mkaye5 's review for:

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

4.0

---

First book in the trilogy to get a 4-star! It was certainly better than the last two: the dialogue has really improved, as well as the chemistry between Alina and Mal. I really liked how they played with Alina's reluctance about Sainthood, and how she's willing to use it although she thinks it's immoral. I like that the Darkling is smart and plans SOMEWHAT ahead. It isn't his fault that everyone else is kind of dumb.

There were some cool parts in the book that tried to get more science-y, although... they didn't really work if you think about it for too long.

Spoiler

I mean, you need light to hit your eyes in order to see. I get that bending light around something will make it invisible, but you'll also be blind, unless you leave your eyeballs visible. At least, I think they didn't address this in the book- if they did, I missed it.

I also really liked the ending! It felt fitting. Nikolai continued to shine as my favorite character

Spoiler

and his new outlook on life after his, uh, ordeal was interesting to get a glimpse of. As much as Mal redeemed himself this book, I'm still team Nikolai, just saying.

It was a nice end to a mediocre series! Nothing to write home about, but I had some fun. Thanks for the read. :)