Title: Ruin and Rising
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Square Fish
Pub Date: August 18, 2015
Format: Paperback
Pages: 427
Source: Purchased
Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads || Buy on Amazon
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The capital has fallen.
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.
My mini-review:
“I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.”
Since this is the last book in a trilogy, this review is going to be vague for the purposes of remaining spoiler-free. I’ve already posted reviews for the first two books if you’d like to know more about those.
Let me be brief. This book is not the best in the trilogy. In fact, it’s felt like there’s been a gradual downfall since the first instalment. Nevertheless, the ending really packed a punch. It took a while to get there, but we finally got there.
Some sad things happen to the characters I love. And for the record, I do not love Alina or Mal, but some less than pleasant things happen to them as well. No one is safe.
The tropes are still there, but it’s still far more entertaining than most other books in this genre. I have no regrets in reading this series. If anything, Leigh Bardugo has procured herself another fan. I am so excited to read more from her, and from what I’ve heard from others, her books only get better and better!
Now please let me lurk in this corner with my unopened copy of Six of Crows…
laylabetweenthelines.com 
This is the only book of the series I own! Which has proved to be a problem since I do need the first book to actually read the series 😂 anyways I hope that you enjoy SoC as much as I did!! And CK is even better!
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Thank you, Sophia! I absolutely loved Six of Crows (and I’m sure CK will be even better). I’ll definitely be writing a review for it soon!
And yes, you should definitely get Shadow and Bone! I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, so I hope it surprises you as well 😊 Although now that I think about it… you might not enjoy it as much if you’re reading it after SoC! Kaz and the crew are hard to compete with 😂
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