Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #2) in Reads With Friends

Oct 25, 2012 Emily W. rated it it was amazing

First time reading this book was in August of 2013, and I gave it 5 stars.

Second time reading this was January 2017, and I am giving it 5 starts again. This is such a phenomenal series. I am finally going to read the last book in the series and I can't wait. ...more

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Jul 05, 2015 Eve rated it it was amazing

http://functioninginsanity.blogspot.c...

I read the trilogy back to back and I had some expectations for this one. Based on the last story I had an idea on how things would be paced and what would happen and boy was I wrong. This one started out with a bang and was just flying right along. When they realize they can no longer run from their problems Alina and Mal decide to search for the other amplifiers of legend. They get right on that second one much faster than expected.

But along the journ http://functioninginsanity.blogspot.c...

I read the trilogy back to back and I had some expectations for this one. Based on the last story I had an idea on how things would be paced and what would happen and boy was I wrong. This one started out with a bang and was just flying right along. When they realize they can no longer run from their problems Alina and Mal decide to search for the other amplifiers of legend. They get right on that second one much faster than expected.

But along the journey we meet some amazing new characters that I just adored. The most prominent being Nikolai. He was just hilarious. He reminded me a bit of Captain Jack Sparrow with his witty lines and comments. He was just adorable. I liked him as a character so much but as a possible love interest he never really worked for me personally. Though I did love every page he was on because his character almost always made me laugh. We also meet Tamar and other who really added to the eclectic cast of characters including returning characters including Genya and Zoya. Now I was never a fan of Zoya, she was an evil bitch from word one. But Genya, I just loved her for the majority of book one then I felt horribly betrayed and in Siege and Storm my conflicted feelings for her swayed back and forth but in the end I love her.

There is a lot of drama and things happening in this one. I will say one small thing was that the pacing seemed a bit back and forth, super fast and full of action then followed up with longer more character driven scenes, which I was okay with but it went back and forth at times. There was some unnecessary drama between some of the characters, but then again when do characters ever actually talk about their issues head on? No they never do and it causes issues that turn into so much more. But I was okay with this and I could see it from different sides and while I was shouting "GO TALK IT OUT!" at the book while reading I was also able to reason away the behavior. There is a war after all, personal drama seems like it should be put aside for that.

Overall I really liked the story and loved learning more about the world. This world of the Grisha is so beautifully built up and the ending was just 'on point.' I loved the part there in the end. It made me put it on my shelf and immediately pick up the next and final book. I had to know more and that to me is a successful sequel. What did you think of the sequel? Who was your favorite character to read about? Mine was Nikolai, he just stole all his scenes. Even when I wanted to smack him. ...more

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Nov 26, 2015 Michaela marked it as did-not-finish

I've decided to mark this as a DNF because I am simply unable to get into it at this point in time. I sort of enjoyed the first book but I found this one to be painfully slow, which would be ok if I had any attachment to the main characters, but I don't. If I could read a book solely about the Darkling, I would. I also never figured out why Leigh Bardugo chose an alternate Russia as the setting for her story. It's an interesting setting but I feel that by reading the books we should gather some ...more

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Oct 09, 2015 Emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-books, young-adult, fantasy, paranormal, 2015-read

Siege and Storm sees Bardugo return to the world of Ravka for some much needed further exploration and development of the kingdom, its people, and its politics.

(view spoiler) Siege and Storm sees Bardugo return to the world of Ravka for some much needed further exploration and development of the kingdom, its people, and its politics.

(view spoiler)[Although this instalment turned out to be just as compulsively readable as the first, I was initially concerned that I wouldn't find the second book as enjoyable if it were to be Mal and Alina simply hiding from The Darkling and his Grisha forces. Luckily the introduction of the infamous ~~pirate~~ privateer Sturmhond and his crew (Tamar and Tolya in particular) added a welcome dimension to the narrative that I hadn't realised I was craving until that moment. The later reveal of Sturmhond's true identity was nothing short of inspired - I adored it, and him, unsurprisingly. Pleasingly Prince Nikolai was witty and charming without being insufferable and irritating (a frequent bugbear of mine) and Bardugo's creation of a sort of wily pirate-cum-inventor was wonderful as his ideas reminded me of the brilliance of some of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines crossed with Grisha magic, with a smattering of a certain Captain Jack Sparrow's propensity for risking life and limb on a harebrained scheme.

The development of the Grisha was also a welcome addition, with regards to a more cleverly handled exploration of attitudes towards their powers than had been achieved in the first book. Thankfully, in my opinion, we began to see some much needed team work between the First and Second Army - as a plot point it had always confused me why the two didn't ever seem to team up in battle, despite the inbuilt stratification of the orders. Perhaps due to the resentment and fear of Grisha power by non-Grisha, which was considered by this book alongside persecution of their kind due to the public's fear of The Darkling and those "of his kind". The persecution, also, of various characters by The Darkling was nothing short of stomach-turning. Disgusting, deplorable, and I expected nothing less. However I still don't feel an entire grip on this character has been achieved and whilst I understand that telling the narrative through the first person narrator (Alina) will always limit what an author can do, I would appreciate a fleshing out of his character into something other than a brooding dark force invading Alina's chamber at inopportune moments like some kind of (excuse the phrasing) paranormal cock-block.

