Scan barcode
inejstan's review against another edition
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
4.25
leigh bardugo uve done it again. the first half is painful to read, SO BORING. But then... it gets good. it gets do GOOD. I love how i never see anything coming. n the ending doesnt seem forced as in the S&B trilogy or six of crows. you can tell she's getting better. i love it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
ali_debookness's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Abandonment
Minor: Miscarriage, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Pregnancy, and War
durrareadsstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
Nikolai knew. He was a king who had only begun to make mistakes. He was a soldier for whom the war would never be over. He was a bastard left alone in the woods. And he was not afraid to die this day.
Oh wow, this book. 🤯🤯🤯 Leigh Bardugo just keeps on writing masterpieces. I was so excited for this book since, you know, Nikolai, duh🤭. Honestly at the beginning I was a little bit disappointed, I thought he was better in Siege and Storm. But, actually, the characters were consistent. We get to see another side to Nikolai, a more vulnerable and deep side and I loved it! I also despised Zoya before, but she's had her reasons for being a stone-cold witch. And in this book she is forced to face her past and because of that she became all the more powerful. I loved her POV, and as always with Leigh's characters - it was downright tragic.
All the POVs in the book were awesome, and so was the writing. Nina being a spy was just - that girl kicks ass dude!! I liked how Nina embraces her "new" powers and the grief written in this book was completely heartbreaking 💔. Reading about her transitioning between characters reminded me of Nikolai in Siege and Storm again. I loved Adrik and Leoni, and how they're the total opposite of each other. Once again, Ms Bardugo teaches you about trauma, in this case about the two very different ways people handle them. Having Hanne in the storyline added a new vantage point, from the Fjerdans who were stuck in their customs. I was skeptical about Isaak, but he did the job well, so he's good. Princess Ehri, OH MY GOD. (I can't say much more without spoiling anything, so I'll just leave it at that.) 😉
Another thing I absolutely adored: When the characters mention "the couple who runs the orphanage" and the crows, I sort of get nostalgic (?) Especially when Nina said she wished Inej was there, I STAN THEIR FRIENDHIP!!! 😍 Towards the end, plot twists kept coming like one of those automatic gun machines🔫. There is no way anyone could have guessed them. Or maybe I'm just naive, whatever. Anyway, the characters were developed so, so well. Even though you're not a total bada** like they are, you'll find yourself relating to parts of their stories, which makes them attach to yourself like super glue 😎 So much themes were discussed: Fjerdan bigotry, sexism, feminism, abandonment, child marriage, grief, and of course, facing your demons.
This book was everything I imagined and please please, Rule of Wolves, don't disappoint me. I can't wait to see more of Zoyalai and just everything else!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Abandonment
citymouse's review against another edition
3.0
Nina deserves to have her own series and her story entwined with Nikolai makes quite literally no sense. The book was good, but I would have preferred to see them as individual books rather than alternating between stories many lands apart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, and Abortion
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Infertility, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt