Ruin and Rising

Well it was great journey through the grisha world. Ruin & Rising was a great conclusion to the trilogy.
I took some time in the middle of reading this final book to re-read the first boo, Shadow & Bone. I wanted to refresh my memory about Alina & Mal relationship, it has been a while now since I finished reading the first book. And it paid off, really. Like I said before, I fell in love with the Darkling from the first book. Honestly, he was the only reason I continue reading 2 other book in the installment, in English.
The ending was so sweet, I was melting inside, no kidding. I truly understand why Tante Leigh set Alina ended up with Mal. The Darkling & Nikolai met Alina when she embrace the power of sun summoner. They wanted Alina because of her power. But Mal, although his whining & childish acts in the process, the only man who wanted her without her power. I understand now why he had hard times accepting Alina's power, but in the end, he realized that he'll still love Alina, with or without power. So no heart breaking on my side, HA!
I still loved The Darkling though, hell, I even like Nikolai. But with that ending, I think it was best that Alina ended up with Mal.
It was sad saying good bye to one great series. I intended to read the spin-off, Six of Crows duology.

I found this to be a very satisfying conclusion to this trilogy! lots of drama! lots of feels! lots of invented folk tales!

I felt like i knew what was going to happen anway but :
MAL - i dont know what to say about him , exept i never really liked him
NIKOLAI- how dare you go all evil and i thought you werent coming back
ALINA - im glad
THE DARKLING (Aleksander) - Im !!!!

I adore this series very much and pray that they're all happy together and with each-other.
i
dont
want
it
to
end.
now on to six of crows !
love, bookishwolf

Ruin and Rising is the third installment and the closure of Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy. The journey of Alina, Mal, Nikolai and their companions against the dark army of the Darkling comes to an end, making a thundering sound. Still, I can safely say that the third part of the Russian-inspired Odyssey is the one I enjoyed the least.

There were two major elements that bothered me. First of all, the pace of the story. Usually, the third installment of trilogies is the ‘‘slower'' one and Ruin and Rising was no exception. We spend too much time witnessing the -sometimes silly and childish- interactions of lesser characters, like Zoya and David, when we could have experienced the machinations of the Darkling whose presence comes only through Alina's eyes. This is the only complaint of mine that ran through the entire trilogy. I would want to enter the Darkling's mind, instead of limiting myself to Alina's restricted perception.

The second fault, according to my opinion, was the dialogue. In my reviews of the first two books, I have mentioned that there was nothing that had given me the feeling of a YA story. The dialogue was serious, well-constructed and elegant. Here, though, the writer has dropped the ball quite a few times. There were certain instances when I thought I was watching a Nickelodeon teen-movie or one of those young adult TV series like Gossip Girl etc. The frequent use of ‘‘okay'' or ‘‘You think?'' irritated me to no end. You see, Bardugo has created such a lush landscape. Lush and bleak and haunting, full of vivid and recognizable Russian motiffs. Word choices like the ones I mentioned could not but alienate me from the story.

Having said that, Ruin and Rising is full of shockers. I was really shocked at Nikolai's transformation, the death of Baghra. Still the scene that worthed the admission alone as the revelation of the Darkling's true name. It was a simple but deeply powerful moment. So, was the ending satisfying? Yes and no.

The finalé was big and shocking and beautiful in its terror. At that istant, there was only one way possible for the story to end. And then, I was firmly back on the ground, facing my disappointment.
Mal should have remained dead, a victim of teh Darkling's power, sharing a similar fate. The conclusion was a Hollywood-esque happily ever after. After all, there is only one Jon Snow who returns from the dead and we all cheer about it.

So, four stars for the trilogy, three for the third part and two for the ending. It was an amazing journey, despite some issues. A journey that retained my faith in high-quality Fantasy and the future of the genre.

My favourite of the three. Gasps, tears, laughs.

“I am ruination”
This friggin line istg. When I first read it with no context of the book I didn't get why people were so fixated on it, but now? this is a phrase of power and so amazing.

What even is this book/series!! There were a few times I was taken TOTALLY by surprise.
Romance part?? nah and to be honest I was kinda tired of hearing them whine all the time (albiet understandable why they were and really not over done) just because I knew they would end up together in the end. As an adult reader I felt the romance between Mal and Alina

Fave characters: Most of them! It is hard not to like the characters– even the Darkling. Nikolai is so probably my most favorite... maybe... probably. He is a really treat and I love reading his dialogue. I started the series not liking Zoya but by the end I thought she was really fun like a mix between April and Donna from Parks & Rec.

I did enjoy how things turn out in the end and how everything flowed, although I think because I read it too fast I wasn't expecting what ended up as the final battle to be well... the final battle haha.
I also maybe almost teared up a few times while reading T_T and a few ‘NO!' moments too.

In the end, I am glad I bought the series and it is one I will be proud to display on my shelf.

