A review by skconaghan
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

This is the last novel of this series, and while there were many things about this story I believe were wrapped up quite nicely, and some things were left pleasantly to the imagination, other bits left me scowling in disappointment. Of course, I’m not going to specify or I’d spoil all the fun, but I will say that previous instalments of this stretching story gave us great hopes for members of the overall cast, and yet, here, in this, their finale, we find certain of these characters succumbing to mediocrity and presenting as fickle remnants of the powerful beings they once were.

Other characters, however, have flourished, grown—exploded, really—and have won me over since first appearing as unsavoury shrews in Shadow and Bone.

The characters and writing style in the Six of Crows duo remain superior in this collection of seven novels, though Zoya and Nikolai gather increased interest as the series builds and climaxes and peters to its not-quite-bow-tied finish. Others rise and fall in interest, while one bright shining star among the original ‘Group of Six’ falls flat (at least for me), and I am grateful for the power of my own imagination that can take that character and develop an alternate ending which is far more desirable. That said, the last chapter holds up a sparkling promise, bringing together our best-loved characters and planting a seed that hints this story, even though it’s well over, isn’t over quite yet and all our marvellous favourites will continue their world-saving, love-motivated adventures in the shadowed recesses of our ignited imaginations.

Good storytelling does that. And this final duo presents a vast improvement on the simplistic storytelling Bardugo displayed in the first trilogy. However, the world-building in this series is its forte, and I appreciate all the continued escapades in this fantasy setting.

Bardugo presents current social and political issues through story and characters in this work, if somewhat subtly, which is true to her form. She raises questions between the lines and gives the consistent answer that love is the answer; I find that moral and lesson a staple in her writing, an expected ideology that sets aside class and status where the shared motive of equity and love are principal.