Forest of Ruin

Written by Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by Thérèse Plummer

Perfect for fans of Graceling and Game of Thrones, this is the breathtaking conclusion to the Age of Legends trilogy—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

The empire rests on the edge of a knife, and sisters Ashyn and Moria are the handle and the blade. Desperate to outmaneuver the evil Alvar Kitsune, whose hold on the people grows stronger every day, Emperor Tatsu begs Moria to put aside past grievances and ally with Gavril—at least long enough to make an attempt on Alvar's life. Meanwhile, reunited with her long-lost grandfather, Ashyn discovers that she is the key to a ritual that could reawaken an ancient dragon and turn the tide of the coming battle in their favor.

But with lies and betrayal lurking around every corner, Ashyn and Moria will have to decide once and for all where their allegiances lie. And it may not be where their hearts would lead them. . . .

In this third and final book in her epic and enchanting trilogy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong blends fantasy, action, and romance to give readers the unforgettable ending they've been waiting for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062417893

Kelley Armstrong

When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and continues with Empire of Night. Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many pets.

Reviews for Forest of Ruin

[jalenv_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Forest of Ruin is the final book in Kelley Armstrong's 'Age of Legends' trilogy. We're still following the adventures of identical twins Moira the Keeper and the older, more studious Ashyn; Ronan the casteless professional thief, illegitimate Prince Tyrus Tatsu, son of the emperor and a favorite courtesan; and Gavril Kitsune, who has the misfortune of being an honorable warrior who is the only son of Marshal Alvar Kitsune, our main villain. Alvar Kitsune, whose clan's totem is a nine-tailed fox, and Jiro Tatsu, whose clan's totem is a dragon, were best friends in their youth. Gavril and Tyrus were reared as friends. Alvar, though, is a man eaten alive with envy. He was not satisfied to be the empire's Marshall to Jiro as emperor. Alvar has only Gavril while Jiro fathered more than a few sons and daughters, four of them legitimate princes. Jiro is brave and wise. Alvar managed to hide his basic cowardice for years, but was finally exiled to the Forest of the Dead for running from battle. Ronan's ancestors were of the warrior caste, but backed the wrong candidate for emperor generations ago and became casteless, the people allowed no occupation other than begging. Jiro spared his old friend's family that fate. Only Alvar himself was to suffer. Instead, Alvar used his exile to start on his plan to become the emperor.Too bad for Jiro Tatsu and his empire that the old rumor that the Kitsune clan are sorcerers is true. Galvin can't do that much yet, but his evil father's powers are much greater -- and he has no scruples whatsoever about bringing to life the monsters of legend. We'd already seen an acid-spitting death worm and a thunder-hawk -- both pretty much on the overlarge side -- in book one, Sea of Shadows. Worse, we've seen his shadow stalkers, something like a demon-possessed zombie, only Alvar is twisting the spirits of dead humans into these unwanted body-squatters. Just imagine coming home one day and finding one of your parents turned into a shadow stalker who has already murdered the rest of your family in some 'delightful' way such as ripping their throats out. If you're to survive, you're either going to have to kill dear old dad or mom or pray you can outrun him/her. Yeah.NOTES:

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book concludes the Age of Legends trilogy. When the book begins, Ashyn and Moria are separated on each on dangerous missions. They are both trying to keep away from Alvar Kitsune and find a way to defeat him and his shadow armies. Moria is traveling with Gavril Kitsune who is Alvar's son. They are still trying to get over events in the last book and Gavril has lost Moria's trust because of his actions. He struggles to deal with his father's treachery and feels guilt that he ever supported his father.Ashyn is traveling with Ronan. She is the one who encounters a man who says he is her grandfather and who wants to use her to wake some sleeping dragons. The dragons are the emblem of the imperial family and a dragon could be seen as an omen from the gods that they favor the emperor over Alvar Kitsune in the upcoming war. Ronan is a casteless thief who wants to regain caste as a warrior.When the characters along with the emperor's bastard son Tyrus reconnect, they do their part to end the revolt led by Alvar Kitsune but not before they face many dangers and many losses.This is an engaging epic fantasy series with strong characters, both male and female, and lots of adventure. While there is romance too, it is not the happily ever after sort which seems most realistic for the premises of this story.

[nbmars · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is book three in the “Age of Legends” trilogy. Generally I love Kelley Armstrong, but this book was somewhat of a disappointment. Much of it felt more like tying up the ends so as to get the trilogy over with, than a commitment to the characters and plot. (Although some of the ends were not in fact tied up.) In addition, the final actions of Alvar did not seem in character, and the resolution with Gavril was unsatisfying for a couple of reasons.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a decent conclusion to the Age of Legends trilogy. I really enjoy Armstrong’s writing style; it’s very engaging and readable. As for the story itself, it did an okay job of wrapping things up...although the ending felt a bit unfinished to me.Moria and Ashyn spend the majority of the book apart from each other which allows them to grow and gain confidence as individuals. This was fun to see and read about. I also loved the inclusion of the dragon, this was very interesting and cute as well. This story was engaging but also felt a bit unsatisfying. There weren’t a lot of surprises here and it was more like events were just playing out as expected and being put down on paper.I was also a bit disappointed of Ashyn’s blind acceptance that this strange old man was her grandfather; she blindly puts a lot of trust in someone that she doesn’t know all that well. It was a rash move for Ashyn and a bit out of character.I did enjoy the interactions between Ashyn, Ronan, Moria, Tyrus, and Gavil. This cast of characters forms such an intriguing web of friendship, loyalty, and romance. The book ended okay; I felt like a lot of things were left kind of halfway wrapped up. Although it was a realistic ending for the story I was a bit disappointed that things weren’t wrapped up a bit more completely and neatly.Overall a good conclusion to this trilogy. The book is engaging and easy to read and I enjoyed the story. I thought the story was fairly predictable and was a bit disappointed that the ending didn’t wrap things up more completely. I did enjoy the series as a whole and would recommend to those who enjoy YA fantasy.