Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, 3)

Ruin and Rising was everything I had hoped it would be, and then some. Ruin & Rising is an action filled, emotionally charged book. The stolen moments between some of the characters was so bitter sweet, and perfectly paced with all that is going on around them. The character banter in this book is awesome! It provides the right amount of sass in the midst of so much despair and destruction. Leigh Bardugo has created such great characters who's relationships and banter are great in this book. Out of all the books in this series, the banter in this one is my favorite. I really enjoyed seeing how the characters grow and evolved. Their strengths and weaknesses made them more relatable and realistic than ever. With all that is going on, and in the face of war/a revolution, I admired the characters who bravely stood behind Alina, and the cause they all believed in. Each of the characters all support each other when needed, and I really liked that about each of them. Bardugo does a brilliant job at emotionally pulling me into her story. War makes up much of this story. Understandably this has a far reaching effect on all those in this series. It changes each of the characters. It causes new alliances, causes strategy changes to be made, allows for sacrifices to be made, and emotionally changes the characters. Together, they lift and support each other, even when at times it seems like they should just give up. The men of this series made it harder than ever to pick a favorite. Banter wise, Nikolai takes the cake. I seriously loved him in this book. I Leigh wrote a book about Nikolai, I would go pre-order the book right now. Oh Mal. I have been torn about him since the previous book, and his not so awesome choices. But, I had faith in him, and he proves he's the Mal I had hoped he was. This war has changed him, like it has all the characters. The one thing that hasn't changed is his devotion to Alina. What I wasn't excepting to feel is something for the Darkling. Sympathy. I loved how Bardugo told his back story through Alina's wanting to understand him more and the power that binds them. The men of the Grisha are fabulous in this book. You can check out my interview with Leigh about them here. Alina and the women of the Grisha series prove that they can definitely hold their own with the guys. I love that they are just as tough and strong as the men are. I liked that Alina learns to open up to them more through the heartbreak over the death and destruction that rages on in this book. Something that effects all of them. She realizes she can trust them. Alina herself is someone, like Mal and like the Darkling, who is broken. Like the guys, her brokenness and her strength drive her to accomplish what she has set out todo, even if it seems impossible. The relationships between Alina, Mal, Nikolai, and The Darkling are well created. I liked that each of their relationships comes full circle in this book. Bardugo does a great job at allowing readers to understand why Alina feels the way she does about each character. Why she's drawn to them the way she is. I loved the stolen moments she has with a certain character, and the friendship she has with another. I also admire her for giving another character the closure he desperately needed. Ruin and Rising is a fitting ending to a series I'm sad has to come to an end. It's such a great series, and one I've been a huge fan of since I first got my hands on an arc of Shadow and Bone. If you've not yet read this series, I highly recommend it.

The Grisha #3 Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Publication Date: June 17th, 2014 Rating: 5 Stars Source: Purchase Pages: 422 Add it on Goodreads! Summary (from Goodreads): The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army. Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives. Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for. Okay, I think that this was easily my favorite of the three books in this trilogy. It was so good and mostly satisfying! Also, I'm not even going to pretend there aren't spoilers in this, if you're one who is late to the Grisha party. The beginning of this book takes place about three months after the battle at Os Alta where most of the Second Army was slaughtered by the Darkling and his shadow army! Alina is weak and the Apparat has her under lock and key, deep underground, trying to advance his little sun summoner cult. She won't let her near her friends or basically anyone but him and his weird guards. Then her friends come up with an elaborate plan to get her strength and power back and she basically puts the Apparat in his place. Which is good because he needed to be knocked down a few pegs, creep. I hate that guy. I was angry for the whole beginning of this book because of him and his creepiness. So they break out of the Apparat's clutches and go back on the hunt for the final amplifier, the firebird. I loooove Alina still! She handles being forced into Sainthood a lot better than I would because I'd pry whoop that Apparat's ass. I couldn't handle all those people being all grabby hands at me all the time. She definitely has the patience of a Saint, if anything. Anyway, I don't really know what to say about Alina that I haven't already said in my reviews for the other two books. She learns to hone her powers in new ways, perfecting more of the things that the Darkling had previously only been able to do. She has to make the ULTIMATE hard decision in this book and she somehow manages to do it. She is just really kick ass. She's smarter, she's braver, she's just a little bit better than she was before. I love her. Possibly she could be my new favorite YA heroine. I don't know. Top three, definitely. The romance in this book made me both happy and sad. Sad because for most of this book Alina and Mal just basically glance longingly at each other and avoid contact and conversation. And Alina is being pushed in other directions by everyone around her. Pushed to possibly marry Nikolai and become the Queen of Ravka, even though I don't think she ever really acts like she wants it. It's just what could be best for Ravka. But throughout it all, she only ever wants Mal. It's always been Mal, it will always be Mal. I did appreciate that, while the romance was kinda just cold for a lot of this book, Mal wasn't just absent through the whole book til he was needed. I really liked that he was present throughout the whole book. And I really love, love, love their happily ever after! I decided in this book that I really like David. He really reminds me of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory because he's insanely smart and he doesn't seem to understand sarcasm. I really liked his relationship with Genya. They're so cute together! His little speech about how he understands metal and she's made of steel was SO CUTE! I still love Genya, too. She surprised me because she's totally got a nerdy side too! She is such a good friend to Alina, I'm glad that she didn't really get made out to be a bad guy in this series like I thought she was going to for awhile. And as for the Darkling, I just really liked him as a character. Definitely still not as a love interest. I was sad at the ending that he got, even though it was necessary. He was never going to give up his cause and if he kept using his power, it didn't seem he ever had plans to die, so something had to be done. I don't think that he actually had bad intentions, I think that his methods of getting what he wanted were what was wrong with him. I liked that you got to see his more human side in this book. He wasn't always so perfectly put together. Alina surprised him and threw him off guard. He was actually capable of real human feelings! I love that Alina thought she needed the aid of all three amplifiers to face him, but in the end, Alina faced him and defeated him without anything to help her. I wish he could have been redeemed and gotten a happy ending, but not with Alina. The one and only thing that I can think of that I didn't love about this book was Harshaw's death! Maybe it's the crazy cat lady in me talking, but I was SO SAD that he and Oncat didn't get to be reunited after the battle in the Fold. I loved the relationship between him and his feline friend. I also loved his semi craziness and I was sad to see him go. I definitely saw it coming though. What else can I even say about this book? The plot sped right along. The writing was fantastic. I really don't think that my brain is caught up enough yet to even be writing this review, but if I wait, I'll definitely forget things. More than I'm sure I've already forgotten. This was just an overall really excellent series and I would highly recommend this book to basically anyone.

***WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS SLIGHTLY SLIGHTLY SLIGHTLY SPOILERY*** Let’s start this show off by dealing with the creepy Rasputin-priest-Asparant situation. Oh my goodness, I do NOT know about the rest of you but I was so ready to be done with him by the time this book started. He is absolutely horrid and unbearable, which, of course, means that he’s been written and rendered perfectly for the Rasputin-parallel he draws into focus (or at least, that’s how I’ve seen him from the start). I’m glad this book didn’t keep him in the forefront for too long, instead bringing him in at the perfect moments to ruin your good mood. He’s slipperier than a dead fish (and not nearly half as pleasant). Of course, I probably should have actually started with Alina. Man, does she develop in this book! This is probably her strongest book, though I think her development was set up nicely throughout Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm. But this is the book where stuff really hits the fan, and the strain on Alina takes its toll in full force. This is the book where I felt her character is fully flushed out - I understood her so well that I felt at times I was her. I began to think like her, and I felt like this strong connection allowed me to understand her choices and follow her logic so that as the plot thickened I kept up and felt good about what was going on (there were no “plot cop outs” in this book, at least in my estimation). And Genya! Oh my goodness, how I freaking LOVE this newer, “ruined and ruinous” version of Genya. It’s like she’s been reborn. I have to say, without giving away anything, that I fell in love with her the second she stood before the king. I know I probably shouldn’t feel that way, since what she did was pretty freaking awful, but come on! It was also pretty freaking awesome, and I couldn’t help but feel like spitting in his face myself, just for good measure. He really did get what he deserved. Then there’s Baghra. The woman with so many secrets. I’ve always had a soft spot for her, and I think she shines brightest - like so many of the characters - in Ruin and Rising. It’s good for everyone to have someone around to keep them humble (and people as powerful as Alina probably need two or three), and Baghra is just so good at that. She literally does not care when anyone accomplishes anything, and she can cut you down to size with a few well-chosen words. Plus, this book really fleshes out her servant-boy, Misha, and I think the two of them make a killer (and hilarious) pair. Okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to get spoilery, but I can’t hold it in anymore. OH MY GOODNESS WHAT THE EFF DARKLING, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO NIKOLAI?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? HOW COULD YOU HOW COULD YOU HOW FREAKING COULD YOU?!?!?! Oh, I guess that wasn’t that spoilery, but I came pretty close. Whew. It feels good to get that off of my chest. In all seriousness, I, like many other readers, have a pretty great love-hate relationship with The Darkling, and I’m usually pretty excited to see what he’ll do next (he’s a pretty awesome villain to have around complicating everything with his quick wit, glorious evil good looks, and backstory shrouded in mystery and intrigue). But what he did to Nikolai… I don’t know if I can ever really forgive him for that. That was heart wrenching. He couldn’t have torn me in two faster if he were an actual heartrender instead of The Darkling. I really could not handle it. One thing I did love about The Darkling in this book is how much of that yummy backstory we get. I think it’s great (and true to life) that Bardugo paints The Darkling as someone who is both evil and tragic and idealistic and messed-up and about a hundred other things all at once. “How could he be so cruel and still so human?” Spot on, Alina, spot on. It was gut-shattering to see The Darkling’s past unfold and be brought into the harsh realities of why he is the way he is, but it was also realistic. People are rarely as black and white as we want them to be. The Darkling had vulnerabilities and even a few traits I would describe as hesitantly good, but in the end he made bad choices that led to his own downfall (and I’m not just referring to his fate here, I’m talking the downfall of his morality and his own core of goodness). He destroyed himself piece by piece, and as much as you want to blame him and him alone much of the time, there are so many indicators that it’s not entirely his fault that he ended up the way he is. There are so many factors that go into making a person who they are, and he’s no different (though at times that’s easy to forget when you want to stab him in the eyes and then the heart for all the horrific things he’s done). And say what you will, but I liked how dark this book - really, this whole series - was. It’s gritty and there are real things at stake, and that means a lot of good people die. Not everyone gets what they deserve. And sure, there was still a certain amount of protagonist protection going on (but, seriously, who actually wants their favorite characters or their beloved creations to die - you know, besides, GRRM), but I think it’s safe to say that most readers prefer death and loss of second-tier characters, or, at most, we’ll tolerate one main character per series (I’m looking at you, John Green). She does a great job of amping up the tension and anticipation, and making sure that by the final moments you have no idea who is going to live or die anymore. That’s beautiful (even though it’s also, in the moment, pretty infuriating). Basically, this book was perfect. Seriously, if I thought Siege and Storm was a 5 star book, then Ruin and Rising is like a 15 star book. It’s that good. The plot is well-planned, with no gaping holes, and it’s a climax that doesn’t leave you rolling your eyes over how predictable and dumb this point or that point was. Plus, it’s just genuinely thrilling, and I thought the ending was absolutely PERFECT. I want to curl up and live in that ever after. If you haven’t already started the Grisha Trilogy then consider this your last warning: you MUST read these books. Don’t be like me, constantly pushing them further down your wishlist. Go forth and read, read, read, because these books are freaking wonderful. ... On a side note, do the Volcra remind anyone else of fellbeasts (the Nazgul’s flying steeds) in Lord of the Rings?

