Rule of Wolves thoughts?

[Tbird244]

It’s the only book I have not read and I’m really debating if I want to or not because I’m my opinion King of Scars was a let-down. Please convince me to read it lol

[gabriella]

There's a cameo of the Crows, which honestly is a very good reason for reading a book only for a chapter or two.

[hanna]

I’ve discovered I have a “thing” for powerful women, so Zoya was definitely my favourite. Loved the inner thoughts in Nikolais chapters. One of my new favourite books, a bit of a controversial opinion I guess.

[Chris]

If you thought KoS was a let down, then just read the plot summary for RoW. It was somehow worse. It comes off as a very bad fanfiction.

Warning vague spoilers:
(view spoiler)[ It turned a major character into a Mary Sue.
The worst part is that it destroyed any semblance of balance and negative consequences for overuse of magic. This was the foundation of the trilogy and the SoC duology. Alina lost her powers due to too much power, the people who consume jurda parem die in their search for power.
"what is unlimited? The universe and the greed of man." But then LB allocates all the powers, a new mythical ability, and the throne to one person. This is too much power and will inevitably corrupt even the purest heart - yes, even if they have friends to help them.

Warning specific spoiler:
And then there are several major plotholes, such as:
a completely untrained grisha is able to tailor faces with no jurda parem or any explanation on how this is possible. Nina had explained in SoC that she could do some minor tailoring because of her training in the little palace, and she was only able to completely alter Wylan because she was under the influence of jurda. But now someone can tailor with no training and no tailoring tools (even Nina had the tools when she tailored Wylan in SoC).

Warning ending spoiler:
And the way the story wraps up basically guarantees another long and bloody Civil War, but for Fjerda this time. Anyone with a basic understanding in how history, culture, and religion interact knows that instead of a Golden Age there will be hundreds of years of internal struggle and wars.
(hide spoiler)]

[Ava]

**This review may contain spoilers**

This is a very unpopular opinion but I thoroughly enjoyed the King of Scars and Rule of Wolves duology. I really enjoyed the plot and the cameo of the crows, however short it was. Zoya and Nikolia’s romance was the slow-burn that was finally worth it in the end.

However, this plot includes an abundance of the politics, war, and the political side of war compared to her other books. Focusing on the fantasy and adventure side of the plot for a lesser portion than Leigh Bardugo’s usual books. This is why I can understand the readers disappointment, as I know some members of the bookish community do not enjoy that.

Controversially, I absolutely adore the politics side of things in books and absolutely love when the author decides to indulge in that part, as it is not usually focused on because it is not in such high demand as other plot points. This factor is probably why I was enticed by these books and enjoyed them as much as I did.

All in all, I rated Rule of Wolves 4.5/5 stars

[Chris]

Ava wrote: "**This review may contain spoilers**

This is a very unpopular opinion but I thoroughly enjoyed the King of Scars and Rule of Wolves duology. I really enjoyed the plot and the cameo of the crows, h..."

This different focus on politics and war would have been more enjoyable if the ending was not so unrealistic.

[Sarah]

Ava wrote: "**This review may contain spoilers**

This is a very unpopular opinion but I thoroughly enjoyed the King of Scars and Rule of Wolves duology. I really enjoyed the plot and the cameo of the crows, h..."

Politics and war? No. This book was an anathema for political writing
Fjerda was long established as a country that discriminated Grishas. A country driven by religious zeal and witch trials for hundreds of years. Leigh cannot retcon the past words in the books and say it was all Jarl Brum.
The worst part is the absolutely fanfiction ending. I’ll focus on Fjerda, but the ending for Shu Han and the other nations was just as bad.
As stated above, Fjerda’s culture and religion fermented with hatred over hundreds of years to slowly wipe out Grisha.
“[Ice Court] must have been built by Fabrikator craft in some distant past. Fjerdans claimed the construction of the Ice Court was the work of a god or of Sënj Egmond, one of the Saints they claimed had Fjerdan blood.”
Fjerda re-wrote the history of its ancient past to erase the good deeds of Grisha. The Fjerdans hatred of the minority Grisha group was so overwhelming that they literally burned them in pyres, or tried in unfair “trials” with no due process of law and where they were always deemed guilty simply due to their birth, due to the immutable characteristic of being Grisha.
And the author thinks this deep seated hatred of a minority class will be dissipated by mere rumors of one girl in the span of 2 years?
Worse, is hanne and nina’s actual ending. Leigh paints it as happy, but it is only a nightmare for them both. Leigh took the one trans character and forced Hanne to yet again be forced into a body hanne is not comfortable with, to play the role of the bigot prince. People know how the prince acted, how he spoke, what religious and strategic lessons he took, and what he thought. Hanne will have to mimic that. For a few years.
To make matters worse, hanne and nina’s plan to “fix” Fjerda will inevitably lead to gruesome, hundred years of Civil War in Fjerda.
One cannot fundamentally alter the entire culture and religion of a nation in a childish whim. Altering culture and religion on such a fundamental level requires decades or hundreds of years - and almost always leads to some rebellion and civil war. Hanne and Nina will be stuck in Fjerda for 70 or more years, fending off multiple Civil Wars, downfalls of major Fjerdan states, secession of other Fjerda re-wrote history of its ancient past to states, religious fanaticism, and multiple attempts to end their reign and lives. Of course, they could keep tailoring their faces and bodies to match the normal human age they should be, but that is minor inconvenience compared to the unending doom surrounding a failing country attacking itself. Not to mention that at some point, perhaps even in the beginning before their reign is solidified, someone will figure out hanne is hanne. The truth will be revealed and hanne’s acts will further entrench Fjerdan fears and hatred against Grisha. They will paint hanne in the worst light possible. A Grisha who murdered the prince and then stole his face.
Hanne deserved better.
Nina deserved better.
But the insistence to tie a neat bow over the chaos that is Fjerda created this fanfiction ending which in actuality dooms both characters to a live of misery and doom.
There is no “happily ever after” for Hanne and Nina