Rule of Wolves (King of Scars Book 2): Leigh Bardugo Paperback – 4 Aug. 2022

If this is the final yo wrap up all 3 sets then it's perfect and enough, but it's definitely set up for a further a.mdventure, which I'm not sure I can live without? This book had everything I wanted and needed, twists, justice, the characters I love and even heartache. I cried, I laughed and I LOVED.

The opening pages sets the scene of a spell binding and captivating story, with Makhi’s mother, who on her death bed and with the power of appointing the next queen, chooses her younger daughter, Princess Ehri, ahead of Makhi; the eldest. With a challenge, from Makhi, that she should rule, the queen replies“… and yet no lesson has ever taught you kindness. No tutor has ever taught you mercy. You have a heart hungry for fear and I do not know why”With the mothers’ words falling on deaf ears, Makhi becomes Queen with Ehri living captive in a world with little friends and in fear of a sister who wants her dead. However, the main story is about the inevitable battle between Fjerda and Shu Han, as the story switches between the worlds of a King, a General and a Spy.The Demon King – Nokolai Lantsov who must fight against Fjerda and the demon inside him.The Stormwitch – Zoya Nazyalensky – the General who commands the second army and has been building a powerful force behind the king. However, with her mentor dead and her worst enemy resurrected, Zoya must win this final battle as she fights against her heart and the love she cannot have.The Spy – Nina Zenik and the Queen of mourning, in a separate storyline wages war against Fjerda from inside its capital.All the threads come together in an epic story packed with political intrigue, fascinating world building, dangerous power struggles and dark magic. With a few romances thrown in for that extra bit of sweetness.Review and Comments - The Characterisation is superb with the King, a General and a Spy making up the core cast, although there is no shortage of equally likeable and interesting characters. Yet, it was Nikolai’s humour that got me on this one, for instance when someone pointed out that his idea was a bad one. His response made me chuckle. “I have a surplus of bad ideas," said Nikolai. "I have to spend them somewhere.”Another story set in Grishaverse and another book that highlights what a talent Leigh Bardugo is in this genre. I am really impressed with how Bardugo has tied all her books and mini series' together by some common thread, even though some of the characters and storylines are different.The Rule of Wolves possesses all the same intrigue, thrill and scheming I get from crime thrillers, but with heaps of imagination that transports you to a different world. A place that provides total escapism in parts, gentle reminders of what is important in life through the dialogue and with the customary message of hope through darker times.Magical, absorbing, tormenting, and compulsive – what more could you ask for!!!

Leigh Bardugo is a buy on sight author for me. Her Grishaverse is complex and multi-stranded with characters crossing over into each others' stories. The Grisha have powers. They are heartrenders, fabrikators, squallers etc. This is the second book to feature King Nikolai Lantsov of Ravka and his general, Zoya Nazyalensky, a Grisha squaller. Each has their own story, but they intertwine. Both have problems, though Nikolai seems to have conquered the demon living inside him to the extent he can let it out and use it as required – though he doesn't want to be seen as the demon king, so he's careful only to use it when the situation is extreme. The second major thread is Nina, the Grisha Ravkan spy in Fjerda, living dangerously in the household of Jarl Brum, leader of the Druskelle – troops whose sole purpose is to root out the Grisha. Brum is desperate for Fjerda to declare full scale war on Ravka, and intends to use the war to depose the Crown Prince and take over. Nina has to spy for Ravka while at the same time protecting herself, and Jarl Brum's daughter who is also, secretly, Grisha. There's an initial threat from the Shu after a planned royal wedding goes wrong. Ravka can't afford to fight wars on two fronts. Wily Nikolai manages to counter that threat but he's not sure how he can beat Fjerda when Ravka is almost bankrupt and Fjerda seems to have unlimited resources. There's a satisfactory ending and right at the end a link to Kaz Brekker (my favourite Bardugo character) who featured in the Six of Crows duology and had a small part to play in this book. It very much looks like there will be another Brekker book which has me (metaphorically) jumping for joy!

a very good read. another great addition to the grishaverse

I can say this is One of the best books I have read so far. Waiting for more books like this hopefully.

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.

