Reviews tagging 'Death'

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

237 reviews

effy's review against another edition

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3.5

Whilst I still don't really like 
  Mal and Alina as endgame (I would have loved Nikolai and Alina as the eventual pairing),
the ending of this series did not bother me, I think maybe because it felt as though they had earned their peace. In a lot of ways, it was quite bittersweet because
Alina had loved being Grisha but the epilogue did paint a beautiful picture of life where their friends still visited.


I am frustrated that this book featured
the resurrection trope - even if the reasoning seemed pretty solid - and the fact that the price of war wasn't very severe
felt like a missed opportunity but I guess overall this series has not shied away from character death so minimal deaths in the final battle was okay, I guess.

My review seemed to have mostly been griping but those were my only real issues with a book that was actually a pretty compulsive listen and kept me guessing for most of the story.

I also loved how much Nikolai and Genya we got!  

Favourite quote:

I am not ruined, I am ruination.
 
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ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

rather dull, the audiobook is awful
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noxygens's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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konstantina's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

An ending to a marvelous trilogy.

The
"heroine loses her powers at the end"
is one of the plots that I really hate, but I have to admit that it was done beautifully in this case. I don't consider this a happy ending, but it doesn't have to be. The character growth in this book is excellent, and provides the most human villain I've read of. I would be able to enjoy it more and give it a higher score, if Mal was not just another uninteresting love interest.

The grishaverse has so much to offer, and if you're reading this as a new fan, be aware that the next ones are even better!
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valpyre's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

a perfectly fine but honestly underwhelming finale to this series. i will say that there were a few moments that actually got me emotional, like
baghra's sacrifice
. and as has been my experience throughout the entire series, mal and alina's on-off again romance did nothing for me, and i found the connection between alina and the darkling much more compelling (even tho the darkling did some real fucked shit in this one lol) 

i did really enjoy most of the surrounding cast in this book -- i liked the way they never really felt like an afterthought to the plot or in big action-y moments. 

however, i began putting together the "big twist"
i.e. Mal being the third amplifier
sometime around siege and storm, so that reveal didn't do much for me. after finishing the series, i realised that the whole thing had a very fairytale-like feel to it, especially with the Before/After bits in each installment and that just wasn't my vibe to be honest. 

still, it was a fine experience to read through the trilogy and i liked much of the worldbuilding, which is often my dealbreaker in other fantasy settings. 
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prettynerdy3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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readwithsophsx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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cwerber's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Much better than the second even if I still want to shake Alina from time to time. Mal too come to think of it. 
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sxndaze's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It’s a good end to the trilogy. There were some parts that seemed anticlimactic and other parts that were really wild and wonderfully paced. A bittersweet ending that balanced grief and joy.
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readingelli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

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