Rule of Wolves had a lot riding on its shoulders as it brought together the Grishaverse once more and followed up the incredible King of Scars. Luckily, it more than lived up to expectations and provided a spell-binding, unforgettable story.
I am unsure as to what future plans Leigh has for the Grishaverse, but Rule of Wolves felt like it could be a cohesive ending, bringing together so many plot threads and weaving them together perfectly. The door is still left wide open and personally, a pay-off to that ending tease would be incredible. This book is packed full of jaw-dropping moments that fans will adore, as well as subtler callbacks to previous stories. A couple of moments had me punching the air in excitement, and they also felt natural and really fit with the plot, rather than just randomly being thrown in.
What I deeply love about the Grishaverse is the strength of its characters. Here, they only grow and become more nuanced, continuing their individual explorations of trauma and grief and reconciling them with their own search for identity. There’s always been a focus on carving out your own path in life and surrounding yourself with a found family that you adore. Rule of Wolves is aware of where its strengths lie and massively leans into them. Similarly, the magic system in the series has always been a massive selling point for me. I and it only gets detailed and richer as the series goes on, bringing in a wider variety of experiences and cultures. Also, it is open to corruption and manipulation, showing how ambition and power can corrupt you or make you become a weapon, malleable and compliant to another force.
In this book, we gain a lot more insight into other kingdoms and cultures in the surrounding area, allowing us to peek outside of the confines of Ravka and explore new lands. In particular, Nina’s story was really interesting and I adored the way her romance blossomed. There’s no doubt that she is forever changed by the events of Crooked Kingdom, but she has allowed herself the space to heal and to trust someone again, which is hard to do with the atmosphere of this book where allegiances are uncertain and secrets used as a potent currency. Rule of Wolves features plenty of political machinations and intrigue that gives it a different slant to previous books. It feels like a complex game of chess, with various betrayals thrown in, but despite all this, the story never loses its emotional core. It is safe to say that everything has been building up to this narrative. I liked the little moments of closure and how certain storylines were brought to a close, while some remained open for the reader’s imagination and potentially for new stories in the future.
Yet again, Bardugo’s writing completely drew me in and made the reading experience seamless. Time seemed to stand still for a while, allowing for the book to be devoured in one sitting. This is no mean feat considering its sheer size and scale. You can really see how Bardugo’s style has evolved over the series. She still has that unique touch to her creations and incredibly immersive world-building that seamlessly fits with the character arcs and ongoing plot. It just felt like a richer and deeper story, touching on themes of grief, trauma and learning to live with your experiences. In that way, it adds a touch of pathos and symbolism to each character that makes it feel that much more grounded and introspective. You just find yourself deeply caring for almost every character, as you’ve seen them grow and change. They’ve struggled but they’ve survived this far, leaving glimmers of hope for the future.
Rule of Wolves is a spectacular story that successfully brings the entire Grishaverse together with masterful storytelling and quieter exploration of deeper themes.
Rule of Wolves is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
The biggest issue I have with this duology is that by bringing the Darkling back, everything that Alina sacrificed in the original trilogy is basically retconned to be meaningless. The fact that she would not be there at all when her friends and country could use her knowledge just seems to go against the character that was developed for her (not my favorite development). Even if she just took up an advisory role, it would have made more sense. To be honest, if Leigh was going to continue writing in the Grishaverse with the same characters and the Darkling, I think it would have been much more compelling if things were a bit less black and white in the first trilogy. I would have loved to see her actually embrace her power for a while, stand equal with the Darkling, manipulate him as he manipulated her while still finding a kindred spirit in spite of mutual betrayals, and then have the characters in the know like Nikolai, Zoya, or even Mal have to contest with a version of Alina that they find antagonistic. Having her be viewed simultaneously as a Saint for destroying the Fold and borderline worshipped by the people, (and in my version, either ascend the monarchy with the Darkling or be the powers behind the throne with perhaps an initial puppet king in Nikolai who is scheming the best he can) while their powers still essentially hold Ravka hostage would have made for a more epic conclusion that could have been more morally gray. I just find that Alina’s backstory would have led to her intoxication with and unwillingness to give up power. The Darkling ultimately picking country over power would make more sense than Alina playing that role, especially if he finds an equal in Alina that, for the first time in lifetimes, he eventually does not need power to control her as the person most important to him.
Just my thoughts and wishes. Leigh’s writing is so good at entrancing the reader, but ultimately it feels like she makes her real life feelings of the characters and their stories too present in the books. Reading KoS and RoW, I felt like her dislike for the Darkling and Alina was palpable and that she continually tried to distance herself from the original trilogy rather than digging deep and finding a way to make the entirety of the Grishaverse feel like it came to a realistic, justifiable ending. Even though I enjoyed these characters’ perspectives more than Alina’s in the SaB trilogy, I still wish the moral ambiguity that Leigh did so well with in then SoC duology find its way into RoW. Other people might also disagree, but I felt like the stakes were never that high and it was a given that the main characters would survive.
Okay, I wrote wayyyyyy too much! Sorry!