Ruin and Rising: Book 3 (Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3) (Grishaverse, #3)

by Leigh Bardugo

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone - Season 2 streaming now!

Enter the Grishaverse with book three of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by number one New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo. Perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Sarah J. Maas.

Now with a stunning new cover and exclusive bonus material: The Demon in the Wood (a Darkling prequel story) and a Q&A with Leigh Bardugo.

Soldier. Summoner. Saint.The nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

The Darkling rules from his shadow throne while a weakened Alina Starkov recovers from their battle under the dubious protection of the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Now her hopes lie with the magic of a long-vanished ancient creature and the chance that an outlaw prince still survives.

As her allies and enemies race toward war, only Alina stands between her country and a rising tide of darkness that could destroy the world. To win this fight, she must seize a legend's power - but claiming the firebird may be her ruin.


Read all the books in the Grishaverse!

The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
(previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising

The Six of Crows Duology
Six of Crows
Crooked Kingdom

The King of Scars Duology
King of Scars
Rule of Wolves

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic
The Lives of Saints

Praise for the Grishaverse

"A master of fantasy." -The Huffington Post
"Utterly, extremely bewitching." -The Guardian
"The best magic universe since Harry Potter." -Bustle
"This is what fantasy is for." -The New York Times Book Review
"[A] world that feels real enough to have its own passport stamp." -NPR
"The darker it gets for the good guys, the better." -Entertainment Weekly
"Sultry, sweeping and picturesque. . . . Impossible to put down." -USA Today
"There's a level of emotional and historical sophistication within Bardugo's original epic fantasy that sets it apart." -Vanity Fair
"Unlike anything I've ever read." -Veronica Roth, bestselling author of Divergent
"Bardugo crafts a first-rate adventure, a poignant romance, and an intriguing mystery!" -Rick Riordan, bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series

• ISBN10: 178062185X
• ISBN13: 9781780621852
• Publish Date: 19 June 2014 (first published 17 June 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Imprint: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: I feel rather indifferent about Ruin & Rising, and The Grisha as a whole. Didn't hate any of the books but was bored more than half the time.

While I hated Mal in the second book, he became so bland in the conclusion. I wish he had stayed dead after Alina knifed him. Then at least his sacrifice would've had a more long-lasting impact. As glad as I am that Alina was significantly less whiny, I didn't care a single ounce more for her than before. The twins and Nikolai sustained the first half of the book but even they turned bland.

The plot was predictable, though I still think it took some not so convincing turns with regards to the firebird. Sadly, the prose lacked dexterity as well. Had it been clever, or markedly beautiful, then at least it might've engaged me on a linguistic level. Alas, I wasn't entertained on any level. An essay summarising the major plot points would've sufficed for me.

[inlibrisveritas]

*sigh* I hate finishing series...it's too damn hard to say goodbye to characters.

[Cocktails and Books]

I knew this book was going to be a hard one to get through. Alina was in emotional turmoil and her emotions leak out of the book when you read it. But she was finally forced to face her feelings for Mal, say them out loud, and at the same time come to grips with what her role is in ending the Darklings rule.

Nicolai is a secondary character that I absolutely love. I was really torn over whether I wanted Alina to be with him or Mal. There was just something about Nicolai, whether he was a privateer or a prince, that encaptured you. I hope this isn't the last we see of Nicolai in the Grishaverse.

[Kait ✨]

this last book was a pretty wild ride, and i loved it all except for the ending which I was ambivalent about. (it felt very [b:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|136251|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)|J.K. Rowling|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1370023538s/136251.jpg|2963218] / [b:Mockingjay|7260188|Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)|Suzanne Collins|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1358275419s/7260188.jpg|8812783] to me in that it was tied up very neatly and satisfactorily and the main character is all “can i just be normal!!”. i generally prefer my endings with a bit more ambiguity.) i thought the first book was great but not amazing, the second book blew me away, and this final instalment continued the pattern. bardugo built things up to a mind-blowing climax in this book so well, but as i said, i was a bit disappointed with her treatment of those events - while i love mal, i felt that reviving him detracted from alina’s sacrifice (not to mention his!) and felt like a bit of an authorial cop-out.

alina’s personal journey as she struggles with her power and her position within the grisha community and as a potential queen was really well done. the secondary characters as well really start to shine in this instalment, read: genya+david, zoya (♥︎♥︎♥︎), and baghra’s crazy history. but my personal favourite storylines are those of the darkling and nikolai. i lurvvvv nikolai and the darkling is the epitome of fascinating with all his dark and twisty secrets.

i guess my one complaint with this book/series is that i felt bardugo hinted at the potential for a much darker storyline but didn’t take us there, with the ending and with the scarcity of the moments between alina and the darkling in the latter two books. that being said, i would still highly recommend them, especially if your tastes don’t run as dark as mine apparently do. i have [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg|42077459] out from the library and after i move this weekend i am so looking forward to diving into it as i’ve heard it’s much more ~creepy~ than the grisha trilogy.

