⋙ [PDF] Forest of Ruin Age of Legends Trilogy Kelley Armstrong Books

Forest of Ruin Age of Legends Trilogy Kelley Armstrong Books

Download As PDF : Forest of Ruin Age of Legends Trilogy Kelley Armstrong Books

Forest of Ruin Age of Legends Trilogy Kelley Armstrong Books

I finished this book last night and I'm still unsure how I feel about it. I enjoyed it almost as much as I did the first one, but I can't find a way to be completely happy with the ending.
I've tried telling myself that not all endings can be perfect (or more accurately, how I want it to end), but I can't seem to talk myself out of being disappointed. It's not necessarily a bad ending and far from tragic, I just feel like one of the characters got the short end of the stick (and I always find myself getting attached to Armstrong's characters).
As a few other reviewers have mentioned, it did feel as though the book cut off suddenly in the last chapter. I had a moment of "but wait, that can't be the end! What about....?!" and flipped back through to make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped something. Armstrong usually has follow up novels or novellas even after a series "ends" so maybe I'll feel better about it in the future and some lingering questions will be answered, but right now I can't help but feel that for me the end cast a slight shadow over an otherwise great series.


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Forest of Ruin Age of Legends Trilogy Kelley Armstrong Books Reviews

It feels like it's been forever since my last blog post. I was quite sick for a few days and I was just not up to doing some reading. I finally feel better and was able to finish Forest of Ruin, the third book in the Age of Legends trilogy by Kelly Armstrong.

I found it quite hard to get back into at first. Usually when it's been awhile since I've read the previous book in a trilogy/series, if it's good enough, I'm usually able to jump right in. My recall skills are usually formidable and definitely beneficial, but this, I definitely struggled to gain my bearings once I began.

Moira and Ashyn, twins sisters, also the legendary Seeker and Keeper are as distinct as ever. Ashyn's powers pertain to talking to spirits and making sure they are at peace, once someone has died. While her twin sister Moira is able to banish violent and corrupted spirits, like Shadow Stalkers. One thing Armstrong excels at is fleshing out all of her characters to their fullest potential. Moira is fierce, Ashyn meek but holy devoted to the cause, Tyrus a Prince in his own right, full of love and loyalty for Moira, Gavril the misunderstood friend who's loyalty is questioned on more than one occassion, and Rowan, a guy who is just trying to change the status of his caste by protecting Ashyn at all cost. Each have great qualities that intrigued me and I'm grateful for that. Moira and Gavril are obvious favorites of mine because of their epic valor and their quick wit and hilarious banter.

I'm sure people will debate which sister is best. Moira is an obvious favorite because she's fun to read about. She's outspoken, hot-headed, and is a great warrior. But don't count out Ashyn though, because she's level-headed, very intelligent, and the magic to her character is in her subtleness. I definitely have a soft spot for Ashyn.

Next up, romances. I don't want to give too much away but I will say that I rooted for one male character to win Moira's heart, and winded up with another. While I understood the history of the character and Armstrong's decision to go that route, I'm still upset about my own heart being broken. I feel like it's more than just personal. The romance between Moira and the other character felt like it kind of came out of no where. Armstrong built Moira's relationship with the other guy for two books, only to strip that away and give us someone else. I personally felt cheated out of a perfectly viable, and luscious romance. (Sigh)

As for Ashyn, her romance was more clear-cut and stayed consistent to the beginning. Which is pretty much what I expected from someone like Ashyn. I couldn't be happier. It was nice to see the outcome to their relationship and to see mutual love and respect.

There was plenty of action. Alvar Kitsune, our villain, also Gavril's father, is finally thrown into the mix with full force. He faces our rag-tag crew and he is every bit as evil and battle-ready as I expected him to be. The scene that showed his most brutal self was eye opening. The results had me pretty much in tears on my commute to work. I was so excited that it winded up all working out in the end.

Forest of Ruin is full of magic, mythology, love, betrayal, and ultimately redemption. While a slow-starter, once it picks up it doesn't stop. It takes your breath away and leaves you wanting more than you wish that could be possible. Read book one, Sea of Shadows, and book two, Empire of Night. If you're into high Fantasy, you don't want to skip this trilogy. Check it out!
I truly enjoyed this series. Kelley Armstrong is a good go-to author for when I am in between books; she's an entertaining storyteller. I finished this entire trilogy in the course of two days.

The third book was an engaging and thoughtful response to a lot of things happening in the genre. Her take on a "love triangle" is not angsty or obnoxious or even particularly overt; one of her main characters spends a lot of time acknowledging that she is not a "hero" in a traditional sense-- she is not the fodder for legends-- which I thought was a beautiful and important revelation for readers of this genre. The characters she develops come to life and really mature in ways that are true to form, which I appreciate. Without giving anything away, I will say that the plot kept taking really engaging and unconventional twists, the new characters introduced are fascinating and really add to the story, and that the conclusion is highly satisfying in a way that allows you to imagine the outcome that you wanted for these characters.

I love that she writes stories that focus on the truth of relationships and possibilities for resentment. I feel like too much YA literature is focused on "giving it all up" for "the one" and in this series (as in most of her books), her characters consistently make decisions that reassert individual personhood outside of a relationship (for both men and women) and that is incredibly empowering for its intended audience. The plot twists, the engaging writing, and the character development are all really spot on in this trilogy, which picks up steam considerably about halfway through the first book.
I finished this book last night and I'm still unsure how I feel about it. I enjoyed it almost as much as I did the first one, but I can't find a way to be completely happy with the ending.
I've tried telling myself that not all endings can be perfect (or more accurately, how I want it to end), but I can't seem to talk myself out of being disappointed. It's not necessarily a bad ending and far from tragic, I just feel like one of the characters got the short end of the stick (and I always find myself getting attached to Armstrong's characters).
As a few other reviewers have mentioned, it did feel as though the book cut off suddenly in the last chapter. I had a moment of "but wait, that can't be the end! What about....?!" and flipped back through to make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped something. Armstrong usually has follow up novels or novellas even after a series "ends" so maybe I'll feel better about it in the future and some lingering questions will be answered, but right now I can't help but feel that for me the end cast a slight shadow over an otherwise great series.