31. srp 2014.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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Our rating: 4.5 stars

Book summary:
Darkness never dies. Alina and Mal are on the run. Hunted and haunted, but together at last, they can't outrun Alina's past or her destiny forever. The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and he needs Alina to realise his dangerous plan. There are others who would like to use Alina's gift too. And as her power grows, somehow, she must choose between her country, her power, and her love - or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm. Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance. 
         After finishing Shadow and Bone we couldn't wait to get back into this world. So once again we had a great company in Emma @ Never Judge a Book by its Cover and we were ready for a new adventure. So if you have read our review for Shadow and Bone you know how much we liked it, not it's time to share our thoughts about Siege and Storm. So here is our spoiler-free review.

What do you think of the atmosphere and pacing change in Siege and Storm?
Glass: It was refreshing compared with few others second in the series books. The biggest plus for me was that Siege and Storm doesn't suffer from middle book syndrome, it is not simply "a filler"- everything gets more complicated. I liked how Alina was portrayed, she is not perfect and the smartest of them all.
Tanja: I really enjoyed the change in this book. Shadow and Bone was a really action-packed book and now after you got familiar with the story, characters and world-building I was so glad to see things change. This story was more about Alina's attempt to find a purpose. It wasn't as action-packed as Shadow and Bone but still I kept turning pages really fast. I could notice some small details in this world and also in the story so I could create some theories in my head. I'm really curious to see if they are true, or at least close to it.

Your thoughts on Sturmhond?
Tanja: Even though Darkling is someone really interesting to me and I still enjoy to hate his guts. But Sturmhond is changing the atmosphere here. I really enjoyed his wit and sense for humor. It was hard not to laugh out loud. But at the same time I enjoy his unpredictability as I never know what his true motivation is.
Glass: I was pleasantly surprised because I did not expect someone like him to show up in this series. As Tanja said, Darkling is the most intriguing character, but Sturmhond comes close to our villain. There were few things that bothered me, but it is more about certain plot twist than the actual character.

The development of Mel and Alina's relationship.
Glass: I was happy that this aspect of the story got more attention in second book, it explained a lot about Alina and Mal's dynamic. On the other hand I was a little bit annoyed with the way they acted sometimes, mostly because it didn't seem very convincing. I wish I could explain better, but I'm afraid that would be impossible without spoilers. A lot of spoilers. I think you will understand what I mean if you decide to read The Grisha Trilogy.
Tanja: This book brought us a better view on their relationship, as it focuses more on characters than the world itself. So yeah we could see that their connection was something that was there since they were children. Also we could see that they did many things that brought them apart, but somehow I could grasp it this time around. In Shadow and Bone, I could see it and understand it, but not feel it completely. I think that now I could.

Love triangle. Yes? No? Maybe?
Tanja: I'm really not sure what to think here. Yes there was a love-triangle, that's for sure. But essentially I have no idea who is in this because of love and who simply chases interest. But yes we could see Alina's struggle and it really created some complications.
Glass: I have no idea what to say about this. Why? Let's just say that it's complicated. There are hints of possible triangle (or triangles), even a splash of angst, but all of that mostly didn't work out for me.

Which book did you love more?
Glass: Shadow and Bone - it was more magical.
Tanja: Well, for me it was Shadow and Bone. Simply in that book we were introduced to this amazing world and everything in that book was new and vivid. This one was more focused on characters which is not a bad thing, but I'm a fantasy freak first of all.

Describe Siege and Storm in one word.
Tanja: Strengthening.
Glass: Fun.

What do you expect from Ruin and Rising?
Glass: Awesomeness of epic proportions. Answers. More Darkling. Less romance drama.
Tanja: I think we all want to see the huge mystery resolved. Also I'm really curious to see how the author is going to finish this huge confusion. It'll be interesting to see, that for sure.

Until the next time,

Broj komentara: 35:

  1. Yay on the no middle book syndrome. Love that.

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    1. Yeah it's always amazing when you don't have to deal with one! :)

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  2. Yes this definitely didn't have the middle book syndrome. I LOVED Sturmhond!

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  3. Ohhhhkay, so no rating, but whatever. I can't read your review obviously (WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS SO THIS IS NOT FAIR OKAY.) and since there's no rating, I can't even say that I'm glad you loved it, but stilllll. I assume you still enjoyed it so, yay? Yeah? AM I RIGHT?

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  4. I found Darkling extremely intriguing in book one and wanted to know more about him. But the rest of it wasn't too impressive so I never really continued, although I'm thinking about it. Mal lacked the charisma for a male lead, for one, and Alina tended to be whiny.

