I understand why some would dislike them, I don’t really mind. I think it gives further depth and insight into our characters, especially the romance part of the novel happening in the background. Personally, I wouldn’t say I am a huge romance fan, but even I can see and understand that the relationships between characters are intriguing, to say the least. While I wouldn’t say this is the absolute best novel of all time, especially with Nina Zenik's disjointed storyline, it will almost certainly be one of my favorite novels I will ever read, along with the rest of the connected universe.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A perfect ending
Rule of wolves “‘Why can’t it be as simple as war? One enemy facing another in honest combat? No, now we have some kind of monstrous blight to face.’ ‘Ravka likes to keep things interesting,’ said Nikolai. ‘Don’t you enjoy a challenge?’ ‘I enjoy a nap,’ said Zoya. ‘I can’t remember the last time I was allowed to sleep in.’ ‘None of that. A full night’s sleep might put you in a good mood, and I need you at your most disgruntled.’ ‘Keep spewing inanities and you may see me at my worst.’ ‘All Saints, are you saying I haven’t seen you at your worst?’ Zoya tossed her hair. ‘If you had, you’d be under the covers, gibbering prayers.’ ‘A unique way of getting me into bed, but who am I to question your methods?’” Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo is the second book of the King of Scars duology and it picks up where the first book leaves off. I have adored every book of the Grishaverse, and this one was no different. I could never get enough of the banter between Zoya and Nikolai. I adored the story with Nina and her new love. And the twists and turns of this story make it a perfect way to end this journey for now. I give it five full stars. “‘I’ll tell it to you,’ Nina said. Outside, night was falling and the sky was full of stars. ‘I’ll tell you a thousand stories, my love. We’ll write the new endings, one by one.’”
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
HOW CAN YOU CALL THAT A DUOLOGY & END IT LIKE THAT
HOW CAN YOU CALL THAT A DUOLOGY AND END IT LIKE THAT?!?! <- That would be what I texted my friend the moment I finished RULE OF WOLVES by Leigh Bardugo. That probably sums up my review, right? Ohmigoodness, y’all this book… it is bloody brilliant. Like in every single way. It definitely completes with the SIX OF CROWS duology for my favorite Grishaverse book. The action, the plot, the surprise appearances - everything was so fantastic. I loved it! I have grievance, but it’s a spoiler. -Zoya. Since S&B, she has grown to be my all time favorite character in the Grishaverse besides the Crows. She’s perfection. -Nikolai. Honestly, can we please just have an adventure book of Kaz and him? I would be so happy. -Ketterdam. And all the things that came with it. I was a happy Katie. -Nina’s arc. -The end…. what?!?! This was not the book I expected at all. It was so much more - so much more. Bardugo wrote an incredible moving book. I know I will reread RULE OF WOLVES again and again. I also have questions and now I want to know when we will get answers… Content Warnings: grief, drug addiction, forced institutionalization, torture Follow me on instagram: @niftyreads
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Awesome but slow
Let’s start with some of the things I liked about this book. I loved the action scenes and the main few characters. Zoya is great and I wish I could have some of her “take no nonsense” kind of attitude. I also love Nina and pretty much everything about her. One of the major things I loved about this book is the inclusivity. The LGBTQ+ representation, the different bodys types and the different ethnicity essentially the fact that not everyone is white with blonde hair and blue eyes is amazing. I think this added a star to my rating on it’s own. On the down side I disliked some of the POV characters and didn’t really enjoy those chapters. Some of them seemed unnecessary (I don’t want to say more to avoid spoilers). Another thing was, like most Bardugo books, the beginning was pretty slow. Towards the middle it picked up but then for a few chapters it slowed again. It was hard to keep focused on the book when the pace fluctuated so much. All in all I did enjoy this book but i won’t call it my favorite especially not in the Grishaverse. However, I can’t wait for the next Six of Crows book
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
I was a little bummed :(
