Forest of Ruin (Age of Legends Trilogy, 3)

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.

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!

Once again, a nonstop read. Kelly Armstrong has definitely become one of my all-time favourite authors. Great characters, great story. I always have a hard time putting down her books.

Love it. It’s interestjng and different. I enjoyed following the two very opposite sisters on their journeys. Parts are twisted and dark, but not overly spooky. The characters are easy to connect to and the dialogue between them is always enjoyable. Not predictable. I enjoyed the whole series!

The cover was completely bent up and not in the best shape. Thankfully no writing on the pages but the book itself was very bent out of shape.

Forest of Ruin is Kelley Armstrong's thrilling conclusion to the Age of Legends trilogy! Kelley has been a long time favorite author of mine and when she decided to take on a Fantasy YA series, I was more than game! It turned out to be this incredibly amazing story that not only had action, magic, romance, fantasy, and friendships, but an incredible bond between Ashyn and her sister, Moria. I loved seeing these sisters together and their fierce devotion to one another that went beyond the bonds of Seeker and Keeper. Things are pretty chaotic when we start off, picking up where we left off, which naturally had me scrambling to remember specific details. Gavril had betrayed Moria in the worst way possible. He continually lied to her about everything and she can no longer trust him, but yet she will have to on some level for the two of them are headed to his father, Alvar Kitsune, and the emperor has asked that Moria stop him once and for all, and yes, he means for her to kill him. But naturally, things don't work out as planned as Moria and Gavril are kidnapped by enemies. In the meantime, Ashyn has found family she never knew existed. Her grandfather is happy to have found her. Especially in this hectic time. But he needs Ashyn's help in awakening a set of dragons. Yes, real life dragons who are frozen in sleep. He believes with Ashyn's powers she will be the one to awaken them and they can thus put an end to Alvar's tyranny. But again, more chaos ensues so that nothing goes as planned! I quite enjoyed this one despite not being able to recall all the previous details, which can sometimes hinder my enjoyment of a read. But thankfully, Kelley gives a decent enough recap that you're able to follow along with the story at large fairly well. Not all characters were familiar to me, but as they popped up I found myself liking them! My heart lied with our main characters though, Moria, Ashyn, Ronan, Gavril, and Tyrus. I loved seeing the bond between the sisters. I guess because I have my own older sister and while we are nothing like these two, I guess because we have a few years of age between us. I would do whatever I could to protect my sister as well, but I am the younger sister here, so it might be harder! LOL! Moria and Ashyn are continually trying to find the other and help them out with their problem. They are very protective of one another! And then there's the guys! I remember always feeling uneasy about Gavril. He's told one too many lies over the course of the series and I felt Moria was right to be mistrusting him. But as the story moves along, it's like we finally get to see the real Gavril and I quite enjoyed this new leaf he turned over. Or perhaps it was who he always was, but kept hidden! Then there's Tyrus. I couldn't quite remember my feelings over him from the last go around, but I loved how devoted he was to Moria as well. Naturally, it's more of a romantic sense, but it gave me all the feels to read it. Then there's Ronan; he continued to aggravate me with his back and forth feelings over Ashyn, but we finally get reasons as to his behavior. And I will admit, I get it. Though I do find I like the Ronan who likes Ashyn as well! He's had his own dark past that's affected him and he does the best he can to overcome it. The pacing to this one was a touch on the slow side, but only in the moving forward sense! SO much was happening throughout. Everyone had their goals and missions but they were constantly waylaid by other disasters or occurrences beyond their control. So while it was hard to see what the end goal would be, besides the overpowering of Alvar, it was still an incredible journey to read about! While I won't divulge in spoilers, I will say that that ending was prettying freaking epic! I was soooo not expecting that and I must say I loved it! It was so incredibly perfect, that to have ended it any other way wouldn't have done the story justice. And if you've read it already, I'm not just talking about that ONE thing! I felt like where all our beloved characters were at by the story's end was absolute perfection! It's not one you would expect, and I think that's why I loved it so much! Kelley Armstrong has been on my auto buy list for several years now, and she will continue to be on that list! If you haven't read any of her books yet, I highly recommend them all! But if you're a fan of the Fantasy reads more than the Urban Fantasy, then definitely start with the Age of Legends trilogy! It's a series rich with characters and mythos and all the elements a reader could want! And the best part is that it's complete! Bring on the binge reading! Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

I thought at first this isn't as good as I thought it would be then I got so engrossed and realized I couldn't put it down. I'm going to Miss them All I hope there's more like this in the future!

Love the author. Love this series. Perfect amount of thrill but not too scary. Love the characters and this created world. If you are already a fan of this author, I think you'll like this series!

Worth the read, you wont regret it. The depth of characters and story line make it this trilogy one of the best I've read.

I would highly recommend the series. Normally I can devour these books so quickly, but with this last one I just had to take my time. As the ending neared I started to read slower, afraid of who was to die and who to live. As is the norm with this one of my favourite authors I am stunned with this book. I have laughed, cried and held my breath for longer than I thought possible, with huge gasps and sighs of relief. Amazing.

Absolutely brilliant! A perfect ending that doesn't feel like goodbye, but a new beginning. A very satisfying and well-written​ series. Highly recommended!

Although this was likely one of my least favorite series by this author is was still amazing and the world building and characters kept me fully engaged. I really hope she writes something in this world again at some point.

Not as strong as the two previous stories, but still a great adventure. Kelley Armstrong can make walking through the desert on foot for two weeks more interesting than I can make an actual adventure sound, so you won't be let down.