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Ruin and Rising cover art

Ruin and Rising

By: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
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Publisher's Summary

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. Ruin and Rising is the thrilling final installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

©2014 Leigh Bardugo (P)2014 Audible Inc.

What listeners say about Ruin and Rising

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I need time to process what I just read... still don't know how I feel about this one.

Update:

Okay, so it's been a few months since I've read Ruin and Rising and I'm still bitter about this book as a whole.
The first start of the book was slow, and I guess that made sense with how Siege and Storm ended. While reading you get this buildup and buildup and buildup then... nothing. It was a letdown. The whole book was difficult to get through and the more I think about it, not much actually happened due to a constant build-up that falls flat.
I will say that it's very rare that you get all of the secondary characters outshine the protagonists. But that is exactly what happened in this series!

Spoilers ahead

Things I liked

✅ The world building and the grishaverse in general
✅ Learning a tiny more about the Darklings backstory was good; though still underdeveloped
✅ Nikolai, everything about him is ahhh perfect!
✅ Zoya.. became my favorite character (behind Nikolai of course)
✅ Bardugo writing style

Things I didn't like

❌ Mal... Mal, Mal, Mal... He is far the worst character in the book. He is so selfish, it makes me mad thinking of him. His character development in this was stupid; if you can even call it that, as he goes back to being his whiny ass self halfway through the book. He can't stand Alina with her powers but also wants Alina though never appreciated her before all of this happened. I. Just. Can't. Stand. Him.
❌ Alina was proving to be strong at the start of the book, I was actually excited for that, but nooo... Alina Starkov continues being this weak and cowardly character. She can't do anything herself and always has to rely on Mal.
❌ No history of the sun summoners. The Darkling knows there were sun summoners; he has mentioned so in the past. He gets his power from his mother. How does Alina get her power?
❌ Nikolai’s story arc was confusing, why sideline the best character in the series
❌ The Darkling STILL remains underdeveloped... after three books... are you kidding me!
❌ The ending: The Darklings death.... killed by Alina with a knife... really? Cause I clearly remember it being said that it's not easy to kill The Darkling or The Sun Summoner. Such a letdown.
❌ Mal coming back to life... cause y'know... he had two ?? Whaaaat! If you're going to bring a character back to life it needs to make sense and not so the story can have: "and they lived happily ever after".
❌ Alina loses her power... why? Guess Mal got want he wanted. What a shitty message to send to women; give up everything so you can be with a man that you love but only loves you when you're not stronger than he is.
❌ One thing I hate it when the author has to explain through the character why certain things happen while it's happening. Mal comes back to life *protagonist has a realization and explains*, Alina loses her power *protagonist has a realization and explains* ...etc
❌ The pointless journey that takes more than half the book.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Someone buy the author a thesaurus!

If I had made a drinking game that had me take a drink every time the narrator read the word "horror" I'd be dead now.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I am ruination

fantastic audio book quality and performance.

Push through book two so that you can read this book!! It's thrilling, and fun and the characters are likeable, it's everything that book two wasn't. The ending is a bit disappointing but it's mostly satisfying. Four stars because I had a lot of fun reading this book and shed a tear at the end. I thought that I would remember this series bitterly after book two, but I will remember it fondly.... now onto more grishaverse adventures!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful world

I loved this trilogy; the rich world, realistic characters, and believable choices taken.

I cried at the end, for its ending and because it was ending.

Lauren Fortgang does beautiful performance for this series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible story!

It really feels like you are in this world. A great final instalment of the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding!!!

Captivating & blissful… I laughed, and cried! Loved every page !! Very clever and enchanting, didn’t want it to end!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Enjoyable on the whole though I thought the story long winded and a little boring at times.
Narration performance was expressive, nuanced and consistent.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Young Adult might officially be to young for me now

If you struggled to get through the second book like I did I would say keep going because the 3rd and final book does pick up it’s pace again and I did enjoy this series ending. I did not enjoy long drawn out romances that simmered throughout these books but didn’t really ever get anywhere, it did really slow the story down a lot and really started to get to me however they wrapped up and by the ending of the book I was fully back on board (literally the last chapter saved it really for me)
This is a YA Trilogy though and I think you can really feel that through this series so potentially I’m just not the target audience here
Although
I read the other duology by Leigh Bardugo’s prior to this book (6 of crows) and I really enjoyed them, I think her writing experience has grown by those books and I had a great time in them, I’m very glad I read them first as I probably wouldn’t have read anymore Bardugo after this series wrapped otherwise,
But 6 of crows was excellent comparatively.

I also feel the narrator is really hard to get along with, I cannot stand the accents she puts on, it’s hard to tolerate some of her voices and no matter who says the names of “Maaaaaal” or “Alena” they always sound the same= a nagging whinge or a slow whisper. No. Matter. What.
A different narrator would have made a world of difference here, I wanted to listen the to next books along in this world but I don’t think I can get through that narrator again,
Perhaps that’s just me though, other reviewers seemed to have really enjoyed her.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great ending

After watching the series i engoyed the original book even more i enjoyed the ending

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

OKay series

Good worldbuilding and the series is worth the read although this seemed a bit slower in pace - Mal, Alina and Nikolai all great characters. Didn't really like the underground thing and the saint storyline and the ending was alright.

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