I Am Ruination

A completely spoiler free review of The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo.

After falling in love with Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse in the Six of Crows duology, I was more than thrilled to read this trilogy as well! Her world-bulding skills are incredible, and taking another look at the world she's created is something that I've been looking forward to for a while. I knew that The Grisha Trilogy was written well before Six of Crows going into this read, and I was intrigued at the thought of taking a look at Bardugo universe in its earlier stages. Now, without further ado, to the reviews!

Shadow and Bone: the mixed feelings I had after finishing the first book caught me a little bit off-guard, to be totally honest.

What I liked: it was an interesting read, and I enjoyed getting to see the more "magical" aspect of the Grishaverse. This book centers around the masters of the Small Science, a magic that revolves around the most intimate parts of the world: the human heart, the elements, and the molecular structure of objects themselves. It's an incredibly captivating and original way to craft a fantasy epic, and one that allows Bardugo's writing to really stand out among YA fantasy, as well. The protagonist, Alina Starkov, shows good development throughout the first book, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows throughout the rest of the trilogy. The mysterious Darkling has officially become one of my favorite characters, even though he absolutely terrifies me.

What I didn't like: I felt that this book was more of a set-up for what would happen in the rest of the trilogy. It was pretty rife with clichés, which aren't always bad, but there was just too many of them. There is extensive world development throughout the duration of the book, which I would not normally consider a con. The reason I do for this book is because it seemed to take away from a lot of the development of the characters other than Alina, from whom the point of view of the story is written. The only other con about this book that I have are the "Before" and "After" chapters. They are written in a completely different point of view than the rest of the novel, and almost felt a little bit stilted and awkward, particularly the "After" chapter.

Overall, this was a decent start to a trilogy I'm still greatly looking forward to! The cons don't take away from the pros at all, and I'm very intrigued to see where Alina and The Darkling go next.

Siege and Storm: I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first one! It is a great continuation of the storyline that the first book set up.

What I liked: the character development is spot-on and consistent with the events of the first book. There is world development, but not at the same level as the first book because you're already immersed in the amazing world that Leigh Bardugo created. I actually laughed out loud at some of the dialogue, particularly when Nikolai was involved! Talk about character perfection *swoons*. The Darkling is even more terrifying in this book, if that could be possible. Finally, I actually really enjoyed the "Before" and "After" chapters this time!

What I didn't like: it took a long time to get to the action. I felt that the first half of the book was really slow, but on the flip side, it was still interesting.

The second book was really good! I'm a bit nervous for the third one because I don't want any of my favorites to die like Leigh Bardugo likes to do in her books (Crooked Kingdom, I'm looking at you!), but I'm also interested to see how the trilogy concludes.

Ruin and Rising: this was my favorite book in the whole trilogy! It was an excellent conclusion to a series that has found its way onto my favorites list. I cannot get over the ending! I'm definitely going to have a book hangover after finishing this trilogy.

What I liked: again, the character development was beautiful. Alina, Mal, Nikolai, The Darkling, Genya, Zoya - these are all characters that truly come to life. They leap right off the page and make you want to know more about them. The action in this book was beautifully crafted, and the desperation felt by both Alina and The Darkling was almost painful at times. Finally, the ending was SPECTACULAR! I got choked up, I laughed; it was a beautiful way to complete the trilogy.

What I didn't like: as with just about any book, there were a few slow moments, but nothing to complain too much about. Honestly, there wasn't much that I didn't like about this book.

All in all, I'm very grateful I've read this series! Leigh Bardugo created a world that is absolutely beautiful, and the characters she populated it with are perfect. Perfect because they're flawed. They're relatable, and they're unabashedly human. This is a series that I wholeheartedly recommend to any one who loves to read. Additionally, I would recommend trying to find copies that have the bonus materials! The bonus materials are short stories that go even deeper into the world of the Grisha, and expand on the characters you'll come to know and love. I found myself very happy that I splurged and bought the books with the bonus materials.

Shadow and Bone - 4/5 stars

Siege and Storm - 4.5/5 stars

Ruin and Rising - 5/5 stars