Jeremiah Yuda Umam

Rule of Wolves (King of Scars Duology, 2)

Book by Leigh Bardugo

DETAILS

Publisher : Imprint (March 30, 2021) Language : English Hardcover : 608 pages ISBN-10 : 125014230X ISBN-13 : 978-1250142306 Reading age : 13+ years, from customers Lexile measure : 760L Grade level : 10 - 12 , Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! 2021 Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fantasy! See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with Shadow and Bone , now a Netflix series. The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times –bestselling King of Scars Duology. The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm―and even the monster within―to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible. The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost. The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart. King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall. Read all the books in the Grishaverse! The Shadow and Bone Trilogy (previously published as The Grisha Trilogy) Shadow and Bone Siege and Storm Ruin and Rising The Six of Crows Duology Six of Crows Crooked Kingdom The King of Scars Duology King of Scars Rule of Wolves The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic The Lives of Saints Praise for the Grishaverse “A master of fantasy.” ― The Huffington Post “Utterly, extremely bewitching.” ― The Guardian “This is what fantasy is for.” ― The New York Times Book Review “[A] world that feels real enough to have its own passport stamp.” ―NPR “The darker it gets for the good guys, the better.” ― Entertainment Weekly “Sultry, sweeping and picturesque. . . . Impossible to put down.” ― USA Today “There’s a level of emotional and historical sophistication within Bardugo’s original epic fantasy that sets it apart.” ― Vanity Fair “Unlike anything I’ve ever read.” ―Veronica Roth, bestselling author of Divergent “Bardugo crafts a first-rate adventure, a poignant romance, and an intriguing mystery!” ―Rick Riordan, bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series Read more

REVIEW

This is a review I’ve been waiting a long time to write. I preordered this book and got it on launch day, but haven’t gotten to reading it until now. And boy have I missed Leigh Bardugo’s writing. This is the sequel to King of Scars, which followes king Nikolai, Zoya and Nina on their journey to basically save their country Ravka. As usual, Leigh Bardugo has a way with weaving multiple characters into a story in a compelling and interesting way. The plot is perhaps not anything groundbreaking and new, but it’s a solid story that leads our characters from one point to the other. But the brilliant thing about this book is its characters. They are well developed and lovable, and we get a few bonus appearances from old favorites. The main romance in this book is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. It’s done well and for the first time in a long time I actually wanted and hoped that things would work out for the couple in question. I’m not going to spoil anything, so I won’t give away what I thought of the end result, but nevertheless, the journey towards the end was very well written. I’m happy to see that the author has made an effort to diversify and be more inclusive. And there’s representation of LGBTQIA+ in this book. Especially where one of the characters seems to be trans, or at least Hanne expresses that she’s uncomfortable with her femininity and seems to identify as male. I adore Hanne as a character, and I really wish we’d gotten to know her a little better. This whole thing feels a little shallow, as if her gender identity was an afterthought that wasn’t fully developed. There were just the tiniest of hints to what the character was feeling, and by the end everything felt a little flat. In turn, it made Nina seem a little blind to what Hanne was going through, and I don’t think it felt quite right. I would have loved more time developing their relationship and the trust between them. I think it all felt a bit rushed, and the ending too fell a bit flat for me because of how underdeveloped it was. And there would have been room to develop the important stuff, because the book is, in I guess true Bargudo style, a big jampacked with everything and a little more. This book is attempting to pack a lot in a small box. A lot of the things in the book isn’t necessary, and it bogs down the reading experience and makes it hard to keep track and to focus. At the same time, a lot of things that seem important are just glazed over, like Nina and Hannes relationship. There was this whole side quest with a random character that didn’t have anything to do with anything really, and then the Darklings few chapters and his journey, well, that didn’t do much either. The highlight of the story is as always Nikolai and Zoya. They are great. And unlike King of Scars, this time Nina’s chapters actually seemed relevant to the story that was being told. So, what can I say. It’s a great book, a lot happens, it’s interesting, the plot works, but there’s a lot of unnecessary stuff here, and a lot of scenes that feel like they are just put in there for please fans with a glimpse of old favorites. Like a whole plotline where Nikolai travels to Ketterdam to meet Kaz and do a heist. All these little spin-offs feel rushed and flat instead of immersive and interesting. I think Leigh wanted a little too much with this book, which with all that’s in here could (and should?) have been several separate stories instead. I’m still giving this book five stars because it’s great and I love Nikolai and for the most part I found the ending satisfying.

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