Rule of Wolves

I think this book is perfection! I had read some reviews that said Rule of Wolves title wasn't accurate... I can see that but I also stand by the title given by Bardugo. It is because AND later thanks to Fjerda that we have a great story happening at all in this book.

Without spoiling anything my thoughts with spoilers are marked below I enjoyed the book, at the end of King of Scars I wasn't sure I'd like Rule of Wolves, to be honest I felt tricked into the same story of the S&B trilogy and just wished Bardugo had more creativity than that.

I can't say I give it to her, that she came with a brilliant plot in RoW, because I still think it could have been something greater than that... I don't enjoy echoes throughout the whole series and Leigh has done it 4 times already so it gets old and some might even call it lazy.

What I can say is that the main plot and its different POVs alongside some interesting retcons and plot twists make this book perfection to my eyes. If you are someone that has already read the other books, I think you'll like this one better, even if you didn't like S&B trilogy, or LOVE too much SoC and CK... also fills in some gaps left in past books of the series.

Now here come some spoilers that you can skip if you don't want to miss out on the surprise





REVIEW WITH SPOILERS





I still can't get over the fact that the Darkling was brought back...again... the retcon wasn't enough to justify it.
The Darkling's fate at the end of the book was grounded in the fact that he was strong and eternal enough to keep the tear closed, but still in the last two pages a completely different solution was on the table, so... that is my only no no

I loved Nina and Hanne's story ever since they met in KoS, and how they developed in RoW had me hinged, I am fully invested in their relationship. I was so upset when they made us believe she was unalived by Prince Rasmus but when “he” spoke at the assembly in Os Kervo I started suspecting what eventually was revealed and I cried so hard over that scene when Nina and Hanne finally speak alone (Hanne as Prince Rasmus)

I also felt thrilled when Alina and Mal came back, and that brief scenes with the Crow Club. I expected Kaz to rely on Zoya when they ended up in the Suli camp, but I wanted more Jesper and Wylan, although this was not their story so I can understand the chapters in which the crows were involved.

Zoya's character development was amazing, she grew to be the Queen Ravka needed, the soldier she aspired to be, and the woman her aunt expected to become. Some readers didn't get why Zoya and Nikolai's romance, but if you have spent most of your time with one individual, it is natural you grow to care for each other. Now Zoya didn't care for him that way at the beginning, but keep in mind it's been 3 years of Zoya's care (day and night) and chase of the demon, so that is more than enough time for them to get very close. Nikolai really valued having Zoya keeping him (and others) safe that long, and Zoya felt seen for who she really is, so I can see their romance happening with no problem to the story.

Also Zoya is a badass of a queen, who humbled herself to the point of working with people she didn't want to and ending up feeling nothing less than respect for them (Alina, David, Genya, General Pensky, Adrik...)

Speaking of David, I didn't expect him to die, not on his wedding night, I was torn and my heart ached for Genya, I was grieving the whole time