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Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Year Published: 2013
My Pre-Reading
Paul's Review
Paul's Pre-Reading
Synopsis: 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.
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Review: If I didn't have to do things like sleep and eat, I definitely would have devoured this book in one sitting! Leigh Bardugo does not disappoint in Siege and Storm, and I am so glad. The beginning (and the end) of the book moves pretty fast, and I felt like I was being thrown into the middle of a story. I mean, it's the second book so that's pretty much the case, but still. It was very well done, and I really enjoyed the fast pace.
Alina changes so much in this book, and I'm not sure all of her changes are good. She's stronger and doesn't let anyone walk over her (at least not as much), and she often goes after thing she wants. However, she's becoming powerful and the power does seem to go to her head sometimes, but I think this really humanizes her. She's almost as powerful as the Darkling, but she makes the same mistakes and bad decisions that any normal person would make. There were times when I just wanted to slap her (especially when it came to Mal), but then she would redeem herself a little later.
And speaking of Mal, I'm still not entirely convinced that I support this romance. Don't get me wrong, I love Mal as his own character and person, but I just don't feel the connection between him and Alina. They're so different and even though they've loved each other all their lives and blah blah blah, I almost felt like the romance is only there because they grew up together in the orphanage. Mal and Alina are so distant that I just don't see anything working out for them. And it's sad, but I'm not as upset as I feel like I should be... All of it works with the story though, and helps us see more of Alina and Mal and who they are as characters and people.
I still love the Darkling. He's scary and creepy and crazy and all that jazz, but he's still one of my favorite characters. He does have Sturmhond and Nikolai to compete with now though, so we'll see how he fares in the conclusion. Bardugo's new characters are just as interesting and exciting as the ones we've all come to know and love, so I'm pretty excited to find out what's next for them as they fight in this war.
Although we learned quite a bit about Ravka in the first book, we get even more insight into the world in this book. I enjoyed learning more about the culture and the folk stories and such, and even about how the world is different now after the events of Shadow and Bone. This book is much darker than the first one, and I can't even imagine how things will turn out in Ruin and Rising. I also enjoyed seeing places outside of Ravka in this book, as little as there was. It gives a more complete picture of the world of the Grisha, and I loved that.
I could go on and on about this book all day, but I feel like I'm starting to ramble and I don't want to give anything away because you should just go read it. ASAP. Especially if you loved Shadow and Bone. I would recommend the series to anyone who is looking for a beautiful YA Fantasy that's dark and enchanting. And to pretty much every YA reader. You seriously don't want to let this series pass under your radar. A 5/5 and I can't wait to read more!
--Ashley
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