A review by claudiamacpherson
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In the final installment in the Grisha trilogy, Alina must gather what is left of her supporters to go up against the Darkling. 

Everyone I’ve seen talking about this trilogy seemed to agree that Siege and Storm was the worst of the three books, but I honestly thought Ruin and Rising was the weakest story. Did I still blow through it in a weekend? Yes. But the ending felt like a letdown after the previous books.
I’ve seen some debate over whether or not Alina should have kept her powers in the end; and I think I fall on the side of her being able to retain at least some of them (maybe reduced?). It felt too much like Mal could never be happy with her if she remained Grisha, and that is just not a good enough reason for her to lose her power. I didn’t like their relationship much to begin with—definitely a little too close to a Katniss/Gale vibe for my liking—and while it got slightly better in this book, I never got completely on board.
I found Nikolai’s storyline the most intriguing (he’s just the best!) and I hope that we get more details about it in King of Scars.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
Happy enough, I guess? But a little disappointing, in my opinion.

 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings