Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★☆☆
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.
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.
I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with this book.
Not that it wasn't a great read--because it was. I absolutely devoured it. Bardugo did a superb job leaving you hanging at the end of the chapter, desperate to keep reading. There were a few times when I told myself I'd put the book down after I finished the chapter I was reading... but by the end I just couldn't! I had to keep reading.
There was also a fabulous twist with respect to the search for the third amplifier that I did not see coming. It actually floored me. (Its resolution was a little lacklustre, though, but that's only because I like it when the stakes stay high and consequences are sometimes dreadful.)
Still. All that said. There was just something missing here. Something about this conclusion that did not meet my expectations. In general, it was the resolution to a number of plot threads that ended up being too convenient.
It's not that I didn't like the ending. That I wasn't pleased with how it all turned out. But more that feeling of "we could've had it all". And it just did not deliver. Maybe my expectations were too high.
Still, it is absolutely one for the bookshelves. And a series, overall, that I thoroughly enjoyed and would absolutely recommend.
