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
