Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo- Review

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Indigo Publishing

Publication Date: June 17th 2014

Review Copy: Courtesy to Guardian Children's Books

Part Of A Series?- The Grisha Trilogy

Blurb Description: 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.

**MY REVIEW**

“There is no end to our story.”

Ruined, at the brink of death, defeated, abandoned but hope? It’s the one thing they have. Hope, even though it might be as fickle as water, it will always finds a way to seep in.

In the tunnels below the world where chaos is embodied, Alina- Sankta Alina, The Sun Summoner- lives a fragile existence. With no power, freedom or space to breathe, life is bleak. The Apparat rules over and charms her followers- the ones who believe that she is a saint- the one who see her as the only salvation that they will ever find.

Mal, the otkazat’sya, pushes himself, to try and give the only girl he has ever loved something she needs. I Become the Blade- inked on him, the only thing he can think about. The mythical firebird- his mission.

For The Darkling- Aleksander- everything he has ever worked for, over the centuries, is finally coming into play. The Sun Summoner, the Fold, the Nichevo’ya. It’s happening. His goal- power. 

Alina. Control. Darkness. Victory has never been so close. 

In this absolutely STUNNING (I don’t know what else to call it) conclusion to the New York Times Bestselling Trilogy, everything you know about this world and the things in it will change.

Love, loyalty, friendship, survival, power, victory, and freedom- everything is at stake. And one broken saint, a disgraced tracker, and a whole gang of misfits and a prince without a throne are all that stands between light and dark.

If you choose not to read this, you are missing out on one of the BEST series ever.

The ending was absolutely stunning, the finale heart-breaking, the story so realistic. I’m actually going to need time to process what I’ve just read- READ IT!!