Forest of Ruin by Kelley Armstrong (UK edition)

Title: Forest of Ruin (Age of Legends, 3)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (5th April 2016)
Blurb:

THE WORLD IS IN CHAOS. TWIN SISTERS MORIA AND ASHYN HAVE BEEN TORN APART, FORCED ON THEIR OWN SECRET MISSIONS.

Moria – strong-willed and brave – must confront sorcerer Alvar Kitsune, father of her once-friend Gavril. Meanwhile soulful, compassionate Ashyn faces an even more terrifying task. She must bring to life a dragon.

The sisters have been forced down separate paths. But the time is coming when they must face the greatest battle of their lives – together.

The third volume in the Age of Legends trilogy, Forest of Ruin brings this epic tale of romance, magic and power to its thrilling conclusion.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)
Review:

FOREST OF RUIN by Kelley Armstrong is the final book in the Age of Legends trilogy. This book concludes the story of twins Moria and Ashyn, Seeker and Keeper. At this point in the story the twins have been split up. Moria looks set to confront Alvar Kitsune the sorcerer who set events into motion, whilst Ashyn faces the prospect of bringing a dragon back to life. Yet even as the twins’ world balances on a precipice, there are those who believe that the twins can complete their tasks. Armstrong brings the trilogy to its dramatic conclusion in this final book.

As the final book of the Age of Legends trilogy FOREST OF RUIN was a little bit disappointing for me. There is a lot going on in this book, and to be honest I found it a little hard to keep track. I also felt that the story itself was a little predictable – but this might be due to the fact that I’ve read a lot of books by Armstrong. Having said that, I did enjoy reading the book. There are some interesting twists and turns in the plot, and whilst the ending was a little too neat for my taste I do think Armstrong did it well. If you have enjoyed the previous books in the Age of Legends trilogy then I think you will be happy with this one too.

As is typical with the previous books, Armstrong has split the narrative between Moria and Ashyn. I think this works well as it allows us to know what is going on with both characters and it also lets us know a bit more about the bigger picture. I particularly liked the fact that in this book each narrator had several chapters for things to happen before Armstrong changed narrator.

Armstrong brings the trilogy to its conclusion with her usual skill and panache, followings the twins’ stories to their conclusions. I thought Armstrong did a good job on the whole with balancing the overall story of the series with the twins’ individual ones. I enjoyed reuniting with Moira and Ashyn and their world for a final time to see how things ended. The ending itself wasn’t quite to my taste, but I think it does fit the story and what we know of the characters. I also enjoyed the fact that whilst there were plenty of epic battles and romance made an appearance, friendship plays a large part in the story.