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Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #2)

Leigh Bardugo

Start date: April 1, 2019

Finish date: April 30, 2019

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What Members Thought

Jun 12, 2012 Jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: signed-copies, books-i-own, 4-star-reads, read-in-2019, young-adult, read-in-2013, fantasy, so-effing-excited

1/31 reread in anticipation of King of Scars

So my thoughts on this one remained pretty much the same as the first time I read it. I think actually liked it a little more than the first time around because I remember the first time reading just being so frantic to get through it to find out what happens, but with this one, I was able to really dig in to the psyche of each character and it felt great.

Alina: Girl what are you doing? While I like that she finally got over her wallowing from the firs ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2014 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed, own-ebook-read, cover-love, romance, young-adult, favorites, fantasy, reread, own-physical-read

01/29/2019: Read for the second time. (Did not review the first time.)

This review contains minor SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.

It is exceedingly hard to speak to the brilliance that is this series. That is Leigh Bardugo and her magic-touched, clever mind. This is my second time reading this series and I am just as in awe of it as I was the first time around. I finished it for the first time three years ago, and it has ever been on my mind since then. There are ample reasons why.

The first reaso 01/29/2019: Read for the second time. (Did not review the first time.)

This review contains minor SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.

It is exceedingly hard to speak to the brilliance that is this series. That is Leigh Bardugo and her magic-touched, clever mind. This is my second time reading this series and I am just as in awe of it as I was the first time around. I finished it for the first time three years ago, and it has ever been on my mind since then. There are ample reasons why.

The first reason is the Russian-inspired fantasy world that Bardugo has created. It is unlike anything that I have read before and I have so much appreciation for its uniqueness. You will truly never read anything like it in young adult literature. Bardugo's Grishaverse is set apart from other fantasy worlds with its magic system, structure, religious aspects, and detailed account of nations. It is a very rich world with endless possibility.

The next reason is that this story is truly exceptional. It without a doubt stands apart from other books in this genre with it's remarkable, original plot. If you are a reader of young adult fantasy, then you will be able to feel the otherness, the wonder, and the genuineness that this series is comprised of. And after you finish this series, you will not be able to think of young adult books in the same way. The plotting in this second book of the series is smart and altogether ingenious. The flow of events from the first book is flawlessly executed. There is a definite build up of the story as the book progresses. Bardugo is a master at writing plot points that are unexpected and unique. You will be surprised and you won't be able to stop reading until you know what is happening.

The third reason is the exciting cast of characters at the helm of this story. I love the introduction of new characters in this second-in-series. I loved getting to know characters from the first book even better. Getting a closer glimpse into the minds of characters is always a delight. There is always some mystery where characters are considered, but Bardugo has a way of showing her characters completely with a finesse that is unparalleled. She gives you what you need and expands on her characters at the appropriate times to bring the whole picture together in the readers' minds. In this book, in particular, I loved the character development for Alina and Mal. They are both fighting something within themselves and trying to hold on to each other in the process. It is both heartbreaking and encouraging at the same time. Alina's strength and resolve are shown so beautifully in this book. Mal is fighting going down a downward spiral as he feels lost and that he is losing Alina. He finds self-destructive ways to deal with his issues. Nikolai is a character that I have loved from the start. He is always positive and has used his time away from Ravka to learn about the world. It has made him the perfect person for defending his country while his father and brother are nothing but louts.

The romance is another aspect that makes this series so entertaining. The romance is hard to describe if I'm to be honest. It is always like a love triangle, but it isn't really. Alina's heart has always belonged to Mal, and she even tells him so at the end of the book. That said, she can't deny her pull to the Darkling because they really are different from everyone else and like calls to like. The Darkling wants Alina since she is the only one that is like him in all of the world. His desire for her is almost creepy, but it works. Under the Darkling's scary, tough exterior it isn't hard to see that he is very alone and his feelings for Alina are genuine in a sense because he feels that she is the only one that could understand him. As misplaced as his feelings may be though since the Darkling craves power and Alina does not. Alina and Mal are drifting apart throughout this book because of all of the demands placed upon Alina as the new head of the Second Palace. Mal sticks out since he is neither a Grisha, soldier, nor is he a prince or any of the rich people that Alina deals with at the Grand Palace. Their distance creates a rift between them, but Alina wants to salvage it at all costs. Then there is Nikolai. He clearly respects Alina and he clearly has some feelings for her as well. Alina and Nikolai get along well and are becoming friends. He even confesses to her that he wants to kiss her, but tells her that he won't until she is thinking of him and not trying to forget Mal. It was a sad moment, but very true at the time. So, yeah. Lots of things happening on the romance front. And the amazing thing about the romance in this book is that no matter which person Alina chooses, it would work. All of her love interests are believable and have merit.

In conclusion, if you want to read a book with a fantasy world unlike any that you have ever encountered before then pick up this series. The vividly detailed world with original elements, characters that will get under your skin in all the best ways, and the compelling and original plot will blow you away! Not even kidding. This is one of my all-time favorite book series and I have no doubt that anyone that reads it will conclude the same. Thank you, Leigh Bardugo, for taking me into your brilliant mind and letting me build a little stone house there on the outskirts. I will forever cherish your stories.

