Title: Ruin and Rising
Series: The Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan
Release Date: June 17, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 432

WrensReads Review:

I am finally ready to talk about what is happening to my heart because of this book.

Anyone who actually gave this book a one star or even anything below a four, needs to get your head check. How have you read anything else as pure and good as this book?

This book has left me empty and full at the same time. I am continually finding myself lost in thoughts about the book and how things ended and sometimes I am happy with the ending and sometimes I want to find Leigh Bardugo and snap her in half. I have a love-hate relationship with her. Mostly love though because finally someone can break my stone of a heart and mend it all in three books.

BUT SHE IS QUEEN

As you probably know, my friend Brittney ~ Her Bookish Things is the one that told me I had to read this series. So I felt it fair to show you a non-spoiler of some of my words sent to Brittney throughout this book:

Number 01:
Wren: [Profanities]. *** is not dying. If he dies I am never taking a book recommendation from you again. Ever. Nope. Not Happening.
Brittney: Omg do you want me to spoil?
Wren: You should probably before I plan your murder lolol but seriously.

*she tells me things and tells me to trust her*

Wren: You are asking a lot of someone who has never actually met you in person lady.
Brittney: I know I know.. I’m just saying hold hope for ***

Number 02
Brittney: So when it gets to that part [she said it’s gonna look really really bad].. just hang in there
Wren: HOW ABOUT THE DEATH OF *** IS THAT THE BAD PART BECAUSE I DON’T THINK IT’S THE GOOD PART

Number 02.5
Wren: *** BETTER BE ABLE TO RISE FROM THE DEAD

Number 03
Wren *finishes book*
Brittney: You survived!
Wren: So did you! Sorry I threatened your life and stuff. You understand I hope.
Brittney: No totally.

I became overwhelmed with all emotions. So again, I am sorry it took so long for me to write a review. I’m not even sure any of this makes sense.

So as you can see, this is a very, very, very emotional series. I honestly can’t really put into words my feelings on everything that happened. You get to the point that you don’t even know who you want to survive, because you know all the people you love can’t in order for the war to be over.

So, some spoilers ahead. Proceed with your own caution.

What is with the hate on Mal? Did you honestly believe that Alina could change The Darkling and they would live happily ever after? If you believe someone could change one person who has that kind of passion (you know, the kind that makes mass murder look okay if it gets you to where you wanna be), then I want to know what world you live in, because it isn’t this one. Mal has been good to Alina and they have loved each other and he SACRIFICED SOME BIG THINGS. AND SHE LOVED HIM FROM DAY ONE. So what’s the problem?

The Darkling is a beautiful, cruel being and I wanted every piece of him. He had so much misplaced passion and had such a complexity to him. He will be one of my favorite characters for the rest of eternity. Note that I said characters, not villains. In his eyes, Alina was the villain. It just doesn’t feel right to call him that when really, he thought he was doing the right thing.

The ending was the best we were going to get even if we don’t like it. I mean, come on, how did you expect it to end? Everyone high fives and goes “April Fools! We all love each other actually” and we just go “That Darn Leigh!” and laugh and laugh and laugh?

Come on guys, gotta give some to get some. Not everyone was going to get a satisfying ending, but this was pretty close to it.

I will read anything by Leigh because I know she will break my heart but she will mend it too.

LOW KEY BUT NOT REALLY LOW KEY I need more Nikolai.

ALSO I NEED HER NEW SERIES NOW

Side note: AUDIOBOOK WITH LAUREN FORTGANG BECAUSE SHE IS SO GOOD AT READING JUST DO IT.

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Title: Siege and Storm
Series: The Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan
Release Date: June 04, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 435

WrensReads Review:

I’m pretty sure Grishas are real and there is a Grisha that can form gold into words and that Grisha is Leigh Bardugo. If you don’t agree you can kindly leave your reasonings in the comments for when I need a good laugh, because your opinion is invalid.

Her writing is

Shout out to my girl Brittney for ruining my life for introducing this amazing series to me that is more than half way over.

I don’t even know where to begin with this. It started out super quick, and ended super quick with a lot of feels in the middle. I’m not talking about the mushy gushy feelings, even though there are some in there. I am talking about the ‘I’m pretty sure I’m going to murder this character’ and then going into ‘wait *blows out torch and puts down pitch fork* maybe I jumped to conclusions*’ and then you just go to the far left and go “wait can I have you to myself?”

Let me back track.

Alina, after a few swift pieces of magic and a few friendly faces, escapes the Darkling. I know I know, spoiler, but really would the story have gone on with her just fighting him and The Darkling just being really dark and sexy?

