Published: June 4, 2013 by: Henry Holt and Company
Pages: 435
Rating: 5/5 stars
Content Warnings: Violence and gore, predatory behaviour
Alina and Mal are in hiding, on the run from the dangerous Darkling who is in pursuit of Alina and her powers as the Sun Summoner. But when they learn that the Darkling is waging war against Ravka, Alina enlists the help of a mysterious privateer to bring them back to the country they abandoned. But the Darkling is not finished with his manipulation of Alina, and Alina begins to slip further into the Darkling's grasp. Suddenly Alina must choose between her love for Mal, her love for her country, and her newfound powers that could save, or kill, everyone.
I did NOT think I was going to love this book as much as I did. Now did I enjoy Shadow and Bone? Yes. But as always, I have a love/hate relationship with fantasy novels and I have been known to tear a series apart after the first book. But this book ended up being a new favourite for me. I definitely preferred it to even the first.
I think the characters got even stronger in Siege and Storm. Alina is dealing with this internal conflict where she is loyal to Mal, but she also cannot resist her powers and the hold that the Darkling has on her. Mal is one of those characters that you either love or hate. I appreciate that he has some duality there. And speaking of duality... the Darkling is one of the best written villains to ever exist. He is pure evil, but he also has hinted to have some softer sides. I can never side with the villain, but I have to admit, he is such an amazing character.
The plot kept me entertained the entire time. Like I said, I usually get bored in fantasy novels. But this book was so interesting in the ways in which Alina and Mal make their way back to Ravka, and their run-ins with the Darkling. I LOVED the character of the privateer. No spoilers, but the reveal of the privateer's identity blew me away! There were definitely a lot of shocks to this book, which made me feel all the feelings.
Overall, I'm really happy I continued with this series. Sometimes I just let fantasy series stay unfinished, but this series is on track to become a new favourite of mine. Now give me the tv show!
Have you read Siege and Storm? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
What a great review Emily, you really make me want to finish this series now! I actually bought this book and also Book 3 a few months ago but I still haven’t picked up the books yet because so many other great books came inbetween. And I so agree, fantasy books are always such hit or misses & I haven‘t picked up any fantasy books recently either.
ReplyDeleteI have Book 3 on hold at the library and I can't wait to finally get to finish it. I am so happy to have finally found a fantasy series that I actually want to finish lol. Thanks Tessi!
DeleteI really loved reading your review.. even though we don't really agree on anything about the book. 😅 I'm glad you enjoyed it more than I did in either case, and I hope you'll like book 3. (I'm pretty sure that was my favorite of the series, so I'm looking forward to your thoughts.)
ReplyDeleteI have been told by a lot of people that my opinions on this book are unpopular, so I guess a lot of people disliked this one, haha! Either way, I am excited for book 3 now. Thanks Veronika!
DeleteIt's always awesome when sequels are good! (It can so easily go a different way... lol!)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree!
DeleteI really loved this series---can't wait to see what they do with the TV show!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Me too! I’m sure it will be awesome.
DeleteI thought this one was FAR superior to the first book. With each book Leigh Bardugo has released you can really see the improvement in her writing. Also, Nikolai is one of my favorite characters in this series. I can't believe I almost never finished this series after the first book. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on the last one. Spectacular review, Emily!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you agree, Erin! I loved how Nikolai was introduced so that definitely sealed this book as a favourite for me.
DeleteSounds great. I haven't tried Bardugo but I've heard lots of good things. Glad this one was so awesome. I get bored sometimes with fantasy too lately, even though it's always been one of my favorite genres, so when a fantasy book or series comes along and is amazing it's always nice. :)
ReplyDeleteFantasy series that are super long can get old pretty quickly. It's nice when series like these keep the action going all the time :)
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