sissiemilia's review
- 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
3.75
Also, HANNE???? My god I adore him. If we get a third crow book (which we better do, have you read the ending?) I demand to see more of him.
Spoiler
On that note though, Nina feels off in her ending. She shouldn’t become queen of Fjerda. No. She should have embraced her new power, instead of abandoning it in a way. She and Hanne could have had an ending together without them having to live a lie.Once again, Bardugo also made me sob. I just feel like she got the hang of it again, after kos. She gripped my feelings and soul the way kos failed to, but the other books in the series also do. I’m so happy she bounced back.
Rule of Wolves isn’t Bardugos best in my opinion, but it absolutely is up par with the rest of the Grishaverse (besides kos, which was saddly dissapointing). The only technical problem I have with this book is that
Spoiler
we weren’t shown them finding David’s body. I feel like that would have been a really important part to show but I’m willing to look past it.Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Sexual harassment
serendipity421's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Death, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, War, Blood, Colonisation, and Violence
marsh_mall0w's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, War, and Addiction
Moderate: Slavery, Genocide, Confinement, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual assault and Infertility
lis4so's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Body horror, and Classism
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Medical content, Genocide, Slavery, Body horror, Torture, Confinement, Drug use, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Addiction, and Alcohol
trintrin's review
- 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
5.0
Do I know this book is mostly just a fan service? Yes. Do I still love every bit of it shamelessly? Absolutely.
Oh. My. God. I loved the way the different POVs didn't really align with each other but made sense in the grand scheme of things. And obviously, I loved the characters so much. That's where Leigh Bardugo's at her strongest. Genuinely had to hold myself back from squealing at some of the turn of events and I'm still thirsty for more Grishaverse content.
The plot was so much better than King of Scars. Like there's actually something going on in every chapter and I could feel the tenseness of the war.
Spoiler
The whole Saints thing that I wasn't too fond of in KoS made a little bit more sense here but I still don't like it. I wanted to see more of Nikolai's charm and his ruling skills and we got it. I wanted to see how Alina and Mal were doing and we got it. I wanted to see more of Hanne and Nina and goshhh we got it. I wanted to see more of my current otp Zoyalai and we got it. I wanted to see more of the Crows and whatever shenanigans they were up to and we got that as well. I couldn't be any more happier. But-There he comes, the man who can't let anyone be happy for once, the Darkling. Why in the name of all Saints and their mothers was he brought back? Really, it only seems like he was resurrected to give something to the Darkling stans and also to conveniently stash an immortal in a tree for world peace. This book could've done away with his plot
Anyways, forget about the Starless One, let's talk about my Crow babies. A cheap party trick to pull in more readers, I know. I love it. Literally the whole Titanium subplot and the mini heist weren't needed for any reason other than to give the Crows some screen time. I missed them. Honestly, a needed refreshment after the very sad scene before all this *cough* David *cough*. Man I forgot just how much I loved and missed Kaz. The Jesper/Wylan dynamic was sooo adorable but I really don't know what purpose they served to the plot. I wish we got more of Inej Ghafa, my queen, my wife and the love of my life, but that ending points towards another Crows book so we'll see. Fingers crossed it won't just be another fan service.
Zoya Nazyalensky, you've successfully occupied the place in my heart that was reserved only for Nikolai Lantsov, how do you feel? Was Zoya terribly overpowered
I loved the way war didn't just mean destroying the enemy until they are powerless and then sign a peace treaty. The moral dilemma of what is right and what is taking it too far, the constant where does it end? question raised throughout the book, and wondering who the actual monster is here. I know I'm contradicting saying the Darkling was included as a fan service and yet loving the Crows for the same reason, saying the Darkling's crimes cannot be forgiven and yet not minding the countless innocent lives taken away by the "good side" using the missiles. But that man was fine with a child being raped over and over I cannot vouch for him ever
TDLR; amazing book if you're a mega fan of the Grishaverse, else probably best to skip it.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Genocide, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Hate crime, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Physical abuse
overbooked207's review
- 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
7th book of January 2023 and 7th of the year:
I’m proud of myself because I read multiple books that were very long this month, and in a short amount of time if I may add, and I hope that I continue on with this trend throughout the year!
It was so nice to be back in this world as I wait for Shadow and Bone season 2! It had strong and lovable complex characters, great writing and world-building, beautiful relationships and friendships, witty dialogue, and well-written and engaging fight scenes. Six of Crows is still my favorite series in this world, but I still enjoyed this a lot and recommend the Grishaverse as a whole! Also, the sounds I let out when the crows were mentioned were alarming😂(and that’s not a spoiler because one of the point of view narrators is a crow). TW for ableism, abuse, addiction, blood, bullying, child abuse, chronic illness, classism, confinement, death, drug use/forced drug use, dysphoria, genocide, grief, gun violence and weapons use, forced institutionalization, kidnapping, medical content/trauma, misogyny, murder, panic attacks, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, slavery, slurs, suicidal thoughts, torture, trafficking, violence, war, and xenophobia📚🫀👑🐉
Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical trauma, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Torture
perhappiness's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Racism, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, Gore, Dysphoria, Slavery, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
paili's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, War, Violence, Misogyny, and Gun violence
Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: Child abuse
ashlislibrary's review
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, Violence, War, and Death