Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

46 reviews

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

This is the least annoying Alina has ever been 😅 I sped through this book and I loved that Mal and Alina weren’t together for the most part. They finally stopped whining about each other and the romance wasn’t a large focus. I was feeling great about this book until chapter 15/16.

The ending felt rushed and honestly I’m mad about it. Why is it ending this way?! It makes no sense to me and is the only reason it gets a lower rating because before the last 3 chapters it would’ve been a 4-4.5 star book!

The pacing was so good throughout the book, much better than the other two, right up until the last 50ish pages. I’m in the minority opinion it seems but book 2 was the best book imo, then this and then book 1 🫠

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, War, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Rape

undecidedpersonality's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Classism, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

filipacmiranda's review against another edition

3.75

Ruin and Rising starts strong with Alina, Mal and all the other Grisha hiding in the White Cathedral, growing Alina's holly following, and escaping the Apparat's schemes. After that, they head towards the Spinning Wheel and reunite with Nikolai. These events also bring back Baghra and a few other (not so) beloved characters. 

Regarding characters, this book creates a few important arcs that open doors for the King of Scars duology. I also enjoyed reading about the group's journey towards the Spinning Wheel and their expedition looking for the Firebird. It allowed space to watch them grow tighter and learn to work together as a team. Despite this, I have liked the Alina-Darkling interactions to be more deeply explored, in the sense that I wanted them to better build up to the ending the author designed for both characters. 

Finally, the Darkling's and Mal's fates annoyed me. While the first one's death was mundane and, in a way, didn't seem fitting for the character's relevance throughout the story, the other's survival sounded unlikely and was poorly explained. I appreciated the trilogy's ending and how it turned into a full-circle moment for the main character, but I believe a few tweaks could have made it more memorable.

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1st Read (2020): 4.25 stars 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship

memorykey2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked this better than Siege and Storm, but not by much as the two books have blended together in my mind. I appreciate where she was going with this and how she was trying to convey the stress and anxiety of the plot, but I was lost throughout the book. I will say that I did actually like the ending, so that gains some bonus points from me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and War

fionamatilda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, War, and Toxic relationship

backitupmoony's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship

shookie's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual assault and Trafficking

emilia_thereader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death

Minor: Toxic relationship and Death of parent

blancake's review

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

I believe I’m not the right type of audience for this book, and I believe I would be completely obsessed with it were I at the age of 17 to 20. 
Now the series is a bit problematic with the way it covers some themes(trauma, grooming, meek/shy main character and don’t get me started on the whole Alina-Mal relationship). 
If you are looking for something similar “The hunger games” covers it much better in my opinion 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, War, Death, and Violence

nmtthews's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and War

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Rape

Minor: Sexual assault