Wow!! I LOVED the conclusion of Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy! This trilogy was absolutely fantastic. I cared about the characters, every single one of them, even the villains. Ruin and Rising What I loved about the series as a whole was that the author never lost sight of the bigger picture. The whole series builds to a fight between good and evil, dark and light, a incessant battle for power. It would have been really easy to have focused on the romance aspect of the book but that didn't happen. The focus on the battle between the Darkling and Sun Summoner really propelled the series forward, especially this final book. Alina's character development over the course of the series was brilliant. It kind of reminded me of the way Karen Marie Moning built MacKayla Lane's character like a freaking boss. In Shadow and Bone, Alina was a meek mapmaker who lacked confidence, who pined over her best friend and soldier. She never thought she was worthy. After she discovered her gifts brimming underneath her skin, she was forced to go through so much, and in turn she came into her own. She blossomed and commanded an army, made friends with warriors, and won the hearts of many. But only one person had her heart. The romance in this series is very understated but quite lovely at the same time. Leigh Bardugo had an opportunity to take the romance in to triangle territory (and even square territory) but she didn't. She stayed true to the characters in this one. "You were meant for more than me, and I'll die fighting to give it to you. but please don't ask me to pretend it's easy." There was one clear villain in the series, a love interest, and a strong leader with great comedic timing. Admittedly, I grew a little tired of Mal's incessant desire to put aside his feelings for Alina in order for her to take the crown. But I understood why he was that way (that didn't mean I had to like it though *stomps foot*). After a long and very apparent absence from my heart, the Darkling came back with a vengance in Ruin and Rising. Holy Saints, he's a vicious thing. "You live in a single moment. I live in a thousand." The utterly seductive Darkling I loved in Shadow and Bone is no longer. He's killing things with no craps given, manipulating people like it's his job, and just being generally creepy. He's one of my favorite villains because even though he's bad, there are still cracks in his veneer of good. He allows himself to be vulnerable (or maybe he's just playing Alina), where you see the young innocent boy he once was. This is one of those series with wonderful secondary characters. David and Genya's adorable relationship and quiet devotion. Sturmhond's Grisha, Tamar and Tolya, were fierce warriors, yet knew when to be funny. And who can forget Oncat and Harshaw, the Inferni who loved his tabby cat so much. I really enjoyed them all, even Zoya with her prissiness stuck-up attitude. The ending melted my heart and left me with a big smile on my face. Though it was a little bittersweet, I was still incredibly happy and I don't think I could have asked for a better ending than this. Thank you, Leigh Bardugo. 4.5 stars

http://functioninginsanity.blogspot.com/2015/09/ruin-and-rising-by-leigh-bardugo.html I really liked this entire series. I have seen where some people lost the plot at points or had other issues throughout but for me it was a quick and enjoyable read. I also had the benefit of reading all three back to back and didn't have to take the time to dive back into the world between books, which from experience can make some books lose a bit of love. We left things in a bit of a precarious spot. Alina almost died and her people are beaten down and also they are living with the creepy Apparat and the zealots who worship her as their Saint. Still even as their Saint she has no power. She still needs to find the last amplifier, the elusive firebird to have a hope of finally defeating the Darkling once and for all. Oh and she still hopes everyones favorite outlaw Prince Nikolai survived the attack and got away. She has to make new alliances and put aside her issues with some to find the amplifier. Still as she gets closer to the bird she comes closer to understanding why she and the Darkling are connects and as she gets closer to claiming the last amplifier she understands she could save the world for everyone but lose her own future. Okay I will say right off the back, I did have part of it pegged from the start. I'd had suspicions from the first book. Things did play out differently in the way it happens but overall I was on