Book Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Book title: Ruin and Rising
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult fantasy
Published: June 17, 2014
350 pages
My rating: 3/5

“He’d seemed confident, strong, as if he belonged in that palace and on that throne. I know things about power that you can barely guess at. I gave myself a shake. I might not be a threat, but I could become one. I wouldn’t let him beat me before I’d had a chance to give him the fight he deserved.”

The Sun Summoner Alina Starkov and the remnants of the once-great Grisha army are forced into hiding as the Darkling has claimed the throne of Ravka. She must find the elusive firebird if she wants to have a chance to defeat him. But as she learns more about her power, she has to choose whether claiming it will truly be worth it.

Yeah, no. Just no.

I was simultaneously excited and hesitant to read the final book in Shadow and Bone trilogy. I wasn’t perfectly satisfied with Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm, but I gave both of them 4.5 stars for the potential they showed. When I started reading Ruin and Rising, it seemed that potential was finally coming to fruition. There was action, the pacing was better than in the previous book, stuff happened. I was loving it. Until the ending happened.

That means I have to talk about the ending, so spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

Throughout the book, Alina continues to toy with darkness, but at no point is there real threat of her fully going to the dark side. It might have made the book more interesting if that had happened, and the series had had a redemption arc. I do think the second book was unnecessary, and the series would have worked better as a duology that wouldn’t have shied away from making Alina go dark.

Okay, the ending. There’s a huge final battle against the Darkling, and Alina loses her power. I’ve claimed before that love triangle is my least favorite trope, but I lied. This is my least favorite trope. The ending made me angry. It filled me with the rage of a thousand burning suns. And it’s not that the ending wasn’t fitting, it was. I understand why the book ends the way it does, but I. Just. Do. Not. Like. It.

“I was just a girl again, but this girl didn’t owe her strength to fate or chance or a grand destiny. I’d been born with my power; the rest I’d earned.”

This is a nice sentiment, but I think Alina could have learned this lesson and kept her powers. I don’t care how well the lesson fits the themes of the novel, I don’t want women to lose their power. Especially not if the love interest that she ends up with has continually expressed his dislike for her powers.

Because Mal continued to be a problem in this book as well. I did like the guy; for the most part he was nice and loyal. But he was also insecure and felt threatened by Alina’s power, and even though he claimed in the end that he never wanted Alina to lose her powers, it felt disingenuous. At least he lost his tracking ability as well, if that’s any consolation.

Here’s a thought. How about instead of Alina losing her powers, the insecure guy grows up and is not threatened by a powerful woman? This is fantasy, after all.

So no, I cannot recommend this series, especially not to teenage girls.

Three stars for the action and side characters. Up until the end this was a solid five-star contender, but the ending made me so angry that I’m not sure this book deserves even the three stars I’m giving it. Disappointment. I do hope Six of Crows duology lives up to the hype, though, as I really loved the worldbuilding in this series.