Speaking of, I apologise Mal, you have gone up in my estimations since the first book. Who would have thought that seeing a character hit rock bottom with brawling and drinking would endear them to you? If nothing else, it showed a weakness to his character that I thought made his and Alina's relationship a little more believable. Although it might be heart breaking to see them fighting, and Alina's subsequent solitude, it was needed, I feel, for the development of both of their characters. Likewise the attitude of the people at court to him (and to Nikolai actually) was terrible if you're rooting for that character but also made the world more believable because of course there would be insinuations of Alina taking him to her bed and all the implications along with that. And I do love a good bitchy court narrative. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that Bardugo's Siege and Storm didn't fall ill to Second Book Syndrome and look forward to seeing how the new dimensions will play out in the concluding volume - don't let me down, Leigh, I'm hoping for some more light and shade with these characters. ...more

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Jan 14, 2021 Michelle (Bookaholic Banter) rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own

I enjoyed this one so much more than the first! More characters were introduced and one just happened to be one of my favorites now. I felt like there was a little bit more adventure in this one. It held my interest and I had a lot of fun. My hope is that the third is more like the second than the first.

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Mar 01, 2014 Allison rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-pre-2023, physical-read

Watch my vlog of my 2020 re-read here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFztO...

Thia rating is more like 3 and a half stars. That half star is because of Nikolai! ...more

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Jan 11, 2017 Pink rated it really liked it

SO GOOD! I can't wait for the next one! ...more

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Dec 08, 2014 Jamie (Books and Ladders) rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance, supernatural, fantasy, series, magic, owned-hardcover, low-fantasy

This review was originally posted on Books and Ladders

Okay so I didn't go into this one with too high of hopes because I wasn't a huge fan of Shadow and Bone, but I did enjoy this one more than I anticipated.

I knew that Mal and Alina would be caught eventually, but I think it was stupid that it happened so quickly. I wanted her and Mal to have more time living in the slum before she was caught by the Darkling again. It is ridiculous that the Darkling can now make these shadow creatures even thou This review was originally posted on Books and Ladders

Okay so I didn't go into this one with too high of hopes because I wasn't a huge fan of Shadow and Bone, but I did enjoy this one more than I anticipated.

I knew that Mal and Alina would be caught eventually, but I think it was stupid that it happened so quickly. I wanted her and Mal to have more time living in the slum before she was caught by the Darkling again. It is ridiculous that the Darkling can now make these shadow creatures even though it goes against the rules of magic that have been laid out for us. I liked the Darkling up until this new magical ability. He was annoying in his pursuit of Alina because I want him to have better motives than Alina being his companion and being able to rule in the Fold. I also think that Alina should have more conflict than whether or not to use her powers. I want her conflict to be whether or not she wants to rule with her powers.

Honestly Mal is just meh to me. It is starting to become clearer to me that Alina shouldn't be with Mal and should be with a Grisha or someone who understands her powers and realizes that she needs to be able to use them. I wasn't a huge fan of Mal in the last book. I'm not a fan of people who don't realize the good things they have in front of them until they aren't there anymore. So. There's that. I don't think he is Alina's best choice for a love interest and I want her to just be in love with herself and her powers. I am glad though that she is using her powers more and testing their limits. I also like that just because Mal isn't okay with her having/using her powers that she isn't like, okay you are right I'm not going to do this, instead she is like, well too bad for you Mal.

I didn't think that Sturmhund being the prince really made sense. It seemed like just a neat way to introduce him as a character and have the reader want to get to know more about him because he is now "interesting" since he has someone else doing his schooling while he is off being a privateer. I did like Nikolai (obviously) and I need to be exposed to him more. HOWEVER, I wasn't a fan of him taking unnecessary risks with his people. On the other hand, I did like that he was always looking to the future to be able to do bigger and better things.

I like that it is moving quickly, but I almost feel like it is moving too quickly and because of that the world building is lacking. They are finding things so quickly then turning around and being like "oh we won't be able to find the third amplifier that quickly" when it literally took like a week to find the second one. I think it would have made more sense for all the amplifiers to take at least a month each but I guess for sake of moving the story forward that is being cut down.

I'm also kind of bored of the Darkling almost dying at the end of the book only to not actually die. Either kill him off or don't have that type of conflict. I do like that each time this happens Alina expands on her powers though (even though it seems to almost kill her each time).

Overall: 3.5/5 stars. The pacing was a little off to me and I thought the plot wasn't as strong as the first one. But I am really excited to see how this series concludes. ...more

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Jul 02, 2014 Erica rated it really liked it

I love this world! Great sequel however I felt like something was missing it wasn't as good as the first but it was so an amazing read! I love these characters! ...more

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Jul 03, 2015 Lauren rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this sequel, while the first took me a while to get through, this was much more fast paced. I was kept interested and I'm ready for book 3! But sad to see a series finished! ...more

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