Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, #3)

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

So I didn't expect that I would be writing a review 2 WEEKS after finishing this book. I have been seriously avoiding writing this because I honestly couldn't get my thoughts together and I also felt overwhelmed by how much I loved the trilogy as a whole! It's been a while, a long sad while, since I read a YA Fantasy as well-written and thoroughly enjoyable as The Grisha Trilogy. I needed time to process!

I fell in love with this world immediately. Just as I wrote in my review of the first book, Shadow and Bone, the intricacies and details of the Grisha world took me by surprise and pulled me in from the first page. The third book is no different, and I found that I was able to jump right back into the world without any confusion even after having read a couple of different books in between. The world is that solid, what with all of the culture, folklore, songs, maps (love those maps!), historical wars and even recipes, I really felt like I could fully immerse myself into the story.

The writing is, again, amazing. What a roller-coaster. Bardugo stole my heart so many times with these characters and their struggles which are truly life-altering and complicated, right to the last chapter! Having already fell for each character through the previous two books, I really appreciate the fact that Bardugo continues to cultivate the relationships - friendships and romances - between the core group. We see all of these main characters developing and growing into their own, creating a wonderful, family-like dynamic with each other, solidified by the knowledge that any of them would die for the other. We still see the same undying loyalty in characters like Mal and the same free-spirited joie de vivre in characters like Nikolai, yet they become entangled with and scorned by the Darkling and they are never quite the same again.

Although I felt for all of the characters, I especially felt for Alina. We see some pretty amazing character development in her which is wonderful to witness. She is fighting for her life when we leave her in Siege and Storm - but boy does that woman ever have some fight in her! Alina is such a fierce, courageous character and I loved, loved, loved seeing her come into her own! She seriously takes charge and grows not only into her powers as a Grisha but also in her confidence in herself as a leader. Although she falters here and there as far as the Darkling goes (who wouldn't, me oh my), she is so much stronger as a person and as a fighter and makes some pretty interesting decisions that she wouldn't have otherwise made before!

One of the things I love about this trilogy as a whole is how skilled Bardugo is at keeping us on our toes. The suspense is real and I really struggled to get through some parts of this book because, damn, I couldn't handle the damage if things went wrong! I'd be reading along, happily compliant and on board with their plans to take down the Darkling or find that dang Firebird, and yet just when I thought I had it all figured out things changed, characters died, things blew up - what a mess they got themselves into! The fact that Bardugo doesn't keep certain characters alive just because the reader has come to love them is something I actually appreciate in an author. The deaths (and there are deaths!!) are realistic and although they hurt to read, it really gives the story that much more depth and validity.

The final few chapters broke my heart, but I won't say whether this was in a good or bad way. Let's just say that the trilogy ends as it should and leave it for you to see for yourself. I reread the final pages a few times, relishing in the beauty of the words, the scene, the finality of it all. I will truly miss these characters.

I guess you could say that I love this trilogy to death and of course I highly recommend it! I am still experiencing a book hangover from it and I know that this trilogy will stay with me for quite a while.

Happy Reading!
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