Book Review: Ruin and Rising

Title: Ruin and Rising

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy

Book Blurb: 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.

Review:

Random fact--up until three minutes ago, I thought the title of the book was RuinED and Rising...now I feel like a fool for recommending this book to other people on twitter with the wrong name.  

Okay...onto the actual review.  I love Leigh Bardugo's writing.  She has created a magical world where readers can easily get lost in.  It's been a while since I've read the first 2 books in this trilogy, but I still remembered most of what happened and the names of the character and whatnot (a testament to Burdugo's superior writing skills as I will forget what happens in a book within a few months if it didn't really interest me...and it's been about a year since I read Storm and Siege.)  

I love Alina's character--she's really developed her personality. She's changed from a meek, map maker in the first book to a Sun Summoner in the second (admittedly, a sickly Sun Summoner at the beginning of Ruin and Rising.)  

And the plot....gosh...the hunt for the firebird continues with Mal as the lead tracker.  The relationship between Alina, Mal and the Darkling....whew! It was intense (Oh, did I mention that Alina can now access some of the Darklings power?)  MAL WHY DO YOU KEEP ON PUSHING ALINA AWAY?????

The secondary characters were simply awesome too.  Nikolai...he's such a funny/sassy character and reminds me so much of Jaron from The False Prince.  He always has a sarcastic comment ready on hand to lighten up the mood.  The other supporting characters--Genya and Zoya and a bunch of others...they really brought this story to life.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Damn! That ending! And that part before the ending!

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT ALINA KILLED MAL. Like, she actually freaking killed Mal...as in STAB HIM WITH A KNIFE TO THE CHEST!!!! I literally started panicking and freaking out and had to reread that scene not once, not twice, but THREE times....and then I just kind of sat there with a glazed eye look thinking, Mal's DEAD?! 

***Even MORE Spoilers***

But it's okay....even though Mal DID die, he was brought back to life (admittedly he was never the same again and that made me very very sad.)

***SPOILER FREE***

The ending...I was kind of disappointed with the ending and how Alina lived out the rest of her days. I won't say anymore since I don't want to spoil it (as if I hadn't included enough spoilers in this review already.)

Rating: