Ruin and Rising
Ratings603
Average rating3.9
This last book was just amazing.
Bardugo wrote more explanation to her titles ans names in this book and it was a relief. I finally understood all the names and titles and it made it all better.
The first part of the book is frustrating. The apparat is holding Alina back and all I wanted was for him to d*e tbh!
Throughout the rest of the book the story is fast paced, excited and interestin. Nikolai's character is deep and charismatic. He's both funny, smart, curious and relatable. He really does want Alina to love him, even though it's a lost cause and due he says its politics: I'd doubt it.
The plot twist surrounding Mal made him a much better and interesting character. His talent for tracking suddenly made sense and my dislike for him dropped tremendously.
I loved seeing the snippets of the darkling, of his throne, of his life, of his emitions. And in the last battle between him and Alina I love it how she comments on how he reacts, on his humanity that felt so lost.
The darkling was an exceptional smart and cunning man and he could have been a great man, besides the fact that he wasn't.
I was really glad some of Alina's crew survived and some did not. I would have been mad if all had died or all had lived and the ‘after' chapter makes me so happy. It is clear how all of them keep in contact, keep laughing and sharing.
I'm going to miss them and I hope we will see them yet again in six of crows
that was way more fun than I have expected, enough that I ordered actual books before I finished this one.
Nikolai, my boy <3
Alina is such an aggravating MC. She's so passive and basically only moves thru the book largely to things just happening to her rather than her own choices and making up her own opinions. In fact, she continually falls back on whatever few opinions she forms. She's incredibly unlikable for most of the book and just meh for the rest.
I'm going to go into some light spoilers so if you want to read past this point, you've been warned.
The love rhombus or whatever you would call it is messy and there's only one real winner (Nikolai). Mal is just boring and I continued to wonder why he was even around for most of the book until it was revealed why in the climax. And the Darkling is that brooding character who really has nothing going for him other than that he is “hot” in the Hot Topic sense of the word. If you're going to make a character not age physically but stay conveniently looking like they're in their late teens, early 20s, but not make them compelling or likable, all I can think of is that if they had aged, no one would want them.
The best characters are the side characters (Zoya, Genya, David, etc.) and I maintain the book would solve half of its problems if it wasn't in Alina's head but from the POVs of those around her wondering if she's really a saint/going insane/what's the point of it all.
There's also some incredible leaps of thought and self-awareness in Alina that doesn't make sense or makes me lose all empathy for her. Especially when she's like “I'm turning into a monster” but then does a horrible thing any way.
Bardugo definitely came more into her own in her characters in her duology Six of Crows and I am happy I started with that series than this one. The fact that she's only gotten better and seems to have fixed large problems (don't be solely in someone's head; making characters more likable; etc.). I wouldn't recommend this series at all unless you're a completionist or wanted to see an author's origins. I don't think you would lose anything from reading it, but it's definitely not a favorite. (The fact that it took me a full month to finish should tell you something.)
NOOO. It's over. Oh how the plot thickened, pretty good way to end the series.
This is an amazing journey of love, sacrifice, self-discovery and friendship. I am unable to fully express my love for this series, and can't wait to continue in the Grishaverse world with the Six of Crows duology.
The imagery, characters and world building throughout all 3 books has made this an easy favorite and one I will most definitely re-read. Easily a new favorite author.
It was so much better than the first two books, but the first half of it was just too boring and I basically didn't care about any of the characters except for Mal.
Meh, toch wel een vergeetbare trilogie dit. Ik had het boek nog maar net uit en ik wist al maar half niet meer wat er was gebeurd.Over Mal, mijn vermoeden bleek te kloppen, maar dit maakte me nog steeds geen fan van dit personage, zijn gedrag en zogezegde emoties.Het einde vond ik wel passend, dat de Darkling sterft en Alina terug gewoon is. Maar ik miste toch wat meer diepgang. Zal de YoungAdult zijn waarschijnlijk en hunker ik meer naar de goed uitgewerkte Fantasy ;-)Ondanks het lauwwarme gevoel bij deze trilogie ben ik toch nieuwsgierig naar de overige verhalen in deze wereld, zoals [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156.SY75.jpg 42077459] dat zo'n enorm grote schare fans heeft. Dus waarschijnlijk keer ik ooit wel eens terug naar Ravka.
Oof ouch oof there goes my heart and soul, being torn to pieces by Leigh Bardugo!!!
Finishing this book broke my heart. I didn't want this adventure to end. So happy I still have more to read of this universe but I will miss these for sure.
Well that's that. I really wish I'd read this a long time ago when I read the first two books as I know I would have liked it a lot more!
I was underwhelmed by book 2 in the series so that's what put me off reading book 3, but it was definitely an improvement and a good series ender. My problem was that I'd forgotten a lot of side characters and some of the plot from the previous books but no way was I going to reread the first 2 books to get back to this one.
All in all, it's a fun fantasy series! I like that it's a bit different from your standard medieval style fantasy setting, and the characters are largely likeable. I do feel a slight disconnect the writing at times but it's a quick read and I'm glad I read it.
4.5 stars
Ok this is probably going to be the shortest review I have ever written and probably the most pointless because I can't come up with anything to say besides that I freaking loved this trilogy.
This was an excellent end to the Shadow and Bone trilogy. I don't even know what else to say. I have really enjoyed reading this trilogy. I loved the characters and the world. I absolutely loved the romance. And there were some twists that I never saw coming.
