Siege and Storm
Ratings659
Average rating3.6
Not to be dramatic but HOLY SHIT. I saw a lot of disappointment surrounding this trilogy, that the first book is the best book and what not. but this book is SO GOOD. First five star of the year Woo Hoo. When I tell you Leigh Bardugo never misses, she NEVER misses. Love her pacing, love the realness of the characters, the way that even though characters are overwhelmed by duty or power or whatever else, they never lose the romance or the fear. The characters always have every aspect of themselves, and as someone who can never get a break from her own trauma or emotions, I appreciate that. Nevermind that bad ass scene, you know, that one at the end there >.> Never thought I'd get excited over something like that!!!
Ugh. I have so many thoughts. I love this book so much. And since its only midnight, I daresay it's a perfect time to read the third and final novel in this trilogy.
I love this book but everytime I try to read it, it's a struggle for me to actually finish it. But everyone clap for me, I did it.
“I want to kiss you,” Nikolai said. “But I won't. Not until you're thinking of me instead of trying to forget him.”I think [b:Siege and Storm 14061955 Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1362166252l/14061955.SX50.jpg 19699752] is better than [b:Shadow and Bone 10194157 Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339533695l/10194157.SX50.jpg 15093325]... probably because Alina is less annoying. :D I don't have many opinions on this book because I honestly don't remember much. What I do remember:They were found by the Darkling, brought to a ship, Sturmhond who is actually Nikolai is special or something and got them away from the Darkling, the ship was flying?? okay, Alina discovers more amplifiers, they go to Os Alta and stuff happens idk I was tired when I was reading...Anywho, Mal is still annoying. He's probably only dating Alina for clout. But Archie Renaux better redeem Mal...
I was so looking forward to this book because the first book was so good! Yet it didn't deliver :(
The middle of the book was long and boring and only got interesting again in the last 50 or so pages. I hope that the third book is better.
Executive Summary: I struggled a lot with this book. The beginning kind of annoyed me, but then things picked up only to get bogged down again. I'm definitely not enjoying this as much as the sequel series. 2.5 stars
Audiobook: Lauren Fortgang does another good job. Her narration definitely helped keep me going during the slow parts. There is only so much that can be done with so much melodrama though.
Full Review
I'm still interested in the Netflix series coming out later this month, but I'm becoming less interested in the book series the further in I get. I find Mal pretty insufferable. I find the Darkling pretty cartoonish. I find Alina OK, but not particularly endearing.
I feel like not much actually happens in this book, and most of what does happens either fairly early on in the book, or right near the end. The rest is just a lot of waiting and melodrama.
I'm going to finish the series, but mostly since I already bought it. I'm hoping things pick up in the final book, and if not hopefully I enjoy the TV series more.
Non male, la storia mi intriga e in generale è più interessante del primo libro.
Sono sempre dell'idea che sarebbe stato più interessante avere un punto di vista generale per comprendere meglio l'interiorità di tutti gli altri personaggi (specie Nikolai, personaggio che ho apprezzato molto) anziché una prima persona che non mi coinvolge particolarmente, ma va bene, mi aspettavo di peggio.
L'unica cosa che proprio non ho retto è stato il dramma amoroso di Mal e Alina: talmente cliché e inutile da farmi venire il latte alle ginocchia.
this book DRAGS for most of it......... but it was enjoyable because of tamar and nikolai
I loved the part on the boat at the beginning, it really felt like a pirate story. After that I didn't felt that much invested in the story and the characters (especially Mal, so whiny...) but it was interesting enough and I really liked Nikolai and his story, I will for sure read the duology about him.
Ps: The Darkling creeps me out, I don't understand the fan's fascination with him as a romantic interest.
3,5 - No geral achei mais parado que o primeiro, mas ainda é legal conhecer mais do mundo e dos personagens. Acho que conhecer os novos personagens foi uma das melhores partes do livro, que teve momentos de euforia/tensão no começo e bem no final, então a maior parte foi dedicada a esses novos personagens que já tiveram papel importante e provável que ainda cresçam mais. Agora os protagonistas têm que dar uma melhoradinha viu kk
one of the best fantasy books I ever read. everything about this book is good. from the political ideas and to ‘sturmhound' crazy adventure.
Mal is boring. I don't like him. Don't like his jealousy. Just byeee
I love nikolai though and this book was really good and intense
hello my favourite trope, characters not talking with each other!
pacing at the beginning kinda threw me off, but overall still enjoyabe enough.
but. Dear author. Did you really had to name a character “Hello”?
