Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo Review

I finished a series… er, trilogy! This is very rare for me. I have a very hard time finishing series. Not because I don’t like the series, but because I like the series so much I don’t want it to end. I definitely have series that I have been reading for many years that have ended but I still haven’t finished reading. I’m working on it though. I started the Grisha, or Shadow and Bone trilogy, this year and finished the third and final book: Ruin and Rising, this month. I feel accomplished haha.

I thought that the third book was a wonderful end to the series, writing a review about an end of a series is difficult as I don’t want to spoil anything. But anyway, everything, and I mean everything, was tied up very nicely, there were no loose ends and I wasn’t left with any questions. It also had a nice twist near the end. While it ended very nicely and in a positive way, I can see people not liking the ending because there were many ways it could have ended. But I am overall happy with the ending and the little twist that I wasn’t expecting. While I never had many expectations for how the series should end, there was one particular element that took me by surprise. I was also, just going along with the love interests. There wasn’t one I was particularly drawn to. I did like all of them though and rooted for each one in turn as the story moved through them. To be honest, I would have been happy with any of the guys she could have ended up with.  Maybe that would be a draw back for some, but with the amount of romance in non-romance YA novels, I stopped caring and I just kind of go with it; unless I really dislike one of the characters. Character wise, I am particularly happy with the development of the Darkling. I enjoyed learning about his past and how he got to the way he was and how that influenced the world in general. Overall, it was an entertaining read and that’s what matters to me. With all that is going on in the real world, I want a novel that flows and is entertaining. 

As for the series itself, I recommend it. I loved that the series has a different magic system. That is something in fantasy that will instantly catch my attention. I love a unique magic system and the Shadow and Bone series delivers. I enjoyed that it was an easy and quick fantasy world to get into but didn’t feel underdeveloped. Whether you’re a seasoned fantasy reader or new, it’s sometimes nice to be able to jump into a world and not have to read 500 pages of world building before any real action begins. Leigh Bardugo also has the Six of Crows series which is apparently set in the same world as the Shadow and Bone trilogy. So I will definitely be picking up that series in the future and seeing how the world she built evolves. 

Book rating: 3.5 to 4 out of 5 – I enjoyed the book and the ending to the series. It was entertaining and closed the series well.

Series rating: 3.5 to 4 out of 5. The series was enjoyable and fun to read. The world was wonderful and well-built for a short YA series. 

Have you read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy? Do you plan to?

See you next week :)

Kylie <3