Series Review: The Grisha by: Leigh Bardugo

Here is my somewhat generic (becauseI try really hard to avoid spoilers and think I do) and very rambling review of The Grisha Trilogy.

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by: Leigh Bardugo
358 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: The Library
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: 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.

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

My Review: So after a long time of contemplation, reading a fellow friend's five star review and insistence to read them, not to mention pretty much everyone saying these books are awesome, I finally read Shadow and Bone. I finally said...

Right from the beginning I was hooked. I wanted to know everything there was to know about The Fold. I wanted to know everything there was to know about everything. I was growing attached to Alina and liked watching her come into her own, to really discover who she was and embrace it. I was falling for The Darkling. I was liking Mal but frustrated with him and for Alina. I was scared by the creatures in the Fold. Most importantly,I was loving all the action. Books with a lot of action are my thing. I was enjoying Shadow and Bone like I never thought I would. Then I started to get some mixed feelings about a certain someone and well let's just leave it at this...

I had to work through the stages of grief with that reveal even though I kind of had a feeling it was coming.
I was on the edge of my seat while reading Shadow and Bone and as soon as I finished I was ecstatic that I had the next book sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

**WARNING: The next two reviews contains spoilers of the previous books in the series.

Siege and Storm (#2)
432 pages
Source: The Library

Goodreads Summary: Darkness never dies.

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.

My Review: At this point I can say that I officially love Mal and Alina and want to read about them for all of times. I ship them and that is painful/frustrating at times. I also couldn't be happier to report that there was also a great deal of action in the second installment as well. We get some new characters, one in particular I'm sure will have many female readers fawning over. This picture kind of reminded me of said trouble maker.

There were a few times that Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising gave off some Harry Potter vibes.

The ending of Siege and Storm left me nervous. This trilogy is dark and only seems to be getting darker.

Ruin and Rising (#3)
417 pages
Source: The Library

Goodreads 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.

My Review: How I felt before I started reading Ruin and Rising.

I entered, and I only mildly survived.

Ruin and Rising had an always moving plot that was fast paced. I was loving Mal even more, especially his tracking skills. Anyway, this was me throughout the whole book.

I was frustrated and I wanted some answers. I was stressed out. I was freaked out, and I was that way until the very end.

When I finally finished the book. I did feel content.

Now it is time for the burning question. What did I think of the trilogy as a whole?

My Overall Rating of The Grisha Series by Leigh Bardugo...