Review: Ruin and Rising

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*4.5*ish

He leaned against the window, and the gilden frame came into sharp focus. "Do you think it would be any different with your tracker beside you? With that Lanstov pup?"
"Yes" I said simply.
"Because you would be the strong one?"
"Because they're better men then you."
"You might make me a better man."
"And you might make me a monster."

I can't believe it's over! I finished this about 5 hours ago then had to race to work but it let the initial reaction simmer because my thoughts were so jumbled it let me think about how I can eloquently word and figure out exactly how I felt about this installment. I was so on the fence between and a 4 and a 5 star because there were so many elements that I absolutely loved but I did have a few issues with as well like that ending But overall I loved this book and this series and these characters!! This was an action packed, fun, heart pounding and beautifully tragic conclusion to a fantastic trilogy.

Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what's inside you? That's steel. It's brave and unbreakable. And it doesn't need fixing.

I LOVED LOVED the characters in this one even more than before!!! Every single one of them shone brightly in this one. I loved the banter. The team work. The mission. It was so much fun and I couldn't stop reading. I felt like I was on an adventure with them and that's something that was truly magical about this book.

"I've been busy. I might have some surprised in store for the Darkling yet."
"Please tell me you plan to dress up as a volcra and jump out of a cake."
"Well, now you've ruined the surprise."

SO MANY LAUGHS IN THIS BOOK

NIKOLAI MY BABY

Nikolai was fantastic and I even loved Harshaw and Zoya in this one. Tamar and Tolya were great and I really loved their dynamic with Mal and Alina. A lot of this book they were all together and we got see them travel around the world and figure out a way through this war with the Darkling.

I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.

Now let's talk about the CUTENESS AND ANGST of Mal and Alina. I loved their relationship in this one! I really felt the struggle that they were going through of the whole "should we or shouldn't we?" I didn't feel it took away from the overall plot or anything like that.

Maybe love was superstition, a prayer we said to keep the truth of loneliness at bay. I tilted my head back. The Stars looked like they were close together, when really they were millions of miles apart. In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.

Their relationship was raw and real and heartbreaking *cough* the ending*cough*

"You were meant for more than me, and I'll die fighting to give it to you. But please don't ask me to pretend it's easy."

STOPPP

And Nikolai!!! How I ADORED HIM!! He brought me so many laughs and at times tears.

"I don't want lies between us Alina."
"How many lies have you told me, Sturmhond? How many secrets have you kept until you were ready to share them?"
"Princes prerogative?"
"If a mere prince gets a pas, so does a living Saint."
"Are you going to make a habit or winning arguments? It's very unbecoming."
"Was this an argument?"
"Obviously not. I don't lose arguments."

HIS LINES WERE JUST SO GOOD

Now the Darkling. Oh how I love to hate him. He's so twisted and sick...but you can't help but wish he would find his own happiness? It's crazy and he is seriously one of the most in depth and complex villains of Young Adult Literature. Truly brilliant. I loved him. That's part of the reason why I gave this a 4 on goodreads as opposed to the 5.

He'd wanted me to believe in his ruthlessness.
Then I remembered his words from so long ago: Make me your villain.

Leigh Bardugo manages to make your heart ache for him even when he's done horrible things. We get some of his back story in this one and the ending UGH. my heart broke

"Don't let me be alone."

I understand why it had to happen but UGH. It hurt!!

"I seem to be a victim of my own wishes where you are concerned."

The ending was INTENSE. HEART STOPPING. CAPTIVATING. ACTION PACKED. And satisfying? I was satisfied to a point. I feel like she could have gone a bunch of different ways with the ending and I'm not sure if this was exactly the best, but it's what the characters wanted. I understand the ending but I kind of wish it ended differently in a way? I'm excited that we're getting more of this world and I am beyond eager to start Six of Crows since I've heard nothing but amazing things. And her writing has improved so much. It's crazy to see how far these characters have come since the first book and how much her writing has grown. I can't wait to read more from her!

They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary thing- if love can ever be called that.


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