Ruin and Rising

****

4 Stars/5

The Darkling now rules Ravka and Alina is recuperating under the dubious protection of the Apparat. But while the Apparat wants to control Alina and turn her into a saint, her plans are to find out if Nikolai survived and where he is and to find the third Morozova’s amplifiers, the firebird. While searching for the firebird along with Mal, David, Genya and Zoya, Alina unravels her connection to the Darkling and discovers his secrets. Alina must find the third amplifier as it is the one thing that stands between Ravka’s destruction, but will it cost her everything she has been fighting for?

Ruin and Rising is the very good and fast paced final book in the Grisha series, but it is not as brilliant as the first book. There is action, deaths and some surprises but I was hoping for bigger twists like what happened in the High Lord, in the Black Magician trilogy, however, the ending was very predictable.

Alina has grown since the beginning of the trilogy as she understands both her good and bad sides, however, is was a bit irritating how self-sacrificing she is. I like Mal as he is both good and brave, but I always find him a bit forgettable, especially compared to Nikolai and the Darkling. However, I love the Darkling as he really made this trilogy and I have missed him in these last 2 books.

Bardugo is a really good author and I am looking forward to see what she does next, though I would really like to read a prequel book about the Darkling. I would recommend Ruin and Rising to fans of the first two books of the Grisha series, or people who like the Black Magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan.