review: ruin and rising, by leigh bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, #3)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Genre: Fantasy

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

3 Stars

*Slight spoilers for books 1 and 2*

Upon completing Crooked Kingdom and subsequently suffering from a Major Book Hangover, I scrambled to find a book that would not necessarily reach the grandeur of CK, but perhaps soothe my emotions, at least slightly. A perusal of my bookshelf brought me to my copy of Ruin & Rising, worn Darth Vader bookmark still marking the page I had left off. I'm not quite sure why I abandoned it in the first place, but knowing myself, it was probably due to the very slow, dreary pace the book starts off with. I had decided that I wanted to complete it following Sturmhond's appearance in Crooked Kingdom (and recalling how much I had adored him) but I hadn't anticipated missing a fictional universe to this extent. So, I dove into Ruin and Rising with much fervor.

review: six of crows, by leigh bardugo

Title: Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Genre: Fantasy

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

5 Stars

When my friend first recommended this book to me, I thought her ardor was a bit exaggerated. See, I read Bardugo's previous novels, the Shadow and Bone series, three years ago, but ended up dropping the final installment out of disinterest. Don't get me wrong, the first two books were relatively good, but to be blunt I don't have any feelings associated with them.

So despite my friend's extreme enthusiasm, and despite the unanimous positive reviews flooding the book's Goodreads page, I began Six of Crows with a critical attitude and low expectations. (Because if there's one thing you learn as a book reviewer, it's that you should never believe the hype.) I'd say within the first chapter, this attitude disappeared. I found myself savoring every page, every chapter of this compulsively readable novel.