Ruin and Rising

What to say, what to say? As always, I reserve any reviewing until the series is done or mostly done, and I'm glad I did that in this case in particular. It's a pretty epic journey, and book 3 was really my favorite, though it rung out of me all the feels - for Alina, for the Darkling, for Mal, and so, so many feels for Nikolai, for all the lost and the perished. Book 3 was brutal and savage, and for me it was a study in trauma, both chronic and acute. How we try to conquer it, how we can't escape it. I think that's why, like Alina, we are so captivated by the Darkling till the last page - there's something so eternally human about his quest to conquer all pain and loss, even as he gives in to his very worst impulses. Sometimes we get lost in the overcoming, when all we are craving is for someone to bear witness, to see all that we are, and to mourn all that we have lost. 5 Sun&Shadow Summoning Stars.