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A review by tashanixon_
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
By far the best of all 3 books.... And most emotional. An easy 5 star for me.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
I don't know where to begin. Despite the slow start, I was hooked from halfway through. This was an incredible conclusion to an amazing series, and I have very few critiques.
The writing I felt was even more thoughtful than the previous 2 books, and I definitely found myself laughing, awing and gasping at all the right times. There was definitely a lot of travelling in this plot, so the map so generously provided was extremely helpful, but it also gave a great excuse for more world-building, especially comparing the North and South Ravkan Borders. There was a gripping amount of plot-twists (some of which I was unhappy about *ahem Botkin, and Baghra and Nikolai at the Spinning Wheel), and the ending was by far my favourite of all three books. The background about Morozova had me fairly umm astonished? shocked? but I liked the additional information about the Darkling's lineage, and I was right there with Alina trying to guess the origins of the Sun Summoner too!
I really liked seeing Alina battle her angels and devils throughout because it was so... realistic?
About the ending... as I've stated before, I never really shipped Malina, however throughout this I became more "accepting" toward their romance, but even still I find Mal quite annoying. I understand that a relationship with the Darkling would be toxic - but I still love him, even if he is evil, manipulative... I'll stop. And also Nikolai, the too-clever fox, I couldn't stop crying whenever he was mentioned in the latter half of the book. It was absolute trauma to see once a cocky, sarcastic man reduced to the Darkling's curse, so for that point alone I can't forgive the Darkling.
The ending battle I felt was quite fast paced but it didn't bother me too much. What did, was that I did not feel affected one bit by Mal's death (nor subsequent resurection), but I SOBBED at Aleksander's death. And his last words really pulled on my heartstrings - terrible, I know. Additionally, his final wish "don't let me be alone" seemed so human to me in comparison I guess to how unbeatable he has always been. This final moment of weakness and finality pushed me over the edge, and there were tear everywhere. The fact that the last dialogue uttered is Alina saying "Aleksander" was I think really important for her character, I guess she still feels a connection and a duty to fulfill his wishes.
It felt great for Nikolai to be restored, but the disturbance he's left with gives me the need to add King of Scars to my TBR.
And if that wasn't enough, the After section was really nice and closing. The biggest critique I have is that Alina losing her powers, and becoming the same girl she was at the beginning of the series felt very underwhelming. And that's one thing I'll not be able to get over, the emptiness she's left with. The side characters became a favourite as well, especially the witty Zoya, and Genya became an absolute badass, and obviously I can't forget Tamar and Tolya, David, Harshaw (still not over that either) and the rest of the band.
So overall, I wasn't a fan of the Apparat malarkey, but I thoroughly enjoyed this finale, and it has therefore cemented the Grishaverse as a favourite for me.
SPOILERS AHEAD
<><><><><><><><><><><>
Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
I don't know where to begin. Despite the slow start, I was hooked from halfway through. This was an incredible conclusion to an amazing series, and I have very few critiques.
The writing I felt was even more thoughtful than the previous 2 books, and I definitely found myself laughing, awing and gasping at all the right times. There was definitely a lot of travelling in this plot, so the map so generously provided was extremely helpful, but it also gave a great excuse for more world-building, especially comparing the North and South Ravkan Borders. There was a gripping amount of plot-twists (some of which I was unhappy about *ahem Botkin, and Baghra and Nikolai at the Spinning Wheel), and the ending was by far my favourite of all three books. The background about Morozova had me fairly umm astonished? shocked? but I liked the additional information about the Darkling's lineage, and I was right there with Alina trying to guess the origins of the Sun Summoner too!
I really liked seeing Alina battle her angels and devils throughout because it was so... realistic?
About the ending... as I've stated before, I never really shipped Malina, however throughout this I became more "accepting" toward their romance, but even still I find Mal quite annoying. I understand that a relationship with the Darkling would be toxic - but I still love him, even if he is evil, manipulative... I'll stop. And also Nikolai, the too-clever fox, I couldn't stop crying whenever he was mentioned in the latter half of the book. It was absolute trauma to see once a cocky, sarcastic man reduced to the Darkling's curse, so for that point alone I can't forgive the Darkling.
The ending battle I felt was quite fast paced but it didn't bother me too much. What did, was that I did not feel affected one bit by Mal's death (nor subsequent resurection), but I SOBBED at Aleksander's death. And his last words really pulled on my heartstrings - terrible, I know. Additionally, his final wish "don't let me be alone" seemed so human to me in comparison I guess to how unbeatable he has always been. This final moment of weakness and finality pushed me over the edge, and there were tear everywhere. The fact that the last dialogue uttered is Alina saying "Aleksander" was I think really important for her character, I guess she still feels a connection and a duty to fulfill his wishes.
It felt great for Nikolai to be restored, but the disturbance he's left with gives me the need to add King of Scars to my TBR.
And if that wasn't enough, the After section was really nice and closing. The biggest critique I have is that Alina losing her powers, and becoming the same girl she was at the beginning of the series felt very underwhelming. And that's one thing I'll not be able to get over, the emptiness she's left with. The side characters became a favourite as well, especially the witty Zoya, and Genya became an absolute badass, and obviously I can't forget Tamar and Tolya, David, Harshaw (still not over that either) and the rest of the band.
So overall, I wasn't a fan of the Apparat malarkey, but I thoroughly enjoyed this finale, and it has therefore cemented the Grishaverse as a favourite for me.