Ruin and Rising

, #3

by

eBook, 465 pages

English language

Published June 17, 2014 by Henry Holt and Co..

ASIN:
B00GVRVEG0
(11 reviews)

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. The nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

The Darkling rules from his shadow throne while a weakened Alina Starkov recovers from their battle under the dubious protection of the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Now her hopes lie with the magic of a long-vanished ancient creature and the chance that an outlaw prince still survives.

As her allies and enemies race toward war, only Alina stands between her country and a rising tide of darkness that could destroy the world. To win this fight, she must seize a legend’s power—but claiming the firebird may be her ruin.

11 editions

reviewed Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Fantastic Series

No rating

I loved this series and the ending was pretty perfect. Bardugo is not for readers who want nonstop action. There are places in all of the books that lag, but the world-building is honestly perfect, the characters are believable and engaging, the stories are thrilling and she mostly avoids the common issue with fantasy finales of going too far and creating a parody of her own work. I absolutely loved this series and now can't wait to read King of Scars.

reviewed Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Review of 'Ruin and Rising' on 'Goodreads'

Ruin and Rising finds Alina and her ragtag group prisoners of the Apparat and a bunch of religious fanatics who claim to serve her but seem to want to keep her to parade round as a saint. Everyone wants to use Alina. I liked the story arc, although I was a bit worried she was going to end up with everyone as enemies.

Sometimes the bad guys in fantasy seem to have all the odds in their favour. If you've got monsters of darkness at your fingertips, it doesn't seem like there is any chance for good to prevail. I suppose what gives Alina a chance is the fact that the Darkling wants her by his side, perhaps he really is lonely. A human weakness that makes the climax just a little bit easier to believe.

OK, I totally guessed about the third amplifier. The ending was all a bit …

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Subjects

  • Magic
  • Orphans
  • Fantasy
  • Love stories
  • Love
  • Monsters
  • Ability