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Ruin and Rising  By  cover art

Ruin and Rising

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.

Featured Article: The Best Dark Fantasy Audiobooks


If your favorite genres are fantasy and horror, and you can't get enough of terrifying scenarios with high-stakes action, then you need to explore the winding world of dark fantasy. When the mystic, magic, and incredible world-building of fantasy are combined with elements of grim horror and the supernatural, the result is something truly pause-resistant. But with such a rich variety of titles to choose from, it can be impossible to know where to begin. We've rounded up the best dark fantasy listens that explore chilling settings, morally grey characters, and twisting plots alongside dark magic.

What listeners say about Ruin and Rising

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

Weak "heroine"

A series about a selfish girl who continuously chooses the life of a boy over the fate of the world.

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29 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking in the best possible way...

I had read the books years ago, and decided to listen to the audio books now, as well, as a way to become reinvested in this amazing story before delving into Leigh Bardugo's new book, "King of Scars." And I am so very glad I have.
One day I read a random blurb from a random book titled Shadow and Bone when I was perusing the aisles of a small bookstore, and I bought the book on a whim. I had never heard of the series, or even the author for that matter. Now, however, I consider Shadow and Bone to be the book that sparked this need inside of me to read all the time. After I read Shadow and Bone, I went on to read 60 books in just over two months. And I haven't slowed much since. That is thanks to Leigh Bardugo and this beautiful world she created.
I experienced elated devastation when I finished reading the series, but I got to experience it anew with the audiobooks. The narrator, Lauren Fortgang, is a favorite of mine anyway, but I truly don't think anyone else could have come close to her perfection in regards to this series. Her ability to project the kind of feeling and emotion necessary for a story like this is second to none. It wasn't just the story that had me in tears, but the depth of Lauren's ability to make me feel how the characters felt. Alina Starkov needed Lauren's voice to tell her story. And now that I am about to listen to Nikolai's story, I am-thanks to Lauren's amazing talent- firmly reconnected to this world of Grisha that began my obsession with all things magic. I couldn't be happier in this moment.

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26 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Frustrating Disappointment

I could get through it. So that's something. The characters are NOT believable at all!

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19 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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💩💩💩

This was so bad, I really didn't like it and story was handled so poorly.

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14 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Botched Russian, stupid protagonist, beautiful world

The world built here is very interesting, with beautiful magical animals, different landscapes, nations, races, and powers. I love the idea of making it influenced by Russian/Slavic roots. However, as a fluent Russian speaker it was torture to listen to the botched words and wrong meanings. I feel like if Bardigo wanted to include another language in her books she should have either learned it or asked a fluent speaker to edit her drafts. Same with the reader, sometimes the words are written correctly but the reader botches them and while it may sound cool to someone who doesn’t speak Russian it was pretty bothersome to me. One example is “Morozova”. In Russian you change the ending if the person is a male or female, this -a is a female ending but he is a man so his last name should really be “Morozov” and the reader pronounces it as “MorotsOva” with a “ts” when the correct pronunciation is “MarOzav” or at least “MorOzov” with a “z” (capital letter to indicate the stressed vowel). Most of the words were botched like that or the meaning was completely different when translated. Thirdly, the main character is unbelievably stupid and foolish. This improves in the last book but it really makes women look bad and I guess the fact that’s she’s supposed to be a teenager explains it a little, it is still very difficult to endure. This wrongly teaches young readers that if you act like an idiot things will still somehow work out in your favor and that’s not how the world works. Lastly, the evil acts in this book are pretty dark and haunting and really something evil psychopaths/sociopaths might do, so read at your own risk, I literally had nightmares about a past abuser after the gruesome antagonist plots due to how much the Darkling’s thinking was similar.

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12 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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WHYYY do we have to make our LEAD FEMALES WEAK????

I am disgusted. Authors, women do not need to be weak to be a lead. I'm puking right now over this series. I had such high hopes.

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Bleh

I tried to enjoy the characters but couldn’t care less what happened to them in the end. The Darkling and Nikolai who brought a spark to the book were far and in between.

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12 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Boo

This series got progressively worse as it went on; the lack of character development is absolutely appalling. No one mentions anything but Alieena is like, My LiFe iS sooOO hArd!

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

The narrators voice..

The narrators voice was so distracting her lisp?? Or just the way her voice ends a word. I couldn't handle it. I cringe through.. skipping ahead just to know the conclusion. It wasn't as prominent in the earlier books. The story was good but I was more just distracted.

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10 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

This story is not super special, but it's ok.

I feel like Sarah Maas writes very similarly, but I prefer her stories over these.

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9 people found this helpful