Ruin and Rising

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.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Dare I say that this final book in The Grisha trilogy was exactly what I wanted? In my eyes, Ruin and Rising, by Leigh Bardugo, had it all: light and darkness, love and hate, power and peasants, life and death, a winning side and a losing side. I'm surprised that I'm this happy with the ending but I can't imagine this series ending any other way. 

Alina was badly injured in the end of the second book and she was taken underground by the Apparat with her faithful followers, the Soldat Sol. While healing, her true friends concoct a diversion to replace the Apparat's power with Alina's and, in succeeding, they escape the White Cathedral. As Alina struggles to use her power in the darkness of the underground, readers will re-solidify their bond with her. Through this and the journey to find the firebird, Alina realizes that she has to be able to trust and rely on those around her. With this lesson learned, readers will be able to feel that Alina isn't holding back anymore. She's in this war one hundred percent and will walk into battle knowing that she helped everyone she could. 

The plot of this installment was almost unbelievable in its amazement. After escaping the White Cathedral, Alina and Mal (along with their invaluable team) set off to find Nikolai, who is rumored to have escaped the Little Palace in the attack. With success, they are carted off to the mountains and hidden atop peaks where they can prepare to track the firebird, the believed third amplifier for Alina. When the Darkling attacks the mountain, Alina and Mal barely make it out alive and there are many casualties. Then the hunt for the firebird begins as the Darkling prepares to widen the Shadow Fold. With a time limit and the lives of the world in her hands, Alina must face down the Darkling once and for all. And this time, there's no running away. 

As the series closes, I know I'm going to miss it. From the first prologue this series has enthralled me. Through the discovery of Alina's power, to the revelation about the Darkling's real goal, into the love story between Alina and Mal, and across the world on constant journeys to find the next necessity: it seems to have been more than a lifetime. The Grisha series is one that echoes, calling to its readers as it reverberates through time. I know one day I'll see the series on my bookshelf and feel the need to re-read it. And it will be just as magnificent as it was the first time through. 

Rating: 5/5 Cups

     

Teaser Tuesday (134)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



Ruin and Rising (p.121)
   - Leigh Bardugo

"I can't tell who's who!" I protested.
"We're the side that's hopelessly outnumbered."
Unfortunately, I didn't think he was kidding.

Siege and Storm

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

*May Contain Spoilers*

The epic battle between darkness and light continues in the second book of The Grisha series, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. Alina and Mal escaped the Darkling once and are fleeing as fast as they can. But they fail to stay below the radar and soon find themselves back inside the Darkling's evil grasp. 

The bond formed between readers and Alina in the first book suffers a little throughout this installment. Alina still has the first amplifier for her power, mainly because if she took it off it would create another Shadow Fold or worse. When the Darkling catches up with Alina and Mal, taking them both prisoner once again, their sights are set on a second amplifier from a sea dragon of ancient myth. Up to that point, Alina is still the girl readers were introduced to in the first book. After the sea dragon scales are added, Alina changes. She becomes an angry, power-hungry version of herself. Alina recognizes the darkness within her and hides it, letting it grow in isolation through abandonment. But she can only fight it for so long. Yes, Alina still wants to save Ravka. Yes, she's still brave, sarcastic, and in love with Mal. However, readers won't feel as connected to this changing Alina even if they understand her internal struggle. 

Siege and Storm opens a few months after Alina and Mal escaped the Fold. They're caught pretty quickly by the Darkling and then saved by a pirate who takes them back to the Ravkan capital. The Darkling has new shadow monsters fighting for him and Alina must convince the remaining Grisha of the Second Army to fight with her. Through all of this, Mal is slowly slipping away from Alina as she becomes more powerful and more distracted. Readers will love the intense politics of the palace and revel in the action, but their hearts will ache with Alina and Mal's when darkness tries to pull them apart. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Book One of The Grisha Series