Tell me if you've heard this one before - when she is very young and doesn't know herself, a girl falls for a boy. To her, he is everything she is not. He is greater than her in every way she thinks matters - he's more beautiful, more charming, more capable and strong. She loves him so much that she shrinks herself to fit into his life and his world - until one day she can't. Her greatness is forced out of her and she swells. Her strength, her beauty, her absolute otherworldliness explodes for everyone to see. And finally, the boy realizes he loves her too. But she's grown so much that she doesn't fit into his world - which they now both realize is quite small - so instead of trying to fit into hers, all he can do is tell her how much he wishes she was small again. There are a few books that tackle this. The [b:Shatter Me 10429045 Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) Tahereh Mafi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1310649047l/10429045.SY75.jpg 15333458] series, despite its many flaws, handles this dynamic very well and calls it for what it is. More likely though, if you're a woman or socialized as one, you've lived it, or watched it happen to someone you know or care about. And Alina Starkov is no different. But man, it'd be nice to read a story for once where men are just a little better.Let's get it straight - Siege and Storm is pretty boring. Unlike [a:Tahereh Mafi 4637539 Tahereh Mafi https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1444252799p2/4637539.jpg], Leigh Bardugo makes sure her heroine goes through the work of becoming a true leader and is faithful to what it actually takes. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to have the ability or the interest in making it exciting. Much like Shadow and Bone, not a whole lot happens in this book, but it isn't nearly as compelling because we aren't propelled by the same kind of narrative. In the first book, we see Alina get the Cinderella treatment and then see her betrayed. We are with her on her emotional journey. Here we see Alina go from fugitive to political and military leader, as she returns to Ravka and the Little Palace having agreed to help the second-in-line Prince Nikolai with his bid for the throne in exchange for control of the Second Army. A classic narrative this is not. There isn't really a core conflict here either, its just Alina fumbling through boring strategy meetings and doing dumb things in order to get something exciting to happen. The emotional core of the story instead lies between her and Mal, her childhood best friend and now lover, which as it happens makes this book even more tiring.This story is about Alina and the Darkling. I'm not saying this because I think the Darkling is sexy or some fangirl shit like that. I'm saying this because the dynamic between these twin forces is what this series is built on. So why did they spend an entire book away from each other aside from force projections? I keep seeing these narratives of two people with god-like powers trying to do battle, and somehow there's always some douchebag on the sidelines trying to distract the girl because “This isn't you,” or “why can't things be like before?” or “Let's just run away.” Oh my god, dude, she's better and more important than you, get the fuck over it. What I'd give for a story where the normie boyfriend just says “What do you need from me?” and doesn't throw a fit when he realizes his girlfriend could crush him like a bug.Am I even still talking about this book? Were there things I liked about it? Of course. Like everyone, I like Nikolai. Mostly, I really liked the political and strategic elements he brought to the story. There was so much potential for this to be a great court drama but its just not followed through with. The final act was pretty exciting though, it was dark and violent and pulled no punches. I liked how Alina and the Darkling were finally brought together. The fact that their words to each other kind of sounded like marriage vows was not surprising, and reaffirms what I've been saying. But overall this installment was very dull, it expands on all of the lesser elements of the first book and very few of the better ones.
I just don't understand why this book is better than the first one, but still kinda sucks.
i actually liked this better than shadow and bone for a couple reasons:
1. NIKOLAI
that's it
that's the review
just kidding
i also found myself more engaged and having strong feelings about the characters, albeit negative ones cough mal cough
it was still messy and nothing happened until the end and alina is a still a piece of white bread i had a better time reading this, probably because i listened to it
I like Nikolai. I don't much like Alina. I don't like the Darkling at all, and all his “unhappy childhood”, BS, doesn't justify anything. Millions of people have unhappy childhood without becoming psychopaths. I like Mal.
And I kind of like these books. Still reading, huh :-D
I love this series! It's a dark, fantastical read. The continuing journey of Mal, Alina and the Grisha is exciting and wrought with drama, action and growth. Alina has to be strong in order to defeat the Darkling, but what of the growing darkness and power within her...her hunger for it increasing. The only thing that annoyed me was Mal and Alina .. I understand the need to portray their insecurities but felt it was too long prominent in the overall story. Nickolai is a fast favorite and I feel his confidence and intelligence is good for Alina. This a great 2nd installment and I am looking forward to what happens next now.
the interview at the end of my edition of siege and storm describes Mal as a “great male character”. I almost threw the book out the window.
3 stars!
The Pros:
- The Darkling
- Side characters that I enjoyed and really liked
- We learn and see more of Ravka
- Sturmhond is dreamy
The Cons:
- Alina annoyed the living crap out of me so much in this book
- I liked the side characters more than the main character
- Mal and Alina were... inhales in frustration
- Can I just go back to book 1??
I will be reading book 3 to find out what happens next, though at this point I'm reading literally just for the Darkling and ‘‘Sturmhond'' lol