Trilogy Review: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
The Grisha Trilogy: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm,
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo.
Publisher: Henry Holt and co. Published: 2012/2013/2014
Synopsis of all 3 in order:
Book1: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
Book 2: Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.
Book 3: 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.
My Thoughts: As far as a trilogy goes, this was fairly average. Yes, it was quick paced, yes there was - surprise surprise - a teenage heroine, yes there was action, yes there was romance - if not a confusing amount of it!!
The first book, for me, was not fantastic. It had it's fast-paced moments, and it was a good book. But... it just didn't have something. I can't quite figure out what it was missing, but it was missing something. I liked Alina, but I didn't like how she was sort of going from one man to another. It sort of made her seem a tad reliable on them. It was well written, and the world build-up was fantastic. It made me feel like I knew the countries, the settings, I could imagine every little detail of the palace. It was wonderful that, but like I said, it was missing just... something. The Darkling added some... sexiness, but it just wasn't enough to make it work well.
The second book was far better than the first. The introduction of Nikolai was a brilliant one! He added what was missing from the first. He added humour, wit, and a lightness to some long conversational parts. (I will add I'm a Nikolai fan and the ending of the story didn't go the way I would have liked) The bigger world build-up was yet again fantastic, adding more locations, more scenery and some more great characters. The twins worked well of both Alina and Mal.
The third book... Hmm... The ending was a huge disappointment. It was all go, go, go until the last few chapters. Then it just.... fizzled.... It was just.......... ARGH!!!!! Like I said, it did not go how I wanted it to. Nikolai came to the rescue again in certain parts that I would have probably skimmed over. Alina and Mal were a kind of awkward pairing throughout the book, one minute they were talking, the next they weren't. There wasn't a great amount of action, but a hell of a lot of travelling, walking, flying.. Just not enough to give me the pleasure of a satisfying ending.
Overall, it was an average set of books. It didn't go the way I expected, but in parts slightly (not majorly) predictable. The characters were likeable, if not swoon-worthy at times, and the world was incredible. I'm looking forward to reading Six of Crows set in the same world. My Rating: 4/5.
