Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

For so long I have waited for Ruin and Rising. And now it is finally mine. And it was so worth the wait. This book was perfect. It wrapped up the trilogy perfectly. It fit very well with the first two books. It gave me closure. Pfff. I will never have closure, lol. It gave me heartbreak. It gave me tears. It gave me joy beyond joy. Oh, how I loved it. It was just so perfect.

I just cannot describe how much I loved Ruin and Rising. Because there are no words. Just feelings. And I felt so much for this book. Thank you, Leigh, for writing it. It will always have a special place in my heart. Sigh. And I will be re-reading all three books in the near future. Because yeah. Such an amazing trilogy. Such stunning writing as well. I'm in love.

I will not be share spoilers in my review. But then. If you all know me, you know who I ship in this book. Who I love more than words. And you probably know that if it hadn't ended like I wanted it to, I wouldn't have loved Ruin and Rising to pieces. So keep that in mind before you read more. Because I might have a lot to say. And I will speak a lot about that one character I love more than all the rest. Sigh. If you choose to not read more of my review, then I hope you go to pick up Ruin and Rising right away. Because it is a book worth reading. No matter which character you love. Psst, I love a lot of them :)

What I should talk about in my review I do not know. Because I want to talk about it all, yet I don't want to spoil anything. And I don't want to recap any of the books. So I'm not doing that. Instead I will just talk about my feelings. About things that happen. About the amazing characters that I love and adore and hate a little. First, Ruin and Rising is told from the point of view of Alina. Just like the first books. Which I love. As I adore her. There are also a Before and a After chapter, like earlier. So much love! <3

There is so much to love in this book. I can't even begin to name it all. But first, the plot. I love everything about the story in these books. It is amazing to read about the Grisha. I love reading about all their powers. But I also love reading about those who don't have power. You don't always have to be powerful. But yes. I loved reading about the Grisha. I loved reading about Mal. And the truth about his tracking skills. Which was all kinds of awesome to read about and a big plot twist. So sad and beautiful.

There are so many characters in this book. And I loved so many of them. Baghra. Misha. Harshaw. His cat. Sniffs. And I adore Genya and David. And Zoya! I actually really, really loved her in this book. Which made me happy. She's an awesome character. Then here is the Darkling. I admit, I still don't like him. To me, he will always be a villain. And so evil. Because he is. He does some pretty awful things in this book. It hurt my heart. Like the hanging tree. I can't deal with it. It was just so very heartless of him.

My biggest love in this series is Mal. Who is just all kind of awesome. I will forever love him the most. Sniffs. He's so loving and loyal and kind and sweet and perfect. I love reading about him. To me, he is the best part of the series. Though I love all of it. But Mal a little bit more, hih. He is just so amazing. Though he is perfect, he is also flawed. And I love that the most about him. I love how good he is at tracking. I love how much he loves Alina. How he do anything for her. Always. He always love her.

"You are all I've ever wanted," he said. "You are the whole of my heart."

Then there is Alina. And she will always be a favorite heroine of mine. She's amazing. I love how she turns stronger in each of the books. I love that she is the strongest in this book. I love how she chooses to do things. How she stands by it. Sure, I hated that she kept her distance at times. But I also understood her. A little bit. So yes. I adored Alina. She's amazing. Oh. And Nikolai. Hmph. I do like him as a character. He is funny. I just still don't like him as a love interest, lol. But I did love the plot twist!

I should also mention that I adore Leigh. She is such a kind and gentle person. And an amazing author. Sigh. She's awesome. And I cannot wait to read more books by her. It will be awesome and fun and yeah. Wishing The Dregs would be out right away, hih. <3 Because I know that I will love it. I love what Leigh has said about it on Tumblr. It sounds amazing. And I just cannot wait. I know it will be perfect. So now I'm just waiting. Another year, I think? Forever. But I will survive. Because I will re-read these books. <3

There was one scene in this book that made me cry. And I never cry when I read books. Or at any other times, to be honest. But this scene. A little over halfway into the book. It broke my heart into a million pieces. It was not a good cry. It was.. oh. So heartbreaking and I'm still crying just thinking about it. Others might not be bothered by it, but I was. See. There was a meteor shower. And Mal was coming to get Alina. And he was smiling so big. He was so happy. And then. Sobs. I will not say more. But damn it.

But there wasn't only this heartbreaking scene in the book. There was also the most perfect scene near the end of the book. So gorgeous and perfect and real and honest. I cannot deal with how good it was to read about. How happy it made me. How happy this book made me. Sigh. It was perfect. I cannot deal with all the feelings Ruin and Rising made me feel. I just cannot fully believe how perfect this book was. How everything I wanted to happen happened. How it was just all kinds of perfect. Sigh. I'm so happy.

There isn't that much more I want to say about Ruin and Rising. Okay, fine, I could talk forever about my love for Mal and Alina and everyone. But I will not. Because you all need to read this book and then you can come discuss it with me. Sigh. But oh. The ending for this book? It was perfect. Truly perfect. Just like I always wanted it to end. And I love that Leigh followed her heart when she ended the trilogy. I thought it was beautiful, fitting and very real and honest. Thank you, Leigh, for this beautiful trilogy.

Gently, he took my face in his hands. "I would have been different too, without you. 

Weaker, reckless." He smiled slightly. "Afraid of the dark." He brushed the tears from my cheeks. 

I wasn't sure when they'd started. "But no matter who or what I was, I would have been yours."

I kissed him then -- with grief and need and years of longing, with the desperate hope 

that I could keep him here in my arms, with the damning knowledge that I could not. 

I leaned into him, the press of his chest, the breadth of his shoulders. 

"Going to miss this," he said as he kissed my cheeks, my jaw, my eyelids. "The way you taste." 

He set his lips to the hollow beneath my ear. "The way you smell." His hands slid up my back. 

"The way you feel." My breath hitched as his hips settled against mine.

Goodreads - Buy it - Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone - Siege and Storm