How “Ruin and Rising” Actually Ruined Me

After finishing the Grisha trilogy, I never want to write again. Leigh Bardugo’s storytelling makes me feel like I suck. (Okay, I won’t really give up, but she is so amazing that for a moment I thought, Why bother?)

Synopsis: With the Darkling still out there, Alina is determined to find the final amplifier. Still healing from her encounter with the Darkling, Mal and a small group of her followers join her on this dangerous journey. Along the way, she ends up learning more about the past and herself. 

The plot became very complex and we learn these details about the past that we didn’t even realize we needed to know. I love when books do this–when everything that came before makes sense, but then add new details that make it better. It’s like watching regular TV and then switching to HD–you just didn’t realize you were missing out.

Everything about “Ruin and Rising” was incredible. There were moments I hated Leigh and then I adored her. Her writing style is wonderful.

I will also always love Sturmhond/Nikolai and his presence in the book made me very happy.

5 out of 5 stars for Leigh on the finale of the Grisha series.

 

The Disney Book Tag

Big thanks to Chloe at Paint and Butterflies Books for tagging me to do The Disney Book Tag! I’m going to get right into it:

1. The Little Mermaid—A character who is out of their element, a “fish out of water.”

Aria from Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky gets tossed from living in her little technologically advanced bubble to the real world. It was quite the shock for her.

---

2. Cinderella—A character who goes through a major transformation.

In Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone, Alina Starkov transforms into a plain mapmaker to a splendid Grisha!

---

3. Snow White—A book with an eclectic cast of characters.

Although I have yet to finish The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, I can definitely tell that the boys—Gansey, Noah, Adam, and Ronan—are a special group.

---

4. Sleeping Beauty—A book that put you to sleep.

I’m usually very entertained no matter what book I’ve read, but Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is my exception. I’m sorry to whoever liked it, but I read it last year and I don’t even understand how this could capture children’s attention.

---

5. The Lion King—A character who had something traumatic happen to them in childhood.

I know it says “a character,” but I’m going to say three characters because they are always together and it was the same trauma: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny from Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events books. I mean, how much more traumatic can you get than death and being uprooted?

---

6. Beauty and The Beast—A beast of a book (a big book) that you were intimidated by, but found the story to be beautiful.

I decided to read Jane Eyre in middle school—I’m not even sure what lead me to pick this book out on my own—and I’ve read it two more times since. It was great (for me, though many people I’ve talked with could hardly get through it).

---

7. Aladdin—A character who gets their wish granted, for better or for worse.

Junior from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian gets to leave the Indian preserve and his transition isn’t exactly the smoothest.

---

8. Mulan—A character who pretends to be something or someone they are not.

Yael from Ryan Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf literally pretends to be someone else.

---

9. Toy Story—A book with characters you wish would come to life.

All of the main characters from Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series. I absolutely want to be friends with all of them (and more than friends with a couple of others if you catch my drift *wink wink*).

---

10. Disney Descendants—Your favorite villain or morally ambiguous character.

Rhy from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Sarah J. Maas must have had some real fun writing him because he definitely has something “morally ambiguous” about him.

---

This tag was actually pretty tough for me and had me thinking for a while on some questions. So, now I’d like to challenge some others:

My Friends Are Fiction

A Stranger’s Guide To Novels

Bibliophile Soprano

“Siege and Storm” Reviewed

I’m always a little nervous when I read sequels, because I’m afraid it won’t be as great as the first. Luckily, Leigh Bardugo did not disappoint in Siege and Storm.

Synopsis: After overcoming the control of the Darkling, Alina and Mal set off together to hide from him; their freedom doesn’t last long. The Darkling has a plan and it involves Alina. But with the help of privateer Sturmhond, Alina is determined to defeat the Darkling and save Ravka.

This book definitely improved from the first. Less learning and more action! (I love action and drama.) I want to say: And the plot thickens. It really does. There is more going on than with the first book, and Alina and Mal have much more to overcome, individually and as a couple.

There are a few new characters. I felt pretty much indifferent towards Tamar and Tolya (though they did become a bit more complicated by the end, so I think I will like them more in the next book), but Sturmhond/Nikolai is AMAZING. He is so different from Mal, whom I love, but he is so fun. I’m sure Leigh had a great time writing him. I still giggle over the things he said when I think back on it, especially when he tries to get under Mal’s skin.

I felt like Alina was really similar to Juliette from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (still my favorite series of all time). Alina, like Juliette, was shy and pretty powerless in the first book, but by the second, she’s toughened up and coming into her own. Then there’s the love interest and the funny/pain-in-the-neck guy you can’t help but smile with. And the girls are ready to kick butt! If you liked the Shatter Me series, I highly recommend the Grisha trilogy, or vice versa.

This sequel gets a 5 out of 5 stars.

Enlightening Read: “Shadow and Bone”

After hearing so much about Leigh Bardugo (whose book, “Six of Crows,” has just been released), I decided it was about time to start the Grisha trilogy.

Synopsis: Alina has grown up alongside of Mal, both orphans raised by the Duke’s generosity. Over the years, they’ve drifted apart; Mal a tracker and Alina a mapmaker. Alina never felt like she quite fit in. When she is sent across the Fold, Alina learns there is more power to her than meets the eye. Now, the most powerful individual, the Darkling, thrusts her into the world of Grisha life–a strange, yet beautiful facet of life with talented individuals–forcing Alina to live in the Little Palace. She learns from the best to harness her ability, but, just like there was more to Alina, there is more than meets the eye to the Darkling. Alina meets another side of him no one else has witnessed before, and he places the fate of Ravka on her shoulders.

The writing: superb. The characters: complex. The setting: marvelous. These all add up to make a captivating plot. Ravka, though a made-up place, definitely has Russian intones. I really loved the world she built. And because of Leigh’s great writing skills, I could imagine the place and people as if a film played in my mind.  Speaking of people, you think you know someone, but there are layers to these characters that emphasize why they act the way they do (e.g. Baghra & Mal) or delve deeper to uncover something new that changes the way readers look at them (e.g. the Darkling). My favorite character by far is Alina Starkov. She is so relatable, while at the same time I look up to her. She finds her own strength. And who doesn’t love a character that grows?

There was a lot of time spent in traveling and lessons, and though essential in Alina’s development, I wish we could’ve skipped a lot of it or (at least with the lessons) seen more of Alina learning than hearing about it.

This book teaches about life, love, and everything in between–with some magical Grisha that make the story all the more enjoyable to read. And I can tell the story is about to get much more interesting.

Leigh gets a 4.7 out 5 stars from me!