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Leigh Bardugo: Ruin and Rising (Paperback, 2015, Square Fish, Bardugo Leigh) 4 stars

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a …

Review of 'Ruin and Rising' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A decent end to the trilogy. Still well paced with believable characters. I felt there was one bit of a plot hole, but otherwise most everything made sense.

Why did everyone think that Alina would suddenly reach her full power when she killed Mal? The other two amplifiers required preparation. The necklace and the fetter had to be crafted before she could use their power. Why did everyone think that she'd immediately get her full powers the moment Mal died?

At least the more toxic aspects of the Mal/Alina relationship were mostly missing from this volume, but it was still somewhat disappointing that she ended up with him. This romance plot was by far the weakest element of an otherwise decent series. The fact that she had to lose her powers for it to work was also unfortunate.