Ruin and Rising vs Shadow and Bone: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ability, High Fantasy, Monsters, Orphans, Magic, Fantasy fiction
Ruin and Rising
"The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Alina forges new alliances as she and Mal search for Morozova's last amplifier. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that alters her…
vs
Shadow and Bone
Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Shadow and Bone is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 8 for Ruin and Rising.
- Shadow and Bone has the widest readership — 4109 ratings behind its score.
- Shadow and Bone runs the darker storyline; Ruin and Rising stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Ruin and Rising | Shadow and Bone | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.3 (4109) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (982) | 3.7 (1650) |
| Google Books | — | 3.5 (18) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1522) | 4.5 (2411) |
Reception
| Ruin and Rising | Shadow and Bone | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1522 | 4109 |
| Editions | 26 | 35 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 3814 |
| Reading it now | — | 258 |
| Written reviews | — | 36 |
| Wikipedia attention | 8580 | 8580 |
| Pages | 480 | 352 |