[Book Review] Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

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.

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I have officially finished this trilogy and I'm all caught up to read King of Scars! I'm so proud of myself and really happy I decided to tackle this trilogy this year. I really enjoyed it as a whole and I really enjoyed the ending to this epic story. 

The characters definitely grew on me even more in this book. I found Alina's motives to be reasonable and I felt like I could empathize with the situation she was put in. I think Mal's character development throughout all three books is one of my favorite things. I found him to be insufferable in the first one, I felt empathetic towards him in the second, and in this book I found myself even enjoying him. Nikolai was my favorite, which I know is a popular opinion. I have a soft spot for witty and charming characters like him. He's definitely the light in a lot of the darkness of the trilogy's story arc. Which is why the events that revolve around him is so intense and overall heartbreaking. I think our gang of secondary character were really fun. I felt like I got to know each of them fairly well which helped get me invested in their well being when they were thrown into dangerous situations and battles. The Darkling is a character I always said in my other reviews that I had mixed feelings about him.  But not anymore, I kind of hate him. I think he's well written and a well constructed character, and I think him and Alina had chemistry in the first book before he got real abusive. I don't understand anyone who ships him and Alina together it's weird and gross. He's abusive. I can see why people may be sympathetic towards him but that's where my kindness ends for him.

The plot started out incredibly strong and fast paced. I told myself I'd read a little before bed and then all of a sudden I blinked and I was over 100 pages into the story. I do think it lagged in the middle and the plot slowed down considerably in certain sections but Ii read this book fairly quickly despite the pacing. I couldn't put it down because I really wanted to know how it would end. So although for me, I recognize that it had slower paced moments, I was never bored. 

My biggest complaints with the story are: first, I wish we got a better image of the world overall. There are so many moments when I was reading where the pictures in my head were colorful, crisp, and vivid. Other times, it was blurry and hard for me to pull up a clear picture. Second, I wih we got more explanation of the magic system. David is a fantastic character who definitely helps explain it to the reader but I wish we got more because I found it super fascinating.  It's a different magic system than many of the ones  I've read before so it would have been really nice to get to know more about the magic. Maybe it'll be easier for me to get a grasp of the magic in my re-reads or when I read the spin-off series but for now it was a little confusing.

The writing is a favorite for me and Leigh Bardugo is becoming a favorite writer of mine. I am mad at myself for sleeping on this series and her writing for so long because she's incredible. I really love the way her characters interact with each other. The dialogue and humor had me smiling and laughing so much. I also really enjoyed Alina's inner monologue. Her thoughts, fears, hopes were all incredibly emotional and it helps the reader empathize with her. 

Overall, I highly recommend this series. I think it's a fantastic young adult series. The characters have such amazing growth, the world and magic are so interesting, and the writing is gorgeous. It all sucks you into the story and doesn't let you go. I am happy I finally got around to reading this trilogy. I am hoping in 2019 to read the Six of Crows duology and read the new King of Scars book about Nikolai. So hopefully look out reviews on those next year! 

Thanks for reading!