Book Review- Siege and Storm
Hello readers!
Today's book review is for the second book in the Shadow & Bone trilogy.
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| Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo |
♥♥♥♥♥
Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Year Published: 2013
Publisher: Square Fish
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Plot :♥♥♥♥♥
Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥
World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥
Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥
Synopsis:
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.
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.
Review*:
I am not much of an annotator when it comes to reading, however I left this book with page tabs all over the place. Leigh's writing has been really captivating to read, from the flow of the story and having no idea where the plot is going, to just the quick come-backs and very realistic banter between the characters. For me it really helps connect me to the people and I can actually visualize the story in my head as if I was watching it.
The Darkling finding Alina and Mal was predictable, but dragging her up to the Bone Road was where I felt we really truely got to see the Darkling intentions. In Shadow & Bone there was some he-said-she-said regarding his true character, despite him placing a collar on Alina and stretching the fold. When he played his hand of trying to find the sea dragon and the fact that he was toting around a crew of devoted Grisha willing to stop at nothing to get what he wanted, you could see the manipulation unfold. When Genya chose the Darkling over Alina, it didn't come off as a tiff in their relationship but rather understanding the desperation that Genya has that we haven't uncovered yet. This is an example of how Bardugo has some really complicated relationships in this series even in just friendships.
Nikolai is an amazing character and I understand why so many people love him. Outside of his ability to be a shining gold beacon in a sea of black clouds, he as a person is so easy to relate to. He's open about his faults and how they affect him, how he uses them to his strength. The amount of confidence and conviction he has in his movements and ideas is so calculated that you see underneath his cool, suave demeanor, he's passionate and ready to educate. His relationship with Alina, despite his open proposal, has slowly grown into a deep platonic bond. Nikolai seems to care about Alina as more than the Sun Summoner, despite her being such an obvious asset to his cause.
Alina and Mals relationship has this odd, steady ride through the book. When they run away together, Alina can feel her intuition and power betray what her heart says is right. Then the tables switch and now Mal is a prisoner to the same situation, but his bars are higher and stronger. The two of them both have insecurities in their relationship, which is obvious when Mal jumps down anyone who makes a move on Alina and when Alina reflects on her not being what Mal wants. They also lack effective communication. Mal tells Alina he's not exactly happy about going back to Os Alta, but it takes us almost 3/4 of the book to understand the root of those feelings. Alina is trying to juggle her relationship with Mal, along with the politics of court and being a sun summoner.
During their heated argument where the pair kind of 'break up' it felt like Mal didn't understand why Alina chose this path because he was only looking at the pieces in front of him. It doesn't make him a terrible character, it is just a flaw in his perspective of the world, which makes him more human. Real relationships have difficulties that aren't just "Oh, this male character betrayed my trust," that tends to be the easy conflict. The fact that despite their issues with each other, they still work together when Os Alta is under attack also shows maturity in the couple because despite them currently disliking each other, they still care enough to ensure the other is safe.
The Darkling so far as been under-whelming for me as a character. We get a third party perspective of his past, his motives currently, etc. Outside of his very calculated and secretive moves against the otkazat'sya and the crown, there isn't much build up of his character. The secret 'hallucinations' is a nice touch for that super manipulative/controlling narrative that is painted for him. I'm hoping in the final book we get more from his character.
My favorite scene from the first two books is Alina's response to the Darkling crashing into the church. He is using these horrors to desecrate something holy, which sort of mimics the conflict between the Darkling and Alina. Poor Genya was mutilated, which I don't think I can ever forgive the Darkling for. Despite this being my favorite scene, the way the Darkling coaxes Alina to come to him was a little bit over-done with the "I'll spare their lives," lines. However, Alina's response in destroying the Darkling from within was super epic. It shows she is a strong character despite her flaws, considering she turned the Darkling's powers of manipulation against him.
I am so excited to see where we go and what happens in the final book. I'm hoping Alina continues to embrace her power and legacy independent of both Mal, Nikolai, and the Darkling. Leigh's pacing in this series has been phenomenal and I have total confidence in her as a writer.
The Darkling finding Alina and Mal was predictable, but dragging her up to the Bone Road was where I felt we really truely got to see the Darkling intentions. In Shadow & Bone there was some he-said-she-said regarding his true character, despite him placing a collar on Alina and stretching the fold. When he played his hand of trying to find the sea dragon and the fact that he was toting around a crew of devoted Grisha willing to stop at nothing to get what he wanted, you could see the manipulation unfold. When Genya chose the Darkling over Alina, it didn't come off as a tiff in their relationship but rather understanding the desperation that Genya has that we haven't uncovered yet. This is an example of how Bardugo has some really complicated relationships in this series even in just friendships.
Nikolai is an amazing character and I understand why so many people love him. Outside of his ability to be a shining gold beacon in a sea of black clouds, he as a person is so easy to relate to. He's open about his faults and how they affect him, how he uses them to his strength. The amount of confidence and conviction he has in his movements and ideas is so calculated that you see underneath his cool, suave demeanor, he's passionate and ready to educate. His relationship with Alina, despite his open proposal, has slowly grown into a deep platonic bond. Nikolai seems to care about Alina as more than the Sun Summoner, despite her being such an obvious asset to his cause.
Alina and Mals relationship has this odd, steady ride through the book. When they run away together, Alina can feel her intuition and power betray what her heart says is right. Then the tables switch and now Mal is a prisoner to the same situation, but his bars are higher and stronger. The two of them both have insecurities in their relationship, which is obvious when Mal jumps down anyone who makes a move on Alina and when Alina reflects on her not being what Mal wants. They also lack effective communication. Mal tells Alina he's not exactly happy about going back to Os Alta, but it takes us almost 3/4 of the book to understand the root of those feelings. Alina is trying to juggle her relationship with Mal, along with the politics of court and being a sun summoner.
During their heated argument where the pair kind of 'break up' it felt like Mal didn't understand why Alina chose this path because he was only looking at the pieces in front of him. It doesn't make him a terrible character, it is just a flaw in his perspective of the world, which makes him more human. Real relationships have difficulties that aren't just "Oh, this male character betrayed my trust," that tends to be the easy conflict. The fact that despite their issues with each other, they still work together when Os Alta is under attack also shows maturity in the couple because despite them currently disliking each other, they still care enough to ensure the other is safe.
The Darkling so far as been under-whelming for me as a character. We get a third party perspective of his past, his motives currently, etc. Outside of his very calculated and secretive moves against the otkazat'sya and the crown, there isn't much build up of his character. The secret 'hallucinations' is a nice touch for that super manipulative/controlling narrative that is painted for him. I'm hoping in the final book we get more from his character.
My favorite scene from the first two books is Alina's response to the Darkling crashing into the church. He is using these horrors to desecrate something holy, which sort of mimics the conflict between the Darkling and Alina. Poor Genya was mutilated, which I don't think I can ever forgive the Darkling for. Despite this being my favorite scene, the way the Darkling coaxes Alina to come to him was a little bit over-done with the "I'll spare their lives," lines. However, Alina's response in destroying the Darkling from within was super epic. It shows she is a strong character despite her flaws, considering she turned the Darkling's powers of manipulation against him.
I am so excited to see where we go and what happens in the final book. I'm hoping Alina continues to embrace her power and legacy independent of both Mal, Nikolai, and the Darkling. Leigh's pacing in this series has been phenomenal and I have total confidence in her as a writer.
*There may be spoilers in this section of the review. If you do not wish to be spoiled, please stop reading.
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