More reviews on my blog: Novel Nerd Faction ...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Tammie rated it liked it

Shelves: series-completed, fantasy, young-adult, trilogy, owned-hard-cover, high-fantasy

I'll start by saying I did not fall in love with Siege and Storm like I did Shadow and Bone. I usually go into second books in a trilogy knowing they are just mostly going to be a lot of in between stuff to set up for the concluding book. This one really was no different.

At the beginning of the book we are with Alina and Mal. They are still on the run and in hiding. I pretty much thought it would be that way through a good portion of this book, but was surprised to find that that changes almost I'll start by saying I did not fall in love with Siege and Storm like I did Shadow and Bone. I usually go into second books in a trilogy knowing they are just mostly going to be a lot of in between stuff to set up for the concluding book. This one really was no different.

At the beginning of the book we are with Alina and Mal. They are still on the run and in hiding. I pretty much thought it would be that way through a good portion of this book, but was surprised to find that that changes almost immediately. To be honest I'm not sure how I felt about that. I was expecting more Alina and Mal time. More romance even. In fact this book employed a trope that is pretty common in YA series; the one where the couple stops talking to and confiding in each other, thus putting a wedge between them. It was mostly Alina who did this. There was no good reason why she couldn't have just told Mal, the person she trusts more than anyone, what was happening. It frustrated and annoyed me to no end. I just wanted to see more interaction between the two of them; more stolen moments of romance. I did actually kind of like Mal being jealous a little bit though, since the shoe was on the other foot for so long.

I liked the addition of Sturmhond in this book. I found him likeable but annoying at the same time. I thought Zoya was a little wasted in this one, and I still don't trust her. I'm wondering what happened to her at the end, she was there in the chapel when the Darkling burst in and that was the last we saw of her.

Now about the Darkling; unlike a lot of other people, I liked that he wasn't ever-present in this book, and I liked the way he haunted Alina, I just wish we would have gotten a bit more of that. The Darkling is one of those seductively evil villains. Yes he is handsome and sexy, but that doesn't erase how very evil he is. What he does to one of the characters in the book is horrifying and just sad.

It felt like there was a world of possibilities at the end of Shadow and Bone and there was hope, but right at the beginning of Siege and Storm it was all crushed. It was a very effective way of getting across how powerful the Darkling is and setting up the tone of pretty much this whole book. For me this book had a bleak, heart-wrenching, sometimes depressing feel throughout most of it and it ends on that same note. I think that was how the book was supposed to be and it worked really well. Just because it evoked those feelings, that doesn't mean I disliked it. It has left me anxious to read Ruin and Rising, and I don't think I've felt this frustrated and bleak at the end of a book since reading Blackveil by Kristen Britain. And thankfully, unlike that series I don't have to wait 3 to 4 years for the next book to find out what happens next.

...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Trisha rated it liked it

"Like calls to like."

Although I love this series, this one was darker and took a very different turn than I was expecting.

And the strange words and locations - it is my biggest complaint and frustration with Fantasy books. This one was especially hard for me, right around the middle, when there were 15 - 20 foreign words with definitions on each small kindle page. It just seems so pointless to have this weird language thrown in when I get the definition right after it.

but the story is still int ...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Kylara Jensen rated it liked it

Shelves: fairy-tales

I just don't know how I feel about this book. I loved loved loved the first book when I read it. But looking back on it, I don't love it as much. And so I really delayed reading this second book. I waited until the day before it was due at the library to start it. And I had a hard time getting into it.

The beginning is really hard to read. It makes me nervous and anxious and I don't like it. It's uncomfortable to read. Then the middle gets better, but Mal and ALina both are being really whiny and ...more

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Jan 28, 2023 Keri rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, series-completed-all, uno-challenge-2019, goodreads-choice-awards

3 (or maybe 3.5 stars, bumped up by 1-the last two chapters, and 2-Nikolai)
Overall the book was good, but there were several parts that felt like they would drag on forever and not enough action went on. Unpopular opinion-I do not love the Darkling so I was really happy not to have him in most of the book, but the control Alina still seemed to let him have over her life was disturbing to me. I didn’t like that even though Alina is stronger, she appeared to become weaker as a person. I also didn’ ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2019 Kayleigh {K-Books} rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own-physical, fantasy

Siege and Storm Review on K-Books

"Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea."

The Grisha books have been sat on my shelf for such a long time and after starting it earlier this year as part of a series readalong I was completely in awe of this amazing series. Following Shadow and Bone, I couldn't wait to get started on the second book in the series. Siege and Storm was even better than Shadow and Bone. I loved every single moment of it.

Siege and Storm picks up exactly where Shadow and ...more

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Apr 17, 2016 Susan rated it it was amazing

WOW WOW WOW, this book was nonstop action packed. I truly never thought a series like this would ever be "my thing" but I am so pleasantly surprised just how much I love this series. I am so in love with the way Leigh Bardugo writes that my next book, after this trilogy, will be her newest called Six of Crows. If you want to try a fast paced fantasy book this trilogy is the one to try. You will not be disappointed at all. Amazing book from start to finish. ...more

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