Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Published: June 17, 2014

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.

I’m a bit bitter sweet about this ending. It was kind of expected but not really because Crooked Kingdom kind of spoiled it a bit for me (when Genia talks about Sankta Alina and her story). But then when I read Ruin and Rising right after Crooked Kingdom I found out the ending was not what I thought it was.

And honestly…I thought the Crooked Kingdom spoiler-ending would’ve been like 10 times more bad ass than what happened in Ruin and Rising.

The beginning of this book was really hard for me to get into. I don’t know why and maybe it’s because I completely DESPISE the apparat. But, what are you gonna do, there are some people we just don’t like. And then from there, I was kind of annoyed that Alina kept reaching out for the Darkling…like what the hell are you doing?! You’re trying to defeat him, not chat with the enemy.

I loved how everyone came together to try and take down The Darkling. Especially Tolia and Temar ( MY BABIES). I’m not sure how I feel about Genia being pardoned for her STUPID choices. But, Oh Well. AND HOLY HELL THE FEELS WITH BAGRHA. I think she was freaking AWESOME in this book. So happy we got to see her again.

All in all I think this conclusion was an okay one, like I said previously. I little anti-climactic for my taste, but a VERY solid series. I love the grisha universe that Bardugo has created and I REALLY hope we get to see more of it now that Six of Crows duology is done as well as the Grisha Series.