Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3) in Shadown and Bone Trilogy Read-a-long

Jan 04, 2015 Caitlin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Review originally posted on my blog, Turning Pages.

You may or may not know this by now, but I didn’t love Shadow and Bone - or even Siege and Storm - like a lot of people did. I found the plot and characters inconsistent, and found some frankly problematic views present within the stories. But I got that far in the series, and I wanted to see it through. By no means did I love the conclusion to this popular trilogy, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would.

To begin, the plot in this book i Review originally posted on my blog, Turning Pages.

You may or may not know this by now, but I didn’t love Shadow and Bone - or even Siege and Storm - like a lot of people did. I found the plot and characters inconsistent, and found some frankly problematic views present within the stories. But I got that far in the series, and I wanted to see it through. By no means did I love the conclusion to this popular trilogy, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would.

To begin, the plot in this book is almost always moving. There’s always action, and if there isn’t there’s comedy and drama to keep readers interested. While the first book in the series (and probably the second, too) had it’s fair share of slow moments, Ruin and Rising didn’t. I was hooked to the story, and I felt satisfaction at the ending. I think the resolution for Alina felt right because as a character she finally had a say in her life.

Alina has always been a tricky character for me. I never particularly liked her, and some of that had to do with the serious and near-constant girl-hate she felt. But, thankfully, the girl hate is toned down more in this book which made it easier to stomach. I can’t stand girl hate being present without being addressed as problematic somewhere in the book. At the beginning Alina does something and blames the Apparat, which is stupid but at least she admits it was her own choice later. Just a few inconsistencies. But otherwise the character was strong. Alina learned it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to need others for support. It’s okay to not be feeling 100% all the time.

The other characters each added flavour to the novel that I enjoyed, whether it be emotion with their love and support of one another which was beautiful, or the banter they exchanged so the novel wasn’t all doom and gloom. Having some distance from the first two books in the series made me appreciate the characters.

I’ve never been a fan of Mal, Mal who shamed Alina and yet also took her for granted. I never saw a romance between them as realistic. But if you can ignore the first two books, the romance Bardugo crafts in this book is actually more believable. And Mal wasn’t annoying in this book, thankfully. (view spoiler) It’s a shame Mal was such a jerk in the first books (another inconsistency).

I know there’s some debate about the resolution to the novel, but (view spoiler). As a villain, he was well written. Bardugo made us almost like him at first, and she made us understand him. Bravo.

I wasn’t blown away by this series like a lot of people were, but I actually quite liked Ruin and Rising. The issues present in the first two books are less of a problem in this book. The characters are sweet and strong and go through a lot together. The ending was bittersweet, but hopeful. The story isn’t easy to read, but the ending is worth it. Maybe this book will make me appreciate the rest of the series more. ...more

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Jun 01, 2022 Teo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well I shed a tear or two at the end. I can’t say I’m a fan of The Darkling, and even tho he was a lonely soul who just wanted acceptance, I still hate him a lot lol. Could rant about him all day, I genuinely do not understand how ppl can like him, he is a pos abusive asshole!!!! Was genuinely pissed at one part of the book because of what he did.
Ngl I was most excited to read this book to get more Nikolai, but he wasn’t in it much to my dismay. I obviously get why, but would’ve loved to see hi ...more

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