Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: 17 June 2014 by Henry Holt & Co.
Source:  Book Depository
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *****

My Review:

What an awesome conclusion to a series! I loved this book and was glued to the pages from beginning to end.

It had been about 6 months and a load of books since I had read book 2, Siege and Storm so I was worried I may not remember nenough to be able to enjoy it properly but I needn't have worried. Right from page 1, I was back in the story and invested in the characters and hanging on every word right through to the satisfying conclusion.

Ms Bardugo is a master story teller. This tale has everything you need for a complete story. Characters you can become invested in, a interesting and different story line with enough surprises along the way that the ending is not necessarily be seen until the author wants you to see it. Lastly the conclusion itself makes reading the entire three books well worth the effort.

I loved the main character Alina. I loved how strong she was and how we got to see her struggle with trying to work out the right path to take. We got to see her strengths as well as her weakness as Ms Bardugo did not give a clear straight path nor easily definable right and wrong choices so we got to see how Alina coped with the both making her decisions and then dealing with the consequences.

I also loved her relationships with the other characters, with The Darkling, with Nicolai and with Mal. Again, I loved that there were never clear choices and she had to deal with her hearty fighting her head fighting her soul whilst also wrestling how these decisions might also affect the rest of her world.

Over all, this is one of the best conclusions to a series I have read in a long time and whilst I am sad to be leaving these characters behind, I also leave satisfied with a conclusion that left these characters where they were meant to be.

I give this novel 5 stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

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.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Tuesday Teaser #69 Ruin & Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. 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 muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is Ruin and Rising(The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo and my two lines are from Page 155:

I ignored the twist my heart gave. This was what I wanted.

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.

Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link  to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Stacking the Shelves #15

Welcome to  Stacking The Shelves!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

I got some awesome titles this week.  Can't wait to read them.  So excited for Ruin & Rising.  Keep you eyes out for a review of this later this week!

Ebooks (Harper Collins via Edelweiss)

The Fall by Bethany Griffin
Goodreads | Book Depository
Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Look for it- Fall 2014!

The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard
Goodreads | Book Depository
rom the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Pretty Little Liars comes a thrilling new novel about five perfect girls who are framed for a murder they didn’t commit.

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn’t do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them.

From Sara Shepard, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series, comes another story of dark secrets, shocking twists, and what happens when five beautiful girls will do anything to hide the ugly truth.

Illusions of Fate  by Kiersten White
Goodreads | Book Depository
Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray

Purchased :

So excited that this finally arrived.  As you can see, I have already dived in :-P

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo
Goodreads  | Book Depository

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.

So what did you add to your shelves this week?

Waiting on Wednesday #5: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to Waiting on Wednesday!  Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly featured hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight the not yet released books that I wish were in my hot little hands right now.

This week I am waiting on the third book in The Grisha series.  It is due out in a couple of days and I have literally been waiting on this book since I read the last page on book 2.  I already have this on pre-order and cannot wait to receive it :-)

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

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.

Publication Date: 19 June 2014
Pre-Order:Book Depository

What book are you 'waiting on' this week?