Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)

Ruin and Rising

(The Grisha #3)

Leigh Bardugo

Release Date:

June 17, 2014

Publisher:

Henry Holt and Co.

Pages:

433

Source:

My Personal Copy

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description:

The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rest 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. ~Amazon

Teaser Sentence(s):

' "We put on our best clothes, and die heroes." '

My Thoughts:

I am having a hard time coming up with a solid rating for this book. Overall, I absolutely love this series, but I did have a few problems. Mal was incredibly bland to me. I kept thinking throughout books one, two and three that he would grow on me, or do something that made me respect him as a character. That never happened. In fact, I was sorely aggravated when the scene with the Phoenix finally came into play. I do not want to give away any spoilers, especially the ending to the series, but this whole scene felt like a giant cop-out to me. I was highly disappointed in the the 3rd amplifier, and it lead me to dislike Mal a little more. (Am I the only one hating on Mal?)

 Well damn, so far I have made it seem like I hated this book. That is not the case. Ruin and Rising starts off somewhat slow, with Alina being held 'prisoner' in a huge underground cathedral. But the story soon picks up. We finally get an accurate account of what happened with Morozova. One of my favorite characters in this series is Nikolai. I absolutely favored him over Mal. I loved him as Stormhound, and I love him as the Prince of Ravka. He was by far my favorite character and I quote him often.

I would recommend this series. It's has great characters (with the exception of Mal), great creatures, and I loved the world Bardugo created.