point. Still I enjoyed the journey. I enjoyed the battles that took a lot out of everyone and pushed our group to their limits. I liked getting to know more about the past and how the amplifiers came to be. We also finally got some of the answers to things we had been waiting for since book one. Everything came full circle. Ruin and Rising kept everything going, from the action and adventure on their quest while also fighting a war to the internal conflict and drama of our main characters. Even the romance was in there, and for me I liked the way it was there but not the most important aspect when the world is on the line. Mal and Alina had a job to do. We also got to have some much needed cute moments, as the book is rather dark. Genya was one of those. I was upset with her through most of the previous book. I wasn't sure even reading this if I trusted her 100% given her betrayal but I loved that Alina made herself clear that she was not to be mocked still standing up for her. Then when she had to face the king, and she stood up to him and told him that she used her body against him just as he did. I just loved that and it cleared up any lingering doubt I had about her. And David! OMG I just adore that man, he is so cute. Nik also really shows his stuff there and shows he will be a good and true leader one day. For me Ruin and Rising really took everything from the first two books and just rounded it all out into a great adventure. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how broken I would feel at the end but still I couldn’t look away. I wanted to know more. I had to know. Bardugo has a way of weaving everything together and making no character truly white or black but all shades of grey. Everyone has evil inside of them, it's life. But what you do and how you choose to live your life is another beast all together. That really came through. And the world of the Grisha was simply so flushed out, even the dark and evil bits that are creepy as hell, you don't want to leave it. Though thankfully Six of Crows is out tomorrow and it apparently takes place in the same world so I'm excited to have more of the world to live in. That's all I have for this one. I recommend anyone who enjoys a good journey/quest story, or just a high fantasy read. Also any who started the series but might have doubted it to give it a try and see how it all wraps up.

Although this book wasn't as fast-paced as I would expect a finale to be and the climactic moments didn't build up quite as high as I'd wished, I still enjoyed this book. We spend a lot of time with a group of people rather than just one or two, which I personally love. Still a worthy ending to this series, with an excellent wrap-up of all loose ends. Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time? Yes! See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book CHARACTERS: I did wish for more growth from Alina and Mal, especially in terms of their relationship and internal issues, but overall, because we spend the majority of the book with a great cast of characters, this wasn't as much of an issue for me. The supporting cast really are a highlight in this book, which I adored. I appreciated how integral they all were to Alina's success. There were times when I still wanted to throttle Alina, especially in moments related to the Darkling, but overall the cast is great. PLOT: Slower-paced than I expected (yet still fast-paced). With the capital fallen to the Darkling, the royal family on the run, and Alina and her band in hiding in a network of caves and tunnels below the country, Alina needs to regain her strength if she's ever going to find a way to defeat the Darkling and his army. Her hope, if she can escape captivity, is to find the mythical Firebird so she'll have enough power to defeat him. The book centers around these escapes, preparations for battle, and a quest to find the third amplifier before the Darkling finds her or destroys all of Ravka. EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need. 3/5: medium. CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 90%. I felt at times that we didn't build up into a climax as big as I was expecting, possibly because of the slower-than-expected pacing of this finale. Additionally, I felt there were some missed opportunities in terms of Alina and Mal's relationship. That being said, I felt that the actual aftermath and denouement were excellently done, which is rare for me! So although I wanted a bigger climactic moment and at least one more scene to round the characters out, I did finish this book feeling satisfied.