[cornerfolds]

Well. I have taken some time before writing this review to attempt to form coherent thoughts so I wouldn't just be flailing all over the place because I know how annoying those reviews can be. It has been days. DAYS. And my emotions are still all over the place. But, hey, I'm a book blogger, so I'll try to pull myself together and make this work for all of you fine people who may still be missing out on this masterpiece!

Ruin and Rising is the last book in the Grisha trilogy. (Hold on, I'm trying not to cry.) This story begins soon after the events of Siege and Storm, with Alina, Mal, and Co. deep underground with the Apparat and his army. Although Alina certainly finds herself in a predicament in the caves, she never gives up hope and manages to escape with her friends to pick up the search for the firebird and (obviously) Nikolai. Once the gang is united, plans are made to finally defeat the Darkling and save Ravka, but of course things don't go quite as planned and all hell breaks loose.

Alina is still one of my favorite characters ever in Ruin and Rising. She is determined and fierce and honestly takes to leadership well. It's interesting to me that a character as power-hungry as Alina could be someone that I loved so much. I think one of the things I most enjoyed about her is that she's usually blatantly honest about it. She never tries to hide what her goals are from the people she cares about and she's never afraid to go for it.

My feelings on Mal did not really change with this book either. In my review of Siege and Storm I called him Dan Humphrey. He's still Dan. Sure, he tries to make up for his crappiness in the last two books (kind of), but he still never seems to be fully supportive of Alina, always wanting her to be someone she just isn't. Sturmhond/Nikolai remained one of my favorites also. He reminded me so much of Captain Jack Harkness or even Carswell Thorne! I loved his wittiness and upbeat attitude in the face of utter darkness.

And then there was the Darkling. My beautiful, wonderful, tragic Darkling, who I will refuse to believe is truly evil until the bitter end. I must have a thing for tortured villains because Anakin Skywalker will also forever hold a place in my heart. He and the Darkling can just hang out together, I guess. Although the Darkling did some undeniably evil things, I truly think that he wanted to be good. I wish that we could go way back to Shadow and Bone and have Alina talk to him before running away to see if things would turn out differently. I think he was more human than he wanted people to think and my heart is still breaking for him days later!

Despite my anguish at how the Darkling was treated in this book, I still loved almost everything about it! I loved watching Alina chase after the third amplifier and attempt to restore power to the people of Ravka. I loved the absolutely insane events that Nikolai encountered. I loved getting to know all of the other Grisha better and I loved, loved, LOVED the cat!

The one thing I completely hated (although obviously not enough to take the rating down a notch) was the way Alina's story ended. Don't get me wrong, I was totally okay with the events that followed the location of the third amplifier. What I hated was what happened after the big final battle was over. I don't know how to say this without spoilers, so click at your own risk!

The fact that Dan Mal got exactly what he wanted in the end really pisses me off. Don't get me wrong! I was happy that Alina was able to free Ravka from tyranny and I was even okay with her power being divided up between the soldiers (sort of). I hated that she ended up leaving Ravka and becoming a normal girl again - exactly what Dan Mal wanted from the very first time he saw that she was more of a badass than she was. Okay, so I couldn't have her end up with the Darkling. I can accept that. But it would've been perfectly acceptable for Alina and Nikolai to rule Ravka together. He was perfect! I don't have anything else constructive to add without going on a rampage, so I guess that's all I have to say about that. I am definitely going to need to locate some fanfiction.

Even though there was one thing I didn't really like about the way Ruin and Rising ended, this book is basically perfect. Don't worry about whether or not that makes sense. Just go with it. The Grisha trilogy has surpassed everything else and has taken it's spot on my shelf as my favorite series ever. Never before have I literally lost sleep over the ending of a book (in a good way). If you haven't read the Grisha trilogy yet, I don't understand what you're waiting for! This is definitely a series I'll read again and again!

[readingwithwrin]

Oh it was so nice to see a happy ending for a change!

See more reviews like this on my blog

[wyvernfriend]

And the story winds to a close, the ending was good and the companion stories are well worth looking for.

