Ruin and Rising

Executive Summary: I thought this was the strongest of the series, but still not as good as [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179]. I think had I read this series first, I might not have continued on. 3.5 Stars. Audiobook: I thought the narration was very good, and one of the things that kept me going in the slower parts of the series. If you want to do this series, the audio is a good option.Full ReviewWith the Netflix series finally being released I really wanted to finish this book in case they brought some random details forward into season 1. I don't really recall there being anything but I blew through the show pretty quickly.There was a bit too much teenage angst and melodrama for my liking, but far less than the previous book. There was also a lot more plot.I still struggle with the cartoonish nature of the Darkling, but I probably like Nikolai enough to balance that out somewhat. Meanwhile the relationship between Alina and Mal felt less terrible, so it had that going for it.I thought the ending for this went about as well as I could have hoped. I'm tempted to do a reread of the sequel series before picking up [b:King of Scars 36307634 King of Scars (King of Scars, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525110825l/36307634.SY75.jpg 57978319] (which I already own).Overall this is one of those rare occasions where I like the show/movie better than the books. I hope they do more of the show and I hope they eventually get to do the stuff from the sequel series. I'm glad I read it finally, but I will not likely revisit them again and if I were to recommend the Grishaverse books to anyone, I'd suggest they skip this series and start with [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179] instead.