I am feeling a little disappointed in this series. The first book started off so promising, the second book was a bit of a let down, but I expected this book to pick up more especially considering how the second book ended, but I was wrong. For me this book was just as slow as the second book. Nothing really happened until the last 30% of the book. I still struggled just as much with Alina in this book as I did the second book. As I said before, in the first book I expected her to be a little self doubting and insecure but by now she should have gone through a complete transformation and evolved into this strong leader but I always felt like she was doubting herself and she never fully realized the influence and power she had. She showed hints of maturity in parts of the book but overall she just didn’t become the strong character that I felt she could have been. Starting out, I wanted to give this book two stars but I felt like that would be unfair to the series, because while I might not have enjoyed the last two books as much as I expected, I did enjoy the setting and the world. The concept of the Grisha is really intriguing and wonderfully creative but Alina just didn’t deliver for me. I did like Alina’s philosophical musings throughout the series…..I love elements like that so that was a plus for me. But I just wanted her philosophical musings to translate into something more in her character rather than just thoughts she was having….I wanted her to fully realize those thoughts and manifest them within herself. The pace of the book was off for me too. There was so much build up and nothing really happened. There wasn’t really this epic show down that I was expecting between Alina and the Darkling…..it just sort of ended. I don’t know, I guess I was just expecting more. There was just a lot of times when the group was looking for the fire bird and musing about how to defeat the Darkling and then more wandering the country side and wondering what would happen. I just wanted more action or more romance…..more something. So what saved this book from a 2 star rating……the ending. The ending was so fitting and worked so well. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read the series but the ending was PERFECT. I was 100% satisfied with how things came together…..my issues were more with how they got to the ending than anything else. The ending just fit so perfectly for the characters and the world itself, so if you are going to read this series or maybe you are struggling with the series over all and are wondering if you should continue……YES continue just because the ending is so perfect.

After I address how I felt about the polarizing ending of Ruin and Rising, I'm going to rave about how much I loved this book and the series as a whole. While reading various fan reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, I saw that many readers absolutely hated the ending Bardugo chose for her main characters. No spoilers, but there were many fans that had hoped for a different ending for Alina, Mal,Nicholai, and the Darkling. To me, the ending made perfect sense. While reading the books, I recognized that while Alina felt driven to find the three amplifiers, she was also ambivalent about her life as a Saint. She wanted to defeat the Darkling and bring peace to Ravka, but she also missed the simplicity of her life before she discovered her Grisha powers. Despite her lifelong love for Mal, only the Darkling could be her equal. I loved the ending and it made me cry. I cried for the characters and I cried because I was going to miss the magical world of Ravka. Now, for those searching for an absolutely delicious and addicting fantasy trilogy, please pick up Shadow and Bone, the first in the Grisha Trilogy. You will be hooked and, like me, absolutely devour it. Then, with your appetite craving more, you will ferociously search for a copy of Siege and Storm. Dying to know the ending for Alina and Mal and the compelling Darkling, you will grab Ruin and Rising, lock your door, turn off your phone and read until the bittersweet end. It's that good. To me, Alina has always represented a victim of circumstance. Raised as an orphan, she came from nothing, and never expected hidden Grisha powers would make her the most powerful, and beloved, summoner in Ravka history. A polar opposite to the cruel, yet sexually compelling, Darkling, Alina fights her destiny. There are parts when she allows her greed in acquiring the immortalizing amplifiers that cloud her judgment. She is told that "like draws to like", so there are sexually charged scenes when she finds herself erotically and powerfully drawn to the Darkling. And they are tasty. Her relationship with Mal grows and comes to a mutual understanding with this last book. The second book left me depressed when they both basically turned their backs on one another, each refusing to accept the other's destiny. Her powers destined her for leadership; his talents destined him as a tracker and a soldier. It is hard to fight destiny when your heart is breaking. Prince Nicholai, the swaggering, flippant, handsome pirate, I mean, privateer, has some difficult choices to make in this book. He is also faced with a horrifying destiny that makes for an incredible twist. The Darkling. I absolutely loved this cruel, manipulative, calculating, gorgeous man. He is one of those bad boys that make your conscience scream "Run away!" while you, and Alina, are unwillingly drawn to him. The reader is sucked in by his charisma and villain black garb. Just as like draws to like, he and Alina are meant to be together. The final book ties up all loose ends concerning the firebird amplifier, the Morozova legacy, Baghra, The Fold, Alina, Mal, Nicholai, and the Darkling. What could be an incredibly depressing novel if it weren't for moments of human kindness and the power of friendship, Ruin and Rising is an incredible finish to a series I cannot recommend enough. Please enjoy.