I love this trilogy so much. This was a such a great ending to an amazing trilogy. I loved each and every moment of this (well that isn't entirely true, there is one death I'm not at all happy about, but I was prepared for it nonetheless). Leigh Bardugo crafted this amazing world and these great intrigue characters. I really loved how characters were not good or evil. It was not black or white. She did a fantastic job showing all the grey areas and showing all the sides to humans.

I'm really sad this trilogy is over, but I'm also really happy to have read and loved it. This is probably now my favorite trilogy of all time (taking over Splintered and the Mara Dyer trilogies).

I enjoyed these books very much. This final book was intense. At time I was so sad and so tearful due to events in the book and other times I'm giggling. It is full of light and darkness...

I challenge Leigh Bardugo to write an adult book. One without stupid teen girl tropes with all dudes loving one girl, gossipy clique shit, sass throwing, etc. She has the creativity, the world building here was great, some moments truly had a lot of weight. Basically it's time for the big battle, finding the last amplifier, winning over The Darkling and deciding the future of Ravka. A lot of work. I will have to repeat my previous reviews of this series; the world building shines. I wouldn't say there was too much added to the already existing things here, but the conclusion was pleasant and it felt like it was worth the wait, it satisfied. Though I will have to add that there wasn't too much of a surprise when it comes to Alina's future, we all knew she was going to end up the way she did. I wouldn't say any of it was too surprising, except for one plot twist, which was really just played for the drama. Otherwise... a lot of characters felt slightly wasted. Anyone Alina doesn't LOVE super much WILL die. A lot of focus is about how she feels, her internal workings and closest relationships while we have a bunch of interesting concepts. There is only one prominent Fabricator character in the time of the story who does ANYTHING, but we know how Alina feels about every single thing, in long form. Really, this series would have benefited from third person narrative. The first and last chapter in every book was in that form and it just felt so much better. It had so much possibility for an opened up world from different perspectives. Preferably ones that aren't bitter and whiny. Nikolai, for example is a much more interesting character whose issues are pushed to the background in a way. The foundation for something brilliant is there. It's in the author, I know she could do it. If she dared to stray from the extremely lucrative YA trope land. Which... she just did even more with Six of Crows, which I hated with passion. I don't really think she will ever leave behind the formula that worked so much for her when it came to fame and most probably money. Still, I would be extremely happy about it, because I believe she is worth more. Among the the rest of the genre, this one is a solid offering, though. I would say it is way above many of the others and for people who like YA or just simply don't dislike it as much as I do it would be a great choice. Russian settings are not that common, I think, the only other I could think of was [b:The Bear and the Nightingale 25489134 The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1) Katherine Arden https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470731420s/25489134.jpg 45268929], which I absolutely hated for having the most typical special gurl with no discipline or manners because she can be a jerk, she is magical. Alina is a bit better; she is bitter and grouchy, but she can care about people close to her. There is a lot more possibility in the world as well, so in a way I'm happy the author is trying to work with that, though as I said, Six of Crows was a gigantic miss for me. The Nikolai books are about to come out so I really hope we'll get more of this side of the universe. My gut feeling is that it will be some sort of a romance, though, which is tired and boring and I am over it. I'll give it a go, though, for sure as he deserves more than what he got here. I would say this series was disappointing. I still like it, I love some elements, but it's very far from a perfect score. Have a good night and rise above all the shit!

4.5/5 stars

I HAVE SO MANY FEELS.

This book was perfect. Perfect end to one of my favorite trilogies. Review to come.

REVIEW:

I've been looking forward to Ruin and Rising, the last book in The Grisha Trilogy, basically since the moment I finished reading Siege and Storm, so you can imagine my excitement when I finally got my hands on a copy. (If not, think: astronomical excitement).

My excitement, as it turns out, was totally merited because Ruin and Rising is an excellent read.

I always hope, when reading the end of a series, that it'll be exciting, have an ending that ties up all the loose ends and fits with the tone and messages of the series, that the climax will be appropriately epic and the characters will evolve, but not act unrealistically for their character.

Ruin and Rising did all of that and more.

I absolutely adore the time and detail Bardugo took to not only create an incredible world that feels entirely real, but delved into the history and mythology of the world she created and wove it intricately into the plot. I adore the characters to pieces (this is actually one of the few series where I love the antagonist and secondary love interest, The Darkling and Nikolai, more than I do the primary love interest, just because they were so epically awesome) and I honestly feel that the ending was perfect for the series. Closing the book, I felt happy and totally satisfied with the conclusion of one of my favorite YA Fantasy series ever.

The Grisha Trilogy is one that I'll continue to recommend to anyone who will listen. Ruin and Rising is an excellent conclusion to an incredible series, and I, for one, will be insta-buying anything and everything Leigh Bardugo writes in the future.