Ruin and Rising

!!!Spoiler Warning!!! If you haven’t read this book yet, I give away some key spoilers!

Ruin and Rising

by Leigh Bardugo

“The rules of this game are about to change.”

I… I don’t think I’m going to be okay.
There’s something unique about characters that you’ve gone through a whole series with. There are plenty of brilliant stand-alone books, but when you’ve invested so much time into a series, you can’t help but love the characters. They’re your friends. Some of them have even stolen your heart.
That’s why it’s so painful when we reach the end. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that not everyone pulls through. Of course they don’t. It’s the final battle. The last book. I went in prepared.
And it still hurt like hell.

“We all die,” he said as he jogged off to retrieve his kill. “Not everyone dies for a reason.” 

The book was fantastic, of course, but it was the ending that really threw me for a loop. At first I hated it. I wanted to rail against it. I was going to rant and rave about how unfaireverything was, but then, of course, I knew it could never have been anything different. It was perfection.

This is my first series by the fabulous Leigh Bardugo. I don’t think I’m ever going to be the same again. Nikolai, the Darkling, Mal, Alina. They’re all there, and none of them are ever going to be the same again, either. At least I’m in good company.

I just know there’s no way to live without pain – no matter how long or short your life is. People let you down. You get hurt and do damage in return. 

This wasn’t so much a book as a stunning work of art. Each page weaves a magic world around you that you can see and hear and almost taste. The characters should be well-known to you now (and if they’re not, then what the hell are you doing? Go back and start at the beginning, you heathen!) they all have perfect backstories and traits. I loved every second.

“Suffering is cheap as clay and twice as common. What matters is what each man makes of it.”

These books are like fairy tales, and just like fairy tales they have an important messages hidden within them. These are about greed and acceptance. They’re about love and hope, and sometimes the futility of both. I cannot praise these books enough.

If you love YA Fantasy, you really must read this series. It’s far too good to miss. I only wish I hadn’t waited so long to read it myself. And, yes, I admit it, I cried. A lot.

“Let us have peace. We have seen miracles this day.”

Villain Rating

This is the last time I’m going to be able to talk about the Darkling and I just want to explain what makes him such a perfect villain. It’s the weakness. The Darkling has a long and incredibly intense backstory which paints him as a victim rather than the ruthless killer which he becomes. Deep at heart he’s still just a little lost boy who desperately doesn’t want to be alone. In Alina he sees somebody who can finally live as long as he does, he sees someone who won’t wither away and die while he mourns them. He just wants not to be alone anymore. It’s so sad. And as for the destruction he causes? He honestly thinks he’s doing the right thing. He’s trying to make a world where Grisha will be accepted. He doesn’t want to see the witch hunts of his childhood continue. He thinks a few deaths in war are worth the long term benefits that he can give the kingdom. He’s so very tragic and he’s just so easy to sympathize with! That and he’s an excellent kisser, of course! 10/10

Happy Reading,

Claire