Rule of Wolves (December 2021) Buddy Read Discussion - Mina & Ravi

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Welcome to the Rule of Wolves Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on November 24th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 12/01
December 01: Chapters 1-4
December 02: Chapters 5-8
December 03: Chapters 9-12
December 04: Chapters 13-16
December 05: Chapters 17-20

Week of 11/06
December 06: Chapters 21-24
December 07: Chapters 25-28
December 08: Chapters 29-32
December 09: Chapters 33-36
December 10: Chapters 37-40
December 11: Chapters 41-44
December 12: Chapters 45-48

PARTICIPANTS
~ Mina
~ Ravi

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Ch 1 (view spoiler)[ I'm kinda curious if at the end of the chapter this Queen Makhi will end up dead 😅 That's kinda Bardugo's thing.. make the first chapter told by a character that ends up dead, or doesn't appear ever again.. well I guess that happens when you are dead 😅
Also, there was a match set for Nikolai? I don't remember it... what a surprise.
Aham.. so Makhi is the bride-to-be's sister.

😮 what is the blackness?
(hide spoiler)]

Ch 2 (view spoiler)[ 😮 Zoya the Saint 😂
Hanne is with Nina in a rebel group? I don't have ANY recollection of that 😅
(hide spoiler)]


the last spoiler is empty.. I just need it for later.. it's so much easier to copy/paste it than to write it down again and again.
Ch (view spoiler)[
(hide spoiler)]

[Raviteja]

So far, I had listened till chapter 10, and I find the audio experience underwhelming. I can only guess that I got used to having atleast one male and female narrator to cover the respective genders and now, hearing one voice for all characters feels a bit boring.
I feel numb with the book and the events happened so far, does not feel any significant.

I will be switching to reading it on kindle, and am yet to decide if I should reread the first 9 chapters again.

[Raviteja]

mina wrote: "Ch 1 I'm kinda curious if at the end of the chapter this Queen Makhi will end up dead 😅 That's kinda Bardugo's thing.. make the first chapter told by a character that ends up dead, or doesn't appe..."

Ch 1:
Too early to say but I too think she might die at some point in this book.
Hmm, the whole thing in King of Scars was that they were looking for a match for Nikolai.. Isaak was tailored to look like him in that event. It all ended up with Isaak dead but Nikolai getting back around the same time.

The darkness is same as what is in the shadow fold... Had you watched the TV series? you find it visually good :D

Ch2:
I think Zoya can be considered one since she now has Juris as her amplifier and is now one with him? Juris is a saint himself so 🤷🏻‍♂️

Yes, Hanne was with Nina. Actually the Hanne and Nina parts were the fun ones in King of Scars.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Ch1:
I know they were looking for a match.. but didn't the princess die with Isaak?
Guess what? Still haven't watched the series..

Ch3:
Ahhh, how I missed Nikolai and Zoya.. I find it now funny how Zoya became one of my favorite characters when she was just meh in the first book of this universe.

Ch4: Oh-oh. Is it a friend or a foe 😳

Ch8: I remember the Ravkan king not being Nikolai's father.. but oooh, he's a full blood Fjerdan?

Ch9: Well damn, the Darkling is a real psychopath. I don't remember that from the Shadow and Bone books.. but also that was a long time ago.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Read chapter 12

[Raviteja]

mina wrote: "Ch1:
I know they were looking for a match.. but didn't the princess die with Isaak?
Guess what? Still haven't watched the series..

Ch3:
Ahhh, how I missed Nikolai and Zoya.. I find it now funny ..."

Ch 1:
Isaak watched, helpless, as she grasped the dagger and drove the blade into her own heart.
I dont think they ever said she was dead :)

Ch 3:
Zoya - Nikolai have an interesting chemistry.. Its like two people who like each other but also recognize that they cant be together due to conditions around them and thus they behave accordingly.

I think I mentioned it before.. In Shadow and Bone, we saw her through Alina's PoV, which would make her shitty since for Alina, she tried to steal Mal and was a faithful darkling servant. We never got to see Zoya from her PoV.

We have a little glimpse of it near the end of Chapter 11.

Chapter 4:
Oh-oh. Is it a friend or a foe 😳
Can you elaborate?

Chapter 8:
I believe Nikolai's parentage was discussed a few times in King of Scars too. I think it is the same with every one. All that come for the throne are not the sons of the Ravkan king!

Chapter 9:
haha, he is cunning for sure and no one exactly knows his plan. In Shadow and Bone, he was evil and manipulative though.

[Raviteja]

Chapter 10:
Hanne and the Prince creates so many potential paths in the plot.

Also, the transformation in Nina is something to make note of. From a frontline fighter in Six of Crows series to a spy who acts behind the scenes, she has come a long way!

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Every character has had so much development since the we first met them, and that's amazing. I admit the first books in the universe weren't that great not that I minded that, but I'm so glad I started this journey with the characters from the start.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

What the hell??? Do you know that I'm just seeing your comments.. or at least the long one. I think I kinda answered to your msg8.. but still not fully sure.. damn, I really can't remember stuff 🙈

The friend or foe comment... I have no idea.. I have to check it. Ooh, it ends with the Wellmother calling Nina by her name.. for a second I was scared someone has discovered her.

Ch 13. Nina being scared Hanne hasn't had waffles 😂

Ch 15 (view spoiler)[😂😂 I love Nikolai's brain. He played Makhai good with the "royal" wedding. But to be honest I was a bit shock-scared when the chapter started. (hide spoiler)]

Ch 16 (view spoiler)[Well damn.. Brum has a lot of things against Nikolai.. I wonder if Nina made a mistake by not letting Magnus speak.. cuz Brum is planning something. (hide spoiler)]

Finished the first part of the book.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Ch 19.. 😒 (view spoiler)[
Mayu's mother
Well damn, Ehri and Tamar played queen Makhi good 😂 (hide spoiler)]

Ch 20. (view spoiler)[
Does this mean what I think it means? 😮😃 (hide spoiler)]

Got to chapter 30.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Ch 30 (view spoiler)[I'm so appalled by prince Rasmus.. Hanne is feeling good helping him get stronger but is that the best solution? We already saw how he acted towards Joran when he felt better.. As he gets better he might want to punish everyone that has wronged him while he was sick and weak, and as a prince.. who will oppose him? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 31(view spoiler)[ The King and Queen are alive? Why did I think they are dead? I suppose because Nikolai is trying to be king.

Awww, Nikolai and Zoya
(hide spoiler)]

Ch 38 (view spoiler)[Well damn, look at it The Darkling/Aleksander being surprised and powerless against Fjerdans. Serves him right.
Oh, wow.. he helped Nikolai.. and now he's done with it 😂
(hide spoiler)]

Ch 39(view spoiler)[ Will someone, please, kill the freaking Aparat?
Also, Zoya's development *chef's kiss* I just love it.
(hide spoiler)]

Ch 40 end (view spoiler)[Well daaaaaamn. Yes, go Zoya :D
(hide spoiler)]

Ch 44(view spoiler)[😳 I... I really didn't expect Hanne to end up dead. I mean the prince is a little shit, but pushing her.. By the end I hoped that the death was somehow fake.. but Nina better have a great revenge..

Also.. do you know what came to mind as I typed about the fake death? Hanne said she doesn't like being in a dress, and all girly, and she can change appearances right? What if she switch tailored Rasmus as herself, and herself as Prince Rasmus? That way she would be more of who she is, would have the power to change things..
(hide spoiler)]

Ch 45(view spoiler)[ 😱 😱😭 Oh. My. GOD! He just suggested Zoya as a queen. I legit teared up. And the people are choosing her.. This is so great. I feel like this book wasn't as much about Nikolai as it was about Zoya and her character development.
On a side note, wasn't there somewhere in the whole universe where she said she'd be queen or something like that? 🤔
(hide spoiler)]

everything (view spoiler)[
* There's room for more books in this universe :D
* The Darkling being smug that only he can be stabbed with the thorn to stop the fold thing happening 😂 He actually wasn't bad here, he didn't do any shit, or at least nothing too bad.
* I love Zoya and Nikolai
(hide spoiler)]

[Raviteja]

mina wrote: "What the hell??? Do you know that I'm just seeing your comments.. or at least the long one. I think I kinda answered to your msg8.. but still not fully sure.. damn, I really can't remember stuff 🙈
..."

haha, that Nina moment was scary too, but what happened next was what impressed me with Nina's character development!

Ch 13:
Nina and Hanna are cute together! 😍

Ch 15:
I think we missed this version of Nikolai for quite a while! I would love to see him in action.

[Raviteja]

Ch 16:
Exact thoughts. I wonder what Magnus had to say. here!

Ch 19:
I think that is a big gamble.. and the way they talked, I dont think they really involved the grandmother? We will have to find out.

Ch 20:
I think the death of David was too simple but one that has a profound impact on the way the plot goes. I have to say, for all we have seen, it did not make me feel much for him (except for the speeches during his funeral).

"Ketterdam is the right place to gamble"
I can see Kaz Brekker coming :D

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Ch 20:
Yeah, David's death didn't touch me, he was part of Nikolai's gang and did a lot of things to help them.. but I don't know.. he was in his own world so we didn't really get to know him more to care about him now.

[Raviteja]

Ch 26:
Nice reference to the Too Clever Fox (#2.5). It is interesting to have Darkling's PoV in the plot.

[Raviteja]

I read the last 35% of book straight and I guess I will summarise the thoughts..

Joran being the murderer of Matthias, I think brought it full circle for Nina. Damn, I never saw that coming.
From what we saw in Rasmus, we straightaway knew that there is no hope for Ravka if he is the king.

I felt happy for Nina when she and Hanne felt that love for each other, but when Hanne's dead (which we now know as fake) happened, I couldnt stop feeling so sorry for Nina.. Knowing that the one who killed her lover was the bodyguard of the one who killed the one she loves now? That is a damn too traumatic situation to be in. May be I was too absorbed into it to miss Hanne's subterfuge. Should I have seen it coming?

Nikolai and Zoya were teased enough in King of Scars.. We knew they have those feelings for each other but both were stubborn and burdened by their situations when they had to admit it. But I liked it when it came together. And the way Nikolai proposed her for Ravka's throne was just awesome. I love them.

Also, I like how Alina has actually moved on from her former life.
And when it came to Darkling, all he wanted to be was the saviour of Ravka, so his actions made sense I suppose.

All in all, I loved this one, and the way it ended. A happy ending once atleast!

Also, I am excited about Six of Crows #3 now.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Yes, I was shocked about Joran too. Didn't expect that (Matthias death) would have any progress.

Nikolai and Zoya were in the making for so long. I love them too.

It was nice seeing Alina.
The Darkling became a more understandable character in this book. His actions were cruel and selfish, but when you know more about it from his point of view.. you can understand him more.