Leigh Bardugo’s Ruin and Rising is the final book in the Grisha Trilogy. After a devastating battle of Os Alta, Alina flees to the White Cathedral. The battle took a serious toll on her body, bleaching her hair white and leaving her unable to summon her powers. Her inability to use her powers weakens her further by making her physically weak. While the White Cathedral provides her with a safe place to recuperate, it is ruled by the Apparent. He keeps her under a suffocating amount of protection while using her as a Saint for his followers to worship. As she hides underground, many emotions plague her. The hope of a prince’s survival, the need to find the final amplifier, and the fear of the Darkling haunt her as she embarks on her final journey in this latest installment.
Alina is definitely not the little girl we were introduced to. In Shadow and Bone, she was a weak girl enchanted by magic, comfort, and the Darkling. She soon realized her attractive teacher was a power-hungry psychopath, willing to kill and manipulate his way into power. She began Siege and Storm on the run, but was later pushed into a position of power. Power changed her as she became meaner and discovered a darkness insider her. Book 2 also filled with developing love triangles that further complicated Alina’s life. Alina reached her lowest point in this book. She had very few allies and she watched many die around her. The pull for power grows inside her and the weight of saving her country doesn’t make her emotional trails easier. She must overcome her internal struggles and face the Darkling in her final novel.
Ruin and Rising was a disappointing read, but a decent way to end the story. It tied up all lose ends in a satisfactory way, but some aspects left much to be desired. The pacing was pretty poor. It had a tendency to slow down at time, which is okay if the majority of the book isn’t slow. Sadly, this is not the case. The book followed as system of slow parts leading up to something with action. Sometime the was disappointing, other times it wasn’t. The worst part of the plot was its inability to hold suspense. There were occasional times where the Darkling’s reign over Ravka was so removed from the plot that it didn’t feel like a problem. At these times, it was easy to forget that the Darkling is actively causing havoc. To add to my list of complaints, the ending leaves me with mixed feelings, which is a bit disappointing since the previous installments were nothing but hype for this final moment. The book also became darker than the previous ones. Whether this is a compliment or complaint is entirely up to the reader. Despite my long list of complaints, there were good sides to this book. It revealed the history of many characters, including the Darkling himself. It filled in many of the gaps of this series’ history. Some side characters gained more depth and the love triangle (or maybe square in this case) came to a close. While this may be because I haven’t read Siege and Storm in while, I found it hard to keep track of the characters. I recommend reading the two books within a short period of time to avoid this. The sub-plots and story kept your interest, even at the slower parts. I give this 417 page book 3.5 stars.
Series Analysis
The Grisha Trilogy is a lovely series that tells the story of an orphan. This orphan girl discovered a power that was desired by many and lived a life of comfort until her world crumbled around her. The trilogy is full of action, magic, politics, and love. Goodreads gives the series an average of 4.12 while this site gives it an average of 4 stars.
The Grisha Trilogy
The Grisha Trilogy is the companion series to the Six of Crows series and focus on the Grisha. In this world, people are born with the ability to manipulate matter. The Grisha are divided into categories based on their abilities. The Corporalki can manipulate the human body, either healing it or tearing it apart. The Etherealki can manipulate matter to control fire, water, or air. The Materialki can manipulate matter to make physical weapons and materials. In Ravka, Grisha are respected, feared, and make up a part of Ravka's army, the Second Army.