    But I will continue and I know it'll get better.

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    1. I really hope you'll continue it soon. It is really good! Thanks, Maja :)

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  5. HAHAHA I like the way you think, T. I love hating someone's guts. ITS FUN! That's why I actually love the Darkling, not because of his charm or any of that, I love him because he is a great villain and personally, I am never going to take him seriously as a love interest :P

    I am glad you enjoyed this one ladies even though it wasn't as great as book 1.

    Lovely review, Ladies!!!

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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  6. Ahh i love this! This series defintely made me think and since i'm such a fantasy lover i loved the world building in this series but like you said Siege and Storm was stronger in it's character than world building compared to the first one but i loved the characters so much that worked for me. Lovely review/discussiom girls :)

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    1. I'm so happy that we think the same. Thanks, Lily :)

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  7. oh really nice review. One day I'll r eally have to try the series!

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  8. I agree with everything you. I didn't find the love triangle to be a problem which I really enjoyed which is strange. It certainly didn't suffer the sequel syndrome. And Stormhund, he was brilliant. I loved him as a new introductory character to the series. Lovely review ladies and Thank you for letting me read them with you. :) xx

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  9. I thought this was a bit weaker when you compared it to Shadow and Bone as well. Like you said, it was less magical. I agree with pretty much everything you guys said but I'm going to respectfully disagree on the comment that this was definitely a love triangle based on my personal opinion. I've talked to this about a lot of people but I never saw the romantic situation in this series as a love triangle. I think more than anything Alina was attracted to The Darkling's power and not him as a person. Although they had their issues in this book, Alina and Mal stayed true to themselves. I might sound incredibly rude here, but I feel like The Darkling was "made" into a love interest by some fans who wanted him to be a love interest when I don't think that was Leigh's goal with his character. I think she mostly wanted him to be this enigmatic character but people saw him as more than that. Regardless, I loved hating his guts! And yes, Sturmhound! <3
    I'm excited to see what your thoughts are on the final book!
    Lovely review! :)

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    1. I totally agree for you and it was hard to think about The Darkling as love interest but still Alina was torn between the two and from her POV it seemed like a love triangle. But yeah it was always about Mel and Alina ;) Sturmhound was so amazing!! :) Thanks, Nick :)

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  10. I liked Sturmhound too. I missed the Darkling so he was a nice addition. I hated the romance drama, why do second books always have to do that? I am excited to read the finale.

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    1. Yeah I assume that at the times romance drama was too much. I hope you'll enjoy it :)

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  11. I know most readers enjoyed the first novel but this second book is my favorite of the trilogy, only because there's so much tension between Alina and the rest of the characters. Plus, Sturmhond is such a sweetheart. ;) I can't wait to see what you ladies make of the finale--I hope you enjoy it! :D

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    1. I'm really glad you enjoyed this one. Hopefully we'll review it soon. Thanks, Keertana :)

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  12. I still haven't finished Shadow and Bone, as I've had it on hold for a while, but I'm excited to finish it! I'm not liking either Mal or The Darkling too much, although I am curious to find out more about Mal's backstory. I'm glad that Siege and Storm addresses that more and Sturmhond sounds like a great character.

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    1. I really hope you'll continue as it really gets better. Thanks, Montana :)

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  13. I have yet to get a copy of this although I really adored the first book. I also thought The Darkling was the most intriguing character but I'm excited to know who this Sturmhond character is, I've been reading things about him on blogs and Goodreads. I'm glad you enjoyed this. Great review girls!

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    1. I really hope you'll get a copy soon. Thanks, Dea :)

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  14. The unsureness of how you guys feel about the love triangle has me pretty curious

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  15. I think I liked Shadow & Bone better as well. And I totally agree about Mal and Alina, I just couldn't really get behind those two that much. The Darkling, in all his evilness (ha) still seems infinitely more interesting than Mal :P Great discussion!

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  16. Eh, that doesn't sound encouraging, the fact that Shadow and Bone was better in a nutshell D: I haven't read this yet and skimmed your review, but I'll still be looking forward to this in the long run. Thanks for the fun review, ladies!

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. But still this one was so worth reading :) Thanks, Faye :)

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  17. I really liked Shadow and Bone and immediately jumped into Siege and Storm and read maybe a 100 pages and then I stopped and I haven't picked it up again since.
    Great review, now i'm kinda more interested in finally finishing the series! =)

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  18. Hey, the first is free, just bought it !!!

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