rule of wolves by Leigh Bardugo (with spoiler)

30th book of 2021

Second book in King of Scars series

Reading period: Apr 01st 2021 – Apr 04th 2021

Summary

The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology.

The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible. 

The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.

The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.

King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.

Rating

Review

So this is a try, I have never done any review with spoiler, but I needed to do that for this book. You can find a spoiler-free review here; it’s more general and shorter. Some paragraphs will be similar to the spoiler-free review, but here you have the spoilers.

I couldn’t wait to read this book, so I read it right away after King of Scars, and I had a great time reading it. 

In Nina’s parts, a lot is happening throughout the book. But even if I like how everything takes place, I struggle with them. I also enjoyed that Hanne is more present in those parts, and we discover her through the eyes of Nina. I would have like to have her POV for at least one chapter; I wished it until the end, even now, and I finished the book. However, I will keep one scene because it’s a happy one and the execution of it blow my mind. The Fjerda prince is dead; this despicable character is no longer with us. At least, his soul, because Hanne killed him and took his place, she just used her Grisha power. I love how everything is done, Leigh Bardugo succeeds in creating a magical scene where you focus elsewhere, and you will be surprised by the magic trick.

At the end of King of Scars, we discover that Aleksander (the Darkling) possess the monk, Yuri. I am happy for him to be back; he was one of my favourite character in Shadow and Bone, even if he is a power seeker or how I call him a capricious and manipulative and egotistical brat. 

However, there is one thing that I really like about this book. It’s the fact that you have his POV, so you discover more about how he thinks and about him even if you still have a mystery surrounding him. While reading the first trilogy, I would have liked to have this POV, so it’s Christmas day for me.

From the beginning of King of Scars until nearly the end of this book, I wanted two things: 1) a romance between Zoya and Nikolaï and 2) Zoya becomes the queen. In this book, I have both and let me tell you that I was dancing and screaming in my room when it happened. They are the best, and they have the best chemistry, like with Kaz and Inej. The scene where Zoya is nominated as the queen is powerful. She asks the others if they totally accept her with her origins, power, and past. In the end, she does one thing that I was waiting for since the first trilogy, and it’s the arrest of the Apparat; I hate him.

There is one part of the book that I like a lot and at the same time loath it—the wedding of Genya and David. The whole ceremony was stunning, the setting, the outfits, everything, especially the vows. They deserved it, and I love this sweet couple so much. However, at the end of it, I hated it! No, you cannot kill David! It’s not fair for them, for the reader, for Ravka, for anyone. I cried so much as I wasn’t prepared because it was a happy moment before a war. It should have stayed like that. And the burying scene was heartbreaking; I’m still not okay.

In this book, the reader travels a lot more through the different countries, in Fjerda due to the war, but also in Shu-Han and Ketterdam, where significant events take place.

As most of the world’s countries are in this political intrigues, you discover a lot more about Shu-Han even if we had a glimpse in the previous book with the princess and her army of Tavgharad. We learn a lot more in this book because a treaty needs to be signed, but also we follow the POV of the actual queen, Makhi and the POV of a Tavgharad, Mayu. You have more details of how this country works and how the actual queen take the throne, and let me tell you, she is a power seeker. I didn’t like her at all from the beginning as she wants to kill her sister to have the excuse to enter in war and use her khergud. I find it insane, especially that the khergud are kidnapped people who don’t have any soul anymore; they are just machines. Like it’s told in the book: “To have your heart stopped in your chest, your flesh torn from your bones, to fall into oblivion, then wake to nightmare again and again and again. All for the sake of being reborn as a weapon.” (Reyem, p.427) However, I like the scene where the grandmother who decided to retire but can still dismiss the actual queen, come back from her palace and see everything. This scene is powerful, and I was happy with it as now Makhi isn’t the sole queen to lead this country.

Also, we are going back to Ketterdam with Nikolaï and Zoya to meet Kaz and Cie. Kaz didn’t change, and neither the others, Jesper and Wylan. I was sad not to have Inej, but she briefly comes back at the end of the book for Zoya’s coronation. I wasn’t prepared to have a stealing scene (object stole: titanium), but this was like being back to Six of Crows. I laughed a lot when Wylan and Jesper appeared in the chapter; they are the same, especially Jesper, who can’t say no to Kaz, particularly if it’s illegal. Nevertheless, one element makes me smile, and that is the fact that Wylan’s mother lives with him, and I found it so sweet. 

At the end of the book, we have an order from queen Zoya to send a message to Kaz, but before that, we have a summary of the next book. For me, it was “a to be continued” and not the end of the series, which I am glad. 

I didn’t want to finish this book, but simultaneously I was dying to know the ending. Now I have a book hangover, and I don’t want to leave the Grishaverse.

Liz.