Tag: ruin and rising

Ruin and Rising: The…interesting…end of the series

Title: Ruin and Rising

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone #3

Published January 17th 2014 by Henry Holt and Co

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 465

“The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.” -Goodreads

My Review:

WHYYYYYYYYYYY

is this book series so good but so hard to read?

I do not want to make this long because I just have no f*cking words.

So many things went wrong. And so many things went right.

Lets start with right first since I think it will be a shorter list. Also SPOILERS IN THIS LIST!

Right:

  • Alina did not end up with the Darkling
  • Nikolai did not die
  • Alina and Mal ended up with a really happy ending
  • The Unsea is gone
  • The plot wrapped up really well (sort of)
  • Alina did not pull a lose-only-half-of-her-powers type deal

Wrong:

  • Alina did not end up with the Darkling
  • Nikolai did not die
  • Alina and Mal ended up with a really happy ending
  • Nikolai got turned into a monster
  • But like that was only touched on for a little
  • Mal was the third amplifier, like what????
  • Alina lost all of her powers
  • There were a thousand sun summoners created that was not described well
  • Nikolai got turned into a monster
  • Alina did not end up with Nikolai
  • Alina and Mal were supposed to go into hiding but they like didn’t?

The plot was, like I said last book, long on parts that should have been short and short on parts that should have been long. And there were so many holes.

But it was so good.

I just dont understand how mixed up my feelings are. I hated the means of the ending. The ending was nice (other than the aforementioned 1000 sun summoners) and wrapped well. But everything from the first page until the Unsea left, was wack.

Also, I hate to admit how I cried at Alina saying “Aleksander” at the end. That broke me in two. BUT HE WAS THE BAD GUY!

UGH I cannot talk about it anymore.

Did anyone else feel this way?

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.6

Siege and Storm: Review

Title: Siege and Storm

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone

Published June 4th 2013 by Henry Holt and Company

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 435

“Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.” -Goodreads

My Review:

Ahh just look at how beautiful that cover is. It is so gorgeous.

Anyways, so this book was really good. I read it in about a day and a half. I devoured it is what I should really say.

Because I have been behind on my reviews, I am going to keep this a really short.

First LOVE THE DARKLING and I am very ashamed. Second HATE MAL and I am not ashamed. Third Alina is dumb but also I like her. I dont know I have mixed feelings.

Then there is Nikolai. Let me just say that I am a Nikolai fan page now. I only care about Nikolai in this story and Nikolai only.

The pacing of the story is horrendously annoying. Some moments that should last half a page last for three. Some things like big epic moments, that I would accept lasting a chapter, are like a page long. I am pretty sure (SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH) huge fights between Mal and Alina lasted longer than any fight between the Darkling and when they capture the ice dragon thing.

Improvements form the last book:

  • Plot- adding in Nikolai
  • Plot-way more thoughts out then the last book. I think most of it seemed like filler and Bardugo could have just added…more. But, way more of an improvement.
  • Nikolai
  • Realm Building-Ravka became way more in-depth in this book than the last one. I think explanation of conflicting nation wars were better. We saw other places other than the Little Palace. I think there were better descriptions of buildings.
  • Character Development-Everyone in this book had growth and changed, unlike the last book. They all had some sort of significant shift in their persona. Mal became a big bag of d*cks. Alina got slightly less stupid and I could relate to her and her pull to the Darkling. The Darkling seemed to start to love. And Nikolai was introduced which made the series better.
  • Nikolai
  • Getting to see Nikolai

Also, let us talk about how I really thought we were going to get (AHH SPOILERS) that whole anti-hero arc we deserved. The darkness just never took ahold of Alina like I wanted. I mean seriously the ending was like on the precipice of this ultimate twist but nope, she just became a blonde. OOOOO scary!

Anyways, what I am trying to say is yes I liked the book. Could it have been better? YES! But, do I hate it? GOD NO!

It is definitely worth the read. But, like I said, it could have been better. Way better than the first book though!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.8