Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Title: RUIN AND RISING

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: The Grisha

Source: Owned (Purhcased from BookOutlet)

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Publication Date: June 17, 2014

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.

Okay here's what I'm going to say about the Grisha series as a whole. I recommend it to someone who wants an introduction to the Fantasy genre, but by no means is this a hardcore fantasy series. And the actual ending was a bit ehhh but hey happy endings all around, right?

I think my problem while trying to write this is that I see the merit in the story. And I genuinely enjoyed the plot. But I never really connected to Alina and I never really wanted Mal in the picture. So it was just a tad disappointing to me. But on the other hand, I have to realize that this was a good ending to the series. I thought the way that this book actually ended -- the path it took to get to the ending -- was just mehh. I didn't like Alina's endgame at all and just was mehhh about the rest of the Grisha. 

But I liked the series and I think I just set myself up for something different before I started reading it and that really tainted my reading. Because it is good and I liked it. I just wanted more world building and characters I actually wanted to root for. I didn't get that here in the main characters (who, to me, are Alina and Mal). But they were still well written and the story was well written. It just was idk. I'll stop now. 

Overall: 4/5 stars. I thought the ending was a little bit of a copout but I still enjoyed it