While I loved this book I will say it was lacking a little for me and I can't really say why. I just know that I didn't feel the same way reading this as I did with Siege and Storm which I gave 5 stars to.
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.
3.5 stars This series is pretty generic. ‘Six of Crows' is way better, and I can't wait for ‘King of Scars'.
❝“Na razrusha'ya. E'ya razrushost.” I am not ruined. I am ruination.❞
I could sum up my actual emotions like this: 😭💓😭💓😭💓😭.
I came to love this series even if everybody knows I never end up liking too-hyped books (well, the Illuminae Files and the Harry Potter series are the other exceptions lol), so I already feel a little bit nostalgic at the moment. To be honest, I've started to feel like it while I was reading the ending, just sayin' 😂
Anyway, I'd like to say that I sorta liked the ending because I think that's... Just right? But at the same time I feel like it's wrong too, because this isn't how I've wanted imagined it while reading the whole trilogy.
Let's consider that last year I've accidentally read a ranting status update about Mal, like he betrayed somebody or something like that, so I've spent the whole time dreading the moment he could have gone bad lol and what's the result? I feel incomplete now that I know he didn't 😂But what's messing the most with my heart is my poor baby. I feel like Nikolai deserved a lot more and I honestly hoped and shipped him hard with Alina... I even shipped him with Baghra because I loved all the teasing 😂😂😂🖤 it just breaks my heart because he deserves so much love omg JUST COME HERE AND TAKE ME AT THE GRAND PALACE, I CAN MAKE YOU HAPPY!Last but not least, the Darkling. In this very moment I honestly feel like a rock fell right on my chest. Partially quoting Alina, I feel like there's a shadow next to my heart when I think about him. I don't know, I've always felt something like a mix between pity, empathy and sympathy. I couldn't hate him even if I'd want to force myself to do it. Honestly? I would have hugged him tight 😢 I guess it's the charm of the bad boy + a kind of Florence Nightingale effect that hit me hard with Lord Voldemort, too. The feeling is just the same (even stronger at the moment), I just start to think about how they could have felt during their whole lives and.. Duh, I don't know. I'm feeling too emo right now 😂
The morale is: I'm so happy because it ended but at the same time I'm so sad for the same reason.
Dear Leigh, give me a new series about Nikolai because my whole body needs it (and my mental health too), thank you ❤️
“They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things – if love can ever be called that.”
First things first.. BEWARE OF SPOILERS. There is no way I can review this book without revealing some very important parts of the story. And I definitely am not able to find words to describe my emotions while reading this book. I laughed, I felt desperate, I was proud and ultimately I sobbed – A LOT!!!! Both the happy and sad parts made me cry and cry and there was nothing I could do to stop my tears. The book is amazing, the writing is just brilliant and the characters – well I am very confident that I am not going to forget any of them for a long time to come.
“I wanted to believe anything so that I wouldn't have to face the future alone. The problem with wanting is that it makes us weak.”
Alina is a bundle of contradictions – strong and weak, confident and lost, self sacrificing and selfish, desperate – everything that makes her what she is — a heroine worth remembering. I know I didn't like Mal until now, but this book definitely helped me understand him better. He finally finds his purpose and his journey through it is full of love, loss and sacrifice. Obviously, the fact that he gave up his life for Alina and Ravka helped in changing my feelings towards him.
“Na razrusha'ya. I am not ruined. E'ya razrushost. I am ruination.”
All of the others who choose to follow and believe in Alina are so wonderfully written that I can't even pick and choose whom I like better. Brave and faithful Tamar and Tolya, strong willed Genya, brilliant David, annoying Zoya, Nadia, Adrik, Misha, Baghra, Sergei, Stigg, Harshaw – every single one of them is memorable and it is their love and friendship and loyalty that make Alina what she is. Sankta Alina is incomplete without all of them.
“I'm used to being the center of attention wherever I go. I've been told I could charm the shoes off a racehorse midstride, and yet you seem impervious.”
Now coming to one of my favorites Nikolai whom I can't talk about enough. Nikolai is as usual on a charm offensive, whether he is plotting an escape or proposing to the one girl he can't get. But when he is transformed by the Darkling into a creature of darkness, it was just so heartbreaking. I cried and then I kept hoping that he would find his way back and I was delighted at the end when he became the King. His vulnerability and uncertainty towards the end was so unlike him that for a moment, I wished Alina would remain with him. But wishes don't always come true. All I can hope for is that in whichever universe this story occurs, he gets to marry for love rather than forging an alliance. And I am absolutely certain the King of Scars will bring prosperity to Ravka.
In this moment, he was just a boy – brilliant, blessed with too much power, burdened by eternity. “Aleksander”, I whispered. A boy's name, given up. Almost forgotten.
Here comes the DARKLING – I know he is a mass murderer, he tortures and manipulates and tries to break Alina every chance he gets, but his character is so well written in the realm of black and white and grey that I can't hate him without also loving him. He is full of darkness and greed and destruction but his other side of wanting a better world for Grisha, of wanting to be rid of the loneliness that has plagued him for eternity – this just makes me want him to get a little shot at happiness. May be if he is with Alina, he might become a better person. Maybe Alina would be able to bring out the boy from the creature of darkness. Now more than ever, I wish for a Grishaverse where Alina and Aleksander get their happily ever after.
“You might make me a better man.” “And you might make me a monster.”
2.5 stars
That low rating is for Mal, Nikolai and all the stupid decisions Alina made.
