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Ruin and Rising cover art

Ruin and Rising

Written by: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
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Publisher's Summary

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. Ruin and Rising is the thrilling final installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

©2014 Leigh Bardugo (P)2014 Audible Inc.

What listeners say about Ruin and Rising

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

good ending for series!

first of all the narrator is epic, like she did a fantastic job! about the story this one was more character driven, which I did enjoy and the ending was pretty good, this one is my favorite from all the books!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

fun narrator

nice wrap up to the storyline. loved the narrators voices and sass that was given to the characters as well. they really came alive.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I wish there was more!!

This series was excellently done! I am sad to see it end, but it was the right ending for these characters. Now to go sob because theres not more. 😥

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A decent finish to a good trilogy

Ruin and Rising was a decent book. I don't think this was the the strongest book of the trilogy but it came with some twists and turns. I do feel like the ending was rushed and there could have been a little more background and history provided that would have given a bit more foreshadowing to the ending and also provided that "ah ha" moment when the ending unfolds. The Shadow and Bone books were the first Leigh Bardugo books I have read/listened to and it certainly makes me interested in exploring the other books Leigh has written in this same universe.

The narration by Lauren Fortgang was really good and I really enjoyed the way she voiced the characters and ensured that each character had a unique and memorable sound without straining or sounding silly.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

An alright ending to a good story

Again, I think Fortgang needs to be commended for her excellent performance, and I enjoy Bardugo’s creative universe. However, I found this book instalment to be the least engaging.

Spoilers ahead:

I also didn’t like how, after all of her work to learn of and control her power, Alina loses it all. Rather anticlimactic and disappointing.

But, counter to many other complaints I have been reading, I actually liked that Mal was Alina’s one, true love. I think people were projecting their own attraction preferences onto the story in saying they thought Nikolai should have ended up with Alina.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

love it

nice storyline great ending. worth it.
the lovestory is superbe and keep you waiting for the end

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

super fun

Mal has absolutely no flavor tho.

Nikolai is husbando and Alina needs to make better choices.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A More Than Decent Conclusion

This culmination of the Civil War in the Kingdom of Ravka is satisfying. Alina's desperate party hunts for the final Amplifier, the remnants of the rebellion gather, and the Darkling's power-hungry actions are fleshed out. By the time we reach the climactic final battle, the tension is palpable. The War and the dénouement are cleverly concluded.
I'm not certain if the principle characters have matured or if it's just that Bardugo's writing has done so: dialogue is more realistic in this installment, characters act like adults, and there is clever (as opposed to painful) banter among the individuals - some sarcasm is actually laugh-out-loud witty.
That said, there are some notable problems with this book: Bardugo starts quite slowly, for example. The first two novels broke the story up into segments (lots of battle - a slow middle segment - then an active climax). In 'Shadow and Bone' she filled the middle segment with world-building and elaborating her magic system - which worked very well. In 'Seige and Storm' she filled it with character development - which wasn't as effective (too much teenage angst/romance). In this one, she drops that pattern - electing to try a slow-build from the start - but adds action fairly early in the middle segment. The result is mixed (maintained interest but inconsistent pacing).
Bardugo also focusses fairly heavily on the spiritual aspects of the Saint Alina/Sun Summoner mythos and the magical powers/ personal history behind the third Amplifier. It explains some motivations but feels overly metaphysical. I wish the author had stuck more to a plot-driven, action-oriented tale.

Lauren Fortang's reading is improved in this installment (relative to the second book). She delivers better emotion and less sharp "s"s, for example.. but some of her chosen character voices are still straight-up annoying (the Apparat voice is cringeworthy every time he 'speaks'). Her pronunciation of difficult names, use of accurate Eastern European accents, and committment to easily recognizable character voices is impressive. Altogether, the performance is decent but nothing special. Once again, I had to increase the recording speed to 1.20X to get the right pacing.

In summary, this book is worth 8 stars out of 10. In fact, the entire series does a good job transcending the YA Fantasy pattern. This Grishaverse is most entertaining. On to 'King Of Scars'..

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  • Overall
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Great story here!

such an amazing listen! Loved every single minute. great narrator as well! ! !

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    5 out of 5 stars
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such a good series Thank you so much!

the story had me hooked every second.
the reader did a great job with the voices.

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