Ruin and Rising

I challenge Leigh Bardugo to write an adult book. One without stupid teen girl tropes with all dudes loving one girl, gossipy clique shit, sass throwing, etc. She has the creativity, the world building here was great, some moments truly had a lot of weight. Basically it's time for the big battle, finding the last amplifier, winning over The Darkling and deciding the future of Ravka. A lot of work. I will have to repeat my previous reviews of this series; the world building shines. I wouldn't say there was too much added to the already existing things here, but the conclusion was pleasant and it felt like it was worth the wait, it satisfied. Though I will have to add that there wasn't too much of a surprise when it comes to Alina's future, we all knew she was going to end up the way she did. I wouldn't say any of it was too surprising, except for one plot twist, which was really just played for the drama. Otherwise... a lot of characters felt slightly wasted. Anyone Alina doesn't LOVE super much WILL die. A lot of focus is about how she feels, her internal workings and closest relationships while we have a bunch of interesting concepts. There is only one prominent Fabricator character in the time of the story who does ANYTHING, but we know how Alina feels about every single thing, in long form. Really, this series would have benefited from third person narrative. The first and last chapter in every book was in that form and it just felt so much better. It had so much possibility for an opened up world from different perspectives. Preferably ones that aren't bitter and whiny. Nikolai, for example is a much more interesting character whose issues are pushed to the background in a way. The foundation for something brilliant is there. It's in the author, I know she could do it. If she dared to stray from the extremely lucrative YA trope land. Which... she just did even more with Six of Crows, which I hated with passion. I don't really think she will ever leave behind the formula that worked so much for her when it came to fame and most probably money. Still, I would be extremely happy about it, because I believe she is worth more. Among the the rest of the genre, this one is a solid offering, though. I would say it is way above many of the others and for people who like YA or just simply don't dislike it as much as I do it would be a great choice. Russian settings are not that common, I think, the only other I could think of was [b:The Bear and the Nightingale 25489134 The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1) Katherine Arden https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470731420s/25489134.jpg 45268929], which I absolutely hated for having the most typical special gurl with no discipline or manners because she can be a jerk, she is magical. Alina is a bit better; she is bitter and grouchy, but she can care about people close to her. There is a lot more possibility in the world as well, so in a way I'm happy the author is trying to work with that, though as I said, Six of Crows was a gigantic miss for me. The Nikolai books are about to come out so I really hope we'll get more of this side of the universe. My gut feeling is that it will be some sort of a romance, though, which is tired and boring and I am over it. I'll give it a go, though, for sure as he deserves more than what he got here. I would say this series was disappointing. I still like it, I love some elements, but it's very far from a perfect score. Have a good night and rise above all the shit!