Ruin and Rising Review

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

I have to start this review off by saying that I was spoiled very much by having read Six of Crows first. I feel as though Bardugo's writing is so amazing in SOC, and I had very high expectations for this trilogy. All of this is to say that it wasn't bad, it was just very different!

"No one knew his name to curse or extol, so I spoke it softly, beneath my breath."

Ruin and Rising is the last book of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so there will def be spoilers from the previous books in this (check out my other reviews for those books as well)! Alina is exhausted and pretty drained after the battle with the Darkling and now shes trapped under ground with the creepy Apparat. All of her friends are down there with her, except the love of my life: Nikolai. The action itself starts off pretty quickly and I was definitely excited to no longer have to deal with the Apparat.

"I love it when you quote me."

I'll start with what I really loved. I, of course, loved the pace of the book. I also loved that we finally got to see a little bit more behind the life of Baghra. I loved the twist of her being Morozova's daughter. It adds such a depth to her and the story she tells. I liked how those events, her father, her mother's hatred, and more really shaped her and in return shaped the Darkling. I love Zoya and Genya and they still remain bad bitches in my heart. I LOVE Nikolai. He deserved way better than any character in this whole series. The trauma of being a bastard, dealing with his father after learning about his crimes, turning into a literal monster, and being rejected for MAL??? Sorry, I would never in a million years. Nikolai has my heart. I also loved the Darkling. I have always liked him, and I find that he's a fun villian. He's a good mix of temptation and danger and I think that he really wanted to fix Ravka, but his ambition got twisted along the way. I also loved the twist at the end with the whole power situation (that's as much as I'll say without too many spoilers).

"An apt pupil, but a terrible liar."

Okay, now to things I was not impressed with. I was not impressed with Alina. I think she was very selfish this book. I usually don't have a problem with that, I mean every badass character deserves to want things but I just wasn't a fan of it. She was obsessed with the Firebird, she was obsessed with being powerful to an extent that wasn't right. I did find it to be poetic at the end, with her power and everything. Now lets dive into Mal. I hate this guy. He's so annoying, so haughty, so not attractive, and gets the WORST tattoos possible. His only real purpose was being an amplifier. He just pissed me off the entire book. The only good thing he did was die at the end, but then he freaking came back so it totally cancels out. I found no attraction between him and Alina except for the fact that he had that third piece of her puzzle. He isn't exciting nor does he really push her to be better. I don't know, I'm just really not okay with him! She had three guys after her, and she picked the worst one. Lastly, I wasn't a fan of the whole fight scene at the end, I found it kind of confusing and left me with many questions.

"They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things--if love can ever be called that."

Though I was disgruntled with many aspects, I still was pulled into the book as always. I think it had a great end and wrapped up things pretty well. I still think its a book worthy of praise, and it should very much be read before Six of Crows, and that everyone who reads it will fall in love with the Grisha Universe (and with Oncat...what a guy).

Overall: 7.5/10

Pages: 417

Trigger Warnings: death, torture, fighting/war