Hermoso libro, precioso, bien empacado

The pages are a bit ruined ,it should be more carefully handled

É bem difícil escrever uma resenha desse livro, porque eu sou fã de tudo dessa autora e principalmente desse universo, então minhas chances de gostar já eram bem altas antes de começar a ler. Além disso, confesso que tem várias coisas "fan service" aqui, ou seja, para agradar os fãs, e apesar de não terem sido nada forçadas, eu sou fã e é claro que, a cada uma delas, eu ficava ainda mais animada com a história!Eu gostei mais desse livro do que do primeiro, King of Scars, porque tinha bem mais coisas acontecendo e não teve aquela parte esquisita do primeiro. Mas isso não significa que não tenho nada para comentar! Eu adorei o ponto de vista da Nina, porque era cheio de momentos tensos com ela espionando a Corte de Gelo, mas achei que o romance dela foi apressado e eu simplesmente não consegui me envolver, não consegui torcer para ficarem juntas e nem nada assim. Apesar de ter sido um ponto de vista com muitas cenas interessantes, confesso que também acho que o final dela e dessa parte da história foi um pouco esquisito.Ou seja, na minha opinião, ficou em aberto. Não acho uma boa ideia terminar como estava, porque as últimas reviravoltas nos capítulos dela têm, ou pelo menos deveriam ter, consequências maiores, mais complexas, que levam mais tempo para abordar. Do jeito que ficou, parece que a autora simplesmente decidiu que não daria problema algum para não ter que estender a questão e ser mais fácil de finalizar. Pelo que eu conheço dela, já estou esperando que a história da Nina vá para mais uma série desse universo.Da parte da Zoya, eu gostei mais no livro anterior, porque achei que o crescimento dela foi meio freado nesse livro para esperar um momento mais oportuno, e estava tão animada para ver ela desenvolvendo tudo que tinha aprendido no King of Scars! Em compensação, o romance dela foi maravilhoso e sofrido, e conhecer mais sobre quem ela é, mesmo quando todo mundo só a vê como amarga e temperamental, foi incrível!Nikolai Lantsov, amor da minha vida, estava cada vez melhor e nem preciso falar nada. Eu amava ele na trilogia, mas lá ele ainda tinha atitudes que me irritavam. Nessa duologia dele, ele está mais maduro, mais complexo, e foi ótimo acompanhar seu desenvolvimento e vê-lo tentando entender e aceitar sua parte "sombria".Amei, amei e amei rever tantos personagens desse universo e vou dar um mínimo spoiler no resto desse parágrafo sobre quem aparece e tudo o mais. Pula para o próximo se quiser evitar, mas já aviso que não vou falar sobre o que acontece, nem nada assim! Amei principalmente a parte deles com a Alina e o Mal, meus amores, e confesso que queria que a de Ketterdam e Kerch tivesse tido mais foco, mas foi incrível rever o Kaz, o Jesper e o Wylan, então não posso reclamar! O Darkling foi diferente do que eu esperava, mas foi bom ver a história pelo ponto de vista dele. Outra coisa que eu queria comentar que podem achar que é spoiler é sobre o final, que é em aberto, e claramente vai ter outro livro nesse universo! Eu li ele todo economizando, com uma dor no coração por achar que seria o último, então confesso que descobrir isso no final foi a melhor parte!Eu só achei que uma parte do problema do enredo, que os personagens tinham que resolver, foi deixada demais para o final e aí foi resolvida rápido demais. Ainda gostei da resolução e a parte da guerra foi excelente, mas não precisava ter corrido. Também acho que a presença de um certo personagem "vilão" aí foi usada muito discretamente, mas ainda fiquei satisfeita!Mas todas essas minhas "críticas" são na verdade só comentários. A única coisa da qual eu não gostei de verdade, que ainda é difícil de engolir e que eu não consegui esquecer até hoje foi uma decisão gravíssima que o Nikolai tomou. Sim, por um lado foi bem interessante, inesperada e bacana. Por outro lado, não consigo aceitar por nada, porque acho que ele merecia mais. Ele merecia muito, muito mais! Se alguém quiser conversar comigo sobre isso, me chama por mensagem!Em geral, acho muito difícil alguém que ama o Grishaverse não gostar desse livro, no qual conseguimos ver Ravka, Shu Han, Kerch e Fjerda, que tem tantos personagens amados e reviravoltas inesperadas. Se você é fã dos livros desse universo e chegou até aqui com a história, vai gostar também! E querer mais!