Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis: 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. (from the online description)

Review: The same issues I had in the first and second book exists in this one as well – despite excellent world-building and plot, the characters seem a bit shallow. Alina, in particular, spends most of the book fluxing between Mal and the Darkling, and being angsty over Mal. It was important to the story, at first, but after the first few chapters, it started to detract from the story. The plot and pace suffered because of the constant focus on Alina’s feeling for Mal and Mal angst’s about her. It made the book tedious.

The only redeeming factor was the ending. It was unexpected and entertaining.  While not the satisfy ending I wanted, it wrapped up things nicely in a non-trope way. 

it was a good read and if you enjoy fantasy-based young adult novels, this one will appeal to you greatly. 

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-8050-9461-9
Year Published: 2014
Date Finished: 11-12-2017
Pages: 422