A review by loonieslibrary
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.0

I liked this book. I thought it was a lot better than Siege & Storm which I really didn’t like except for the fact that nikolai was introduced. The pace of this book felt more enjoyable to read for me and just interesting things were happening for once. Sometimes it did feel a bit repetitive like things kept going wrong every step they took to the point where I was like “Okay, Leigh...let them be for like a second maybe?” but in the end, I did like all those turns. 

This may not be one of the best fantasy series out there but one of the reasons why I’m really sad this ended is because the female characters in these books are simply amazing. Alina, Genya, and Zoya are some of my favourite fictional characters ever. They’re all so interesting and badass in their own ways! Zoya was easily the best character in this one so I’m very excited to read King of Scars soon. 

My next opinion and one that may be the most controversial is...I like The Darkling. Not as a person, not as a romantic interest for alina but as a villain. I think his story is interesting, his motives are clear and I looked forward to read about him. What he did was absolutely terrible, don’t get me wrong, but come on...he was fun. 

I gave Ruin & Rising 4 stars. I think it was a good way to wrap up the story although I don’t fully agree with the ending.

I get it. I get why she had to lose her powers. I get why she ended up with Mal. I get that. But why? 

I do really like the fact that she ended up owning the orphanage together with Mal. I think that was a nice, wholesome way for Alina to end up but you can tell she is empty. That scene where she is touching the sunbeams with her fingers honestly breaks my heart. Like Alina said herself, she died in that battle.

I also hated how the show gave away The Darkling’s name like it was nothing. That scene and his death would have hit 10 times harder for me had I not known his name. And I was already nearly crying so you can imagine what a mess I would’ve have been. 

I knew a lot of the spoilers of course because I’m on grishaverse twitter. Though I had no clue Mal was the third amplifier and, honestly, I wasn’t shocked. my reaction was more like “...what?” Though it makes sense I guess. 

Last thought what was the point of the cat? Please tell me cause I would like to know.

Now I can finally move on to Six Of Crows and read about Kanej. Praise the saints! Though Alina will forever be in my heart.
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