Siege and Storm (The Grisha, # 2)
By: Leigh Bardugo
Published: June 4th 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.
435 pages
Genre: YA, Fanstasy
Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love
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Goodreads description--Darkness never dies.Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.
You guys. I'm just going to put it out there that I didn't love Siege and Storm overall. I suppose it fits into the typical niche of book 2 in a trilogy. I don't know. This is going to be one that I have trouble putting into words.
For some reason, I just haven't been a fan of Mal or at least Alina and Mal's relationship. It's just always had this feeling to me like it's an impossible relationship. In Shadow and Bone, the Darkling completely had me under his spell and I was ready to hand Alina over to him. Even when I found out he was evil, I was all like "maybe he's not as evil as we think he is and they can still work something out." HA! That's pretty much impossible and becoming more and more impossible as the books go by, but her relationship with Mal doesn't seem any more plausible to me.
I did love the addition of some new characters. Sturmhond for one! LOVED him! I wouldn't be so upset to see something work out in his favor when it comes to Alina. I also really enjoyed Tolya and Tamar. But Nikolai was probably the most intriguing addition to the story.
The writing had some humorous parts which was needed considering how heavy this book felt with the weight of all of Ravka being on Alina's shoulders. The pacing was a bit slow for my taste but built up to a rather hasty climax and resolution leaving off at an unstable place that felt eerily familiar to where Shadow and Bone left off, yet different.
I don't know guys. All in all, I just didn't love it. I am interested to see how the final book wraps everything up and how the story will end. Siege and Storm gets 3.5 stars from me. Have you read Siege and Storm? What do you think? Let me know!
I actually have Shadow and Bone, read the first chapter or so and put it aside. I must be the only person I know who didn't get grabbed by it according to the hype. So, I didn't really understand some of your review because I haven't read the first and am wondering if you think the first one is worth reading, being that the trilogy might not hold up. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI did get hooked on Shadow and Bone quickly. You can read my review of Shadow and Bone here, if you're interested. I am looking forward to the last in the series, but only time will tell if it'll be worth it or not. :) Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI just read it--looks good, though it sounds like the problem I had with The Bone Season. So many descriptive names and titles of people, places and things that I wished I had a cheat sheet to help me out. Thanks for answering.
ReplyDeleteYes, a cheat sheet would have come in handy.
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