8 Reasons Why Rule of Wolves Made Me Happy

June 10, 2021 by Jeann @ Happy Indulgence | 5 stars, Books, Reviews

8 Reasons Why Rule of Wolves Made Me Happy

8 Reasons Why Rule of Wolves Made Me HappyRule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
on March 30, 2021
Source: Publisher
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Young Adult
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia
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The Grishaverse will be coming to Netflix soon with Shadow and Bone, an original 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.

Being the huge Grisha fan that I am, Rule of Wolves was one of my most highly anticipated reads of this year. Nina and Nikolai are my favourite characters from the series, and following their perspectives and seeing what they’re up to is always a delight.

While I know some people had their reservations about King of Scars (check out Jenna’s review), the first book in the follow-up to the Six of Crows & Grisha trilogies, I absolutely loved it. There were definitely some plot points that had me scratching my head, so I wanted to know what would happen in this instalment.

So did I enjoy Rule of Wolves? I absolutely loved it – and here’s some reasons why:

1. It ties together both series so well

Following Nikolai who was from the original Grisha trilogy, as well as Nina from Six of Crows, we see what both characters are up to in this duology. Rule of Wolves also explores some of the cross-over relationships in-depth, such as Nina (who trained under Zoya) and also Genya and Zoya and what they thought of following the Darkling and Alina.

2. In many ways, it wraps things up perfectly

Rule of Wolves ties up many loose ends from the Grisha trilogy, such as the aftermath of what happened at the end of the trilogy with The Darkling and what he does to some characters, such as Genya and Zoya. We see many characters emerge, such as the Apparat, and meet many new characters from the rest of Ravka. I’ve always loved the in-depth world within this series and we see so much more of it here.

3. We see cameos from Six of Crows and Ketterdam

Oh this made my Crow heart so so happy! I was absolutely screaming when some of the Crows made their appearance in this book and seeing Nikolai interact with Kaz was just so so entertaining. You get to see what they’re up to after the Six of Crows duology and it was just so so fitting!

4. Nikolai is back to his charming old self

The Nikolai in King of Scars was broody and coming to terms with his new inner demons, but in this one, he’s conceded his new identity and I loved that about him. Here, he’s back to his old, charming self with a bit of darkness to him and I adored him so much.

5. The slow burn romance was so worth the wait

The question on everyone’s lips after reading King of Scars – are Nikolai and Zoya end game? This book answers that question and you get to see so many moments between them where they want to get together, but proprietary between soldier and King will get in their way. But let me say, it was totally worth the wait!

6. Zoya is now one of my fave characters ever

Zoya in the original Grisha trilogy was a bit of an antagonist and we didn’t really like her, but King of Scars definitely made me want to know more about her. But her character arc was absolutely fantastic as she reflects back on everything that she’s been through and she knows what she wants out of life. This is very much a Zoya book, it explores some of her past, exposes all of her secrets as she lays herself bare. Let me say, after seeing her character arc especially in this book, she’s definitely one of my favourite characters in the Grisha universe.

7. I loved Nina’s story arc

As my favourite Crow character, Nina’s story arc in King of Scars didn’t impress me too much, as she infiltrates Fjerda as a spy of the King. But I kind of like how we’ve established her friendship with Hanne, and now she’s planted right under the enemy’s nose. She’s a key intelligence officer and conducts a lot of espionage in this one, and I loved seeing her bloom and grow after all of her grief in the last book.

8. There is a trans character here

It was so wonderful discovering that one of the characters were trans, and seeing how they embraced their identity. I kind of love the resolution for them as well because things kind of worked out perfectly.

Rule of Wolves offered such a fantastic dive into the world of Ravka following our favourite King, Nikolai and our beloved Crow, Nina and I loved every minute of it! In particular, I loved seeing the follow-on from the Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows and the cameos made me so so happy. There are so many wonderful twists and turns in this one and the Grisha/war-time action and political intrigue was absolutely fantastic. Now onto the next one, Six of Crows 3 at some point!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Thanks to Hachette Australia for sending me a review copy!

Rule of Wolves is available at Australian bookstores for RRP$22.99 or from The Book Depository or Booktopia.

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Jeann is an Aussie YA blogger and mum who loves to read and recommend books! You can usually find me fangirling about books on my various social media channels including Twitter @happyindulgence, Instagram and Youtube.

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