Reviews with content warning for Rape - Ruin and Rising

This is the least annoying Alina has ever been 😅 I sped through this book and I loved that Mal and Alina weren’t together for the most part. They finally stopped whining about each other and the romance wasn’t a large focus. I was feeling great about this book until chapter 15/16.

The ending felt rushed and honestly I’m mad about it. Why is it ending this way?! It makes no sense to me and is the only reason it gets a lower rating because before the last 3 chapters it would’ve been a 4-4.5 star book!

The pacing was so good throughout the book, much better than the other two, right up until the last 50ish pages. I’m in the minority opinion it seems but book 2 was the best book imo, then this and then book 1 🫠

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livvya's review against another edition

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4.75

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rachelefelli's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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cristina_reading24's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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mckiheather's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bubbly_lara's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I absolutely loved this. All the stars, 10/10, highly recommend this series! I literally did not know what to do with myself for hours after finishing it. We meet Alina

and the group of survivors in the White Cathedral

right where "Siege and Storm" ended. We follow along as they grow together as a group and plan their escape from underground to find Nikolai and his troops in order to face the Darkling and save Ravka. They venture on the journey to find the third amplifier while they learn more about the Darklings past, Ilya Morozova and how it is all interconnected. At the end of the day, they must each choose whether they can live with the price to be paid to end this war.

"What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men."

For a moment there, I thought my little heart could not take how the story was unfolding. In what the Darkling decided on as a punishment for

Nikolai

we see once more how cruel he can truly be. The moments between

Alina and Nikolai in his monster form

made my heart ache for the both of them and the choices they must make. Also, how could I not talk about Alina and Mal.

For a moment there, I thought they would not get to live the life they both want and deserve. What with Mal being the Third Amplifier and both of them knowing he must die in order for Alina to absorb the power within Mal. No words, just heartbreak. I did love the epilogue and how they rebuilt Keramzin to be a better home for others than it was for them. Zoya handing Alina blue Grisha robes with the note "You will always be one of us" makes me tear up even writing this review.

.

Please do yourself a favour and go read this series. It deserves all the hype it's getting. I cannot wait to go dive back into the Grishaverse with "Six of Crows" next.

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brekker_by_brekker's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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orenji_juice's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Spoilers have been hidden - reveal at your own discretion.

A nice wrap up to the series, despite its major flaws. Starting off positively, I loved the dry humour and witty moments between characters in this book, it actually made me smile. I also loved every character apart from the main ones (Mal, Alina and the Darkling). However, there were two major problems in this book: the romance and Alina. Specifically, the love square. Yes, you heard me. A square. If you don't like love triangles, this book is not for you. While I understand that Alina is struggling with her feelings for Mal, Nikolai and the Darkling, the love triangle has progressed to a square since book 1 and has slowly gotten worse. Until Alina realises that Mal is special

(an amplifier)

she doesn't want to love him. Then when she finds out this information, they IMMEDIATELY start acting like lovers again. Hunny, this isn't love. You're USING him. She also toys with Nikolai's feelings. But the Darkling and Alina is by far the worst romance in this book. Yes, they both feel different. Yes, they both are lonely. But that doesn't give the Darkling a reason to rape Alina, and for Alina to crave his attention??? Excuse me???? This problem sort of started from book 2, but I am mentioning it in this review because it has not ceased.
Moving on from the love square, Alina as a character is just not good. The other characters go through character growth, but Alina does not; she actually goes backwards. I don't mind characters who go backwards, as long as they realise their mistakes and grow from it. Yet no, not for Alina. She is recklessly ambitious, self-absorbed and petty. Focussing a bit on her relationship with her friend Mal, he has sacrificed so much to be with her, and has even regressed a bit in book 2 but recovered in this one (character progression, yay!). Alina on the other hand, acts like her life is the most troubled life of all time.

I think Nikolai as an evil fairy is having a worse time, and even more so especially after sending away his parents, that aren't really his parents, and having to deal with this information.

Even in book 2, Alina also gets into petty fights with Mal and lacks the ability to recognise her own faults. Most of the fights are to do with him thinking he is too 'normal' for her and Alina thinking she is 'special'. Alina even allows him to think like this <spoiler and sends him away when he confesses his love to her in book 3. Like I said previously, she prioritises power over love as evident in book 2 and 3, but fails to learn any life lesson.

Hell, she even kills Mal and only morns him when she realises that she has lost her powers.

I know it sounds like I am being negative, but these flaws hindered my perception on this novel and even the previous one; I think it had the potential to be a 4-5 star book. However, I love the world and will consider reading Six of Crows :)

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