[catiebug]

I love this series so much and completely understand the hype.

That ending! I thought it was perfect!

[reveriesociety_]

This was a great read.

The narrative was engaging, and the characters more alive than ever. I liked how she wrapped it up, without really bringing an end to everything. After all, the world continues spinning but at least Alina's story has closure. That's what I'm happy about.

[girlinthepages]

I have a love-hate relationship with the Grisha trilogy. I started reading the books this spring and was underwhelmed by the first installment, as I liked the ideas of the story but felt the writing had room to grow and that the marketing had overhyped Shadow and Bone. I was completely turned around by Siege and Storm, loving the new characters, the political intrigue, and reading about the fascinating lifestyle at the Little Palace. Ruin and Rising fell somewhere in between for me, as it has a lot of surprises and twists that I hadn’t forseen, but there’s also a lot of slower moments when I became impatient during Alina’s quest to find the last amplifier.

What I did love in Ruin and Rising is seeing a lot of character growth and development. Alina became stronger and more independent, Mal became less obnoxious and more mature and chivalric, and even Zoya has joined the forces of good and shows unwavering loyalty toward the Sun Saint. Bardugo also does a fantastic job of making Alina’s struggle toward choosing a love interest palpable, making Mal, Nikolai, and the Darkling all so attractive in different ways as well as making them all stand as solid choices for Alina through her development of each of them as a strong character. By the end of the series I had no idea who I wanted Alina to choose!

Speaking of the Darkling. I admit, he’s what had me picking up the second book after Shadow and Bone underwhelmed me. Ruin and Rising continues to reveal more threads from the Darkling’s past, and the revelations kept surprising me, I was never able to guess them beforehand or was underwhelmed by the surprises. He’s a character who’s impossible for me to hate because he’s such an enigma, and you can’t help but be impressed by his intellect, even if it’s conniving. I was satisfied by the end of the novel with the Darkling’s storyline, and satisfied that Alina’s connection to him stays relevant and meaningful no matter what their romantic status, because they are bonded by the similarity of their powers (two sides of the same coin and all that).

While I loved learning about the small science and was so intrigued with how the Grisha are trained at the Little Palace in the first two books, this book focused much more on the aftermath of the Darkling’s takeover Alina’s leading of the refugees, her burden as a holy figure, and her want and need to find the last amplifier, the firebird. While this was all very important, this book has what I call Harry-Potter-Book-Seven-Syndrome, AKA a lot of wandering around in the wilderness looking for something elusive, which is important but also slightly boring. ***MILD SPOILER AHEAD: I also feel as though this book ended up emulating Harry Potter in a lot of ways (the whole revelation of what the third amplifier really was reminded me a LOT of a Horcrux, complete with the idea that one of the good guys must sacrifice themselves for the greater good of destroying an evil dictator, who also turns out to be related to said dictator…). Did anyone else feel like there were a lot of Harry Potter parallels in the ending too? ***END SPOILERS***

By far my favorite aspect of this book was Nikolai. I loved how he really came into his own as the leader of Ravka and of the resistance, and I love how he addressed the flaws in his parents’ rule of Ravka ( I was literally cheering up and down when he called out his dad on his misogynistic behavior and his treatment of Genya). While Nikolai definitely suffered in this book, he became a stronger leader because of it, and I won’t lie by saying I wasn’t rooting for him and Alina by the end of all the drama. Again, I think my increased love for Nikolai is a testament to Bardugo’s strength in character development in this book.

The ending was shocking. It’s hard to discuss more without spoilers, but Alina’s life is again irrevocably altered by the conclusion to this book. I found myself to be satisfied with the ending though, as I think things needed to end the way they did for Alina to truly become her own person, and I enjoyed seeing her fulfill her role as the Sun Saint, and her acknowledgment that everyone in Ravka’s war suffered, yet everyone, even the Darkling, started with the intention of bettering the country. I really respect that by the end of the series, even with the shocking events of the conclusion, Alina is wise and un-jaded enough to see the value in every struggle and every intention in Ravka’s war.

Overall: Ruin and Rising was a satisfactory ending to the Grisha trilogy, even if some of the plot twists seemed a little far-fetched or a tad bit unoriginal. Bardugo makes up for this though by creating characters that readers care about, and providing an intriguing back story for a fascinating villain. Though it dragged a bit in some moments and lacked some of the charm of the first two books, I was satisfied by the ending and wrapped up everything satisfactorily in the epilogue.

This review was originally posted at Girl in the Pages