Ruin and Rising by Leigh BardugoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't believe it's over. This was fantastic. It ended on such a great note, the pace was perfect, the action was there and drama intense. Those plot twist threw me for a world wind. I can't believe all the things that were thrown in this final book. Just amazing!
Alina has been healing for months and it's taken longer than it should because the Apparat kept her locked away in the White Cathedral. With the help of her friends/army she heads back up to ground to go to war and end the Darkling. Alina is absolutely phenomenal in everything that she does. She is bold, smart, caring and doesn't abuse her powers. I love how she finally admitted to liking the Prince, understood her feelings for the Darkling, but in the end stayed with her first love Mal. Alina is seriously kickss with or without power. She sacrifices so much for others that I'm so happy she finally got selfish at the end.
Mal has always been my favorite male character. He is loving, protective, a great tracker and knows how when to keep pushing and fighting. He never gave up on his feelings for Alina, even when he should have. He loved her through it all. Even when he found out the truth about the third amplifier he still kept his cool and did what he had to for Alina to win. That took pure heart. I love Mal!
Nikolai is just the usual annoying, funny and sweet prince. I loved him throughout the whole series. He knows how to make difficult times more fun. He know when to fight, when to joke and how to be caring. He puts on this false look of being happy, but when he did breakdown it was beautiful to see. He also never forced Alina to stay with him. He knew he couldn't have her and never once tried to kiss her. He was an absolute gentleman.
Baghra may be an annoying old hag, but learning about her father, her powers and all about the amplifiers was amazing. I loved how she always helped Alina even when she seemed like she wasn't. She always dropped subtle hints, always guided her. Baghra was a phenomenal woman and her sacrifice was what helped everything in the end.
The Darkling was still an evil jerk, but what shocked me more was how beautiful his heart still was at times. All his lies and trickery was just so that he would never be alone. It was sad to me the way he was stuck to live forever and watch everyone around him die. He thought he had a companion in Alina, but he tried to control her and went about it all wrong. I felt bad for him. Learning his real name was Aleksander just made me feel even more for him. I wish he would have turned out better.
Learning that not just the Darkling, but Baghra and another character were descendants of Morozova was freaking insane! It seriously throw a crazy plot twist in every way possible. Morozova may have been a crazy Grisha, but he knew a thing or two about balance.
Overall, this was a seriously outstanding trilogy. Leigh Bardugo is amazing in her writing and I definitely plan to read more of her works.
View all my reviews