This poor girl has to go and raise an army to defeat a really irresistible guy (which low key honestly I think she kind of thinks he is too).

She hasn’t had her power for very long and she hasn’t been a part of the Grisha world for long, but sure, let’s just make you the commanding officer of all the Grisha because the sense is very prominent there. I mean, you have a lot of experience and background to set up an entire army against someone who has lived for hundreds of years.

I’m only a little bitter about that.

A lot of conflict with beloved characters happens in this book. I can tell you there is a certain part that I literally had to go take a walk after reading and text Brittney about it just to calm down. Seriously I was so mad I think my ears were LITERALLY blowing steam.

Like I know we all love the Darkling and stuff, but can we just talk about the other two lovely men in this book that we care about?

MAL AND ALINA’S RELATIONSHIP IS GLORIOUS. The way they pick on each other and joke around is so adorable. I literally “awe” in real life and people look at me like I’m crazy. I just love their friendship. At this point I still do love them together and I hope things look up for them.

Mal is very hurt and feels very out of place in this book. I’m tired of reading how much people hate him and such. I love him. I want to keep him in my pocket.

And then…

Nikolai is a privateer, as he calls himself (we all just call him a pirate) who has a claim on the throne. He is always plotting, always snarking his way through a situation and barely ever showing the heart he has hidden from everyone (because you have to in order to play the Throne).

He was the best addition to this world. And also yet another face for Alina to look at and feel the feels for. That girl has so many options it isn’t even funny.

My thoughts are so scattered on this review and I am sorry. The ending just killed me. It was as epic and heart wrenching as the beginning of this book. I would say everything in the middle just could have not happened and it would be the same, but there were so many things that had to happen in order for them to be… exactly where they started basically. The characters grew, hearts were broken, sanity was questioned..

I advise everyone to read this series. Whether you like fantasy, romance, young adult… it deserves the hype it gets. It isn’t your typical “chosen girl,” trust me.

Side note: Also, AUDIOBOOK WITH LAUREN FORTGANG BECAUSE SHE IS SO GOOD AT READING JUST DO IT.

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Title: Shadow and Bone
Series: The Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan
Release Date: June 05, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 358

WrensReads Review:

Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
ALL THE STARS FOR YOU LAUREN FORTGANG, YOU GO FORTGANG

I would not expect anything else from Leigh Bardugo. I am just..

*stares in amazement at her creation*

Okay, let me explain a few things here.

Alina is our voice in this series. She is your typical brown hair, nothing special to look at, super skinny heroine that you get with a lot of young adult books these days. But don’t let that detour you from this book. She has a voice like no other. Her sarcasm and way of thinking are very unique and non-cliché. Sure, she has a lot of growing in this book, but would you read a book that the character has no character growth or challenges? The answer is no, you wouldn’t, because there would be nothing interesting about them.

See there are these two armies: The First Army and The Second Army (real creative I know). The First Army would be where the mere humans are fighting and The Second Army holds Grisha.

What are Grisha, you ask? Well Grisha are like X-Men but with like categories to sort them. There are some that can sort metal, some that can do cool things with the elements and some that can kill you by stopping your heart.

Nothing to worry about.

Well Alina is a part of The First Army, which is where her best friend Mal is also a tracker. Without going into too much detail here, Alina finds out she may belong to The Second Army, which is super strange because everyone is tested as a child to see if they are Grisha or not and she came up negative.

So that is one of the big questions: How did she come up negative to Grisha when she was little?

ENTER THE DARKLING

Hello lover, where have you been all my life?

“So I’m the Darkling’s prisoner?”
“You’re under his protection.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Pray you never find out.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

The Darkling is every girl’s dream bad boy. He seems to have something more to him than meets the eye, but the real question lies to if you even want to dig deeper into someone named The Darkling. I mean, personally my answer is yes for the love of everything that is good yes, but I don’t know what you are about.

He realizes that Alina is what he has been looking for to in order to save his people. He has to have her. But to what end does he want her?

Oh Oh Oh

Then there is the pretty boy Mal. What does this childhood-friend-basically-family boy think of her new found fame? I mean, there is a little bit of tension between the two armies, so switching over isn’t something he is jumping up and down with pompoms about.

I’m not going to go into this any farther because, I have to say, going into it only knowing that my friend was obsessed with it was enough for me to try it out.

I did read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom before a read this series. With that said, knowing more about the world would have made it easier to understand the Six of Crows series. This one builds the world for you.

With that said, I would say start with this series if you want to read things by Bardugo. Also because reading by the author’s writing growth is always the way to read.

I have already started the second book so that should tell you something.

K bye I’m busy.

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