I must admit that I was awfully wary heading into this book. While King of Scars—for the most part—left me feeling fairly good about the development of Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina (even though Nina's storyline felt VERY disjointed from the rest of the book), I still wasn't quite sold on that other major plot development that took place at the end of KoS. So, how did it all pan out? I'm...disappointed. I didn't get the closure I was looking for as I read the final sentence, and in many ways, it felt like LB was leaving the backdoor unlocked to capitalize on future opportunities with writing more in the Grishaverse. I've commented to a couple of people now that I wish these books would have ended with Crooked Kingdom, and I stand by that. I'd rather use my own imagination to play out what happened with our beloved characters. As it stands now, it seems very likely LB intends to cash in on everyone's favorite crew, the Crows, with perhaps more to come there. I didn't get closure for my favorite character in the whole series, there was a death that happened that didn't feel necessary, the reunion scene that happened in chapter 9 (which I've been anticipating forever) fell flat, and then there were cameos that came into play for the sake of happening. I wanted to love those scenes, but I didn't. Being a fan of epic fantasy containing elements of political intrigue and uprising, I couldn't get into those things with this particular duology. There were too many themes hit on pretty hard relating to religious fanaticism that I don't wish to read in fiction at the present moment. I read as an escape from the ugliness of current events, and these themes were so intermeshed in the books that I had a difficult time of being swept in—I quickly disengaged. Maybe it was the style of writing with these themes? I honestly don't know, but it didn't work for me. Furthermore, while I grew to like Zoya in the other books, I felt many of the things that were examined in her backstory here felt disingenuous. It was like LB took this as an opportunity to align Zoya's background with how she is portrayed in the Netflix adaptation. It just felt...forced? I wonder if she drafted this book at the same time she was working on the show script. I've seen other readers comment how they don't understand why every character in a series has to be matched up with another romantically. My thoughts echo theirs. It's okay to be alone and to be perfectly happy that way. If she does write more in the Grishaverse, I won't be reading them. It makes me kind of sad seeing as how I consider myself a huge Grisha fan, but I'll likely just stick with the show from here on out. "We're all monsters now." And I'm the grumpy one it seems.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An incredible finale!
Sweet Djel, this book was incredible. I don't think I've read a book so bittersweet in all the best and worst ways. I love that Bardugo writes such incredibly strong female characters that actually feel like real people (minus the whole Grisha powers thing ofc). Please please please let us get this far in the show because I need to see Zoya's riveting character development (and I'll take as much Nikolai Lantsov as I can get). If you haven't begun the King of Scars duology yet, DO IT NOW. I'm blown away and will definitely be rereading this later in the year.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
fantastic conclusion
I totally loved this Duology and even better, even though the ending is quite satisfying, the last sentence allows for future stories in this universe, which makes me happy! Although I never finished the first trilogy (which I am remedying as I type), I enjoyed the character development in this story so much that I now want to go back and read the trilogy from the beginning, if only so I can learn more about the back story of Nikolai, as well as Zoya and the rest of the Grisha who were enslaved by the Darkling. And yes, I want to learn more about the Darkling. Alina is probably one of the least interesting characters for me, but I definitely want to understand her more and figure out how she arrived at the position she is in this Duology. This is completely spoiler-free, so I don't want to include any specifics, but Zoya was probably my favorite character in this series and I loved the tone/accent that Lauren Fortgang did whenever she voiced Zoya's words. I found myself laughing, cheering her on, and crying for her throughout the book! It took longer for me to get sucked into Nina's story for this series, but once I did, I was totally cheering her on. My heart broke every time she talked about Matthais, but it was also interesting to find out more about why he was so unusual for his country. I absolutely loved how things ended up for her, but as I got sucked into her part of the story, there were quite a few times when I waited for the other shoe to drop. There were so many other "supporting" characters that I loved, including Hanne, Mayu Kir-Kaat, Genya, David, Tolya, and Tamar. Even Kaz and Inez make an appearance. This duology absolutely renewed my interest in this Universe, so as I said, I'm starting Shadow and Bone shortly and will reread the Six of Crows Duology when I finish. Perhaps I did this out of order (Grisha purists might yell at me), but when I found myself getting kind of bored with Alina, I just stopped reading the first trilogy. And although I obviously missed some of the backstories in this duology, I didn't feel like I missed anything and it ended up renewing my interest. My favorite thing about Bardugo is how well she connects the multiple threads and the interesting characters that she creates and it is obvious to me that she is continuing to grow and improve as an author. I am crossing my fingers that at some point she writes more stories for this universe, but for now, I'm hoping she'll continue with the Ninth House series because I loved that one as well!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com