I have recently finished Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo and I decided to put up a review of it!
If you don't know this book is the second book in the Grisha Trilogy. So in any way possible, this post will contain SPOILERS for the First Book. Rest assured that I will warn you once spoilers for the Second book is present.
If you haven't seen it yet, I have a SPOILER-FREE Review of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, the first book to the trilogy. Click here to redirect you to my review!
Let's begin with the review!
Details:
Title: Seige and Storm (The Grisha #2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Number of Pages: 435
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Published on: June 4, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Price: $21.08 (BD), $17.99 (Amazon), Php 865.00 (NBS) & Php 810 (FB)
*Prices may change due to different sales/offers.
Purchase the book at:
*I am NOT getting any profit for endorsing these sites
Synopsis:
"Darkness never dies.
Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm."
About the Author:
Leigh Bardugo is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Grisha Trilogy: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and most recently, makeup and special effects. These days, she’s lives and writes in Hollywood where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band. Her new book, Six of Crows, arrives fall 2015.
Reach the author at:
Review/Rating:
I have a lot of things to talk about with this awesome book! I will try my very best to express my complete thoughts about this wonderful installment in the Grisha Trilogy! I will use the same structure of review as I did on sequels of a books as seen on my past reviews.
I have a lot of things to talk about with this awesome book! I will try my very best to express my complete thoughts about this wonderful installment in the Grisha Trilogy! I will use the same structure of review as I did on sequels of a books as seen on my past reviews.
- On the Beginning: The book started a bit greater than how the first book started. It was not confusing as we already know what their world is all about. The "Before" and "After" also helped a lot in kind of recapping the ending of the first book. The beginning of the book also was great in capturing the readers than in the first book. Leigh Bardugo did her best in continuing the story with a not so awkward/fast paced beginning of the sequel.
- On the Main Characters: I loved how the old characters changed! I wouldn't say that Mal, Alina, and the Darkling changed for the better, but I would say they grew or changed a lot. I didn't like Alina's transition but I would say that it was needed to make the story very interesting. Her character I would say developed as she was able to escape the Darkling in the first book, she learned things that may help him or made her stronger. Mal's transition was more of like a zigzag road (forced comparison there. Lol). As we read the books in Alina's perspective, Mal's mood and actions was far confusing. His character would be sweet by the beginning, and then at the middle part of the book he would just accept things, then at the end part of the book he'll get to sweet again. Though, I must say I really like what Bardugo did to Mal's character. She (Bardugo) made Mal an even more interesting character than just being a supporting/main-love-team character. His (Mal) kind-of confession/things that he did made him and Alina much more interesting characters. The Darkling's character is almost the same, except for the fact that he got worst. His character was very surprising, especially in Alina's character. (I literally meant surprising, you'll understand me once you already have read the book). His character hungers for much more power (than you might ever imagine) and that made his character worst (for me) but his character added a lot in the story's improvement. Without doing such things he (Darkling) did, Mal and Alina would not be the same. Overall, I'm impressed on how Leigh managed to get these characters on where they are in the last book.
- On the Supporting Characters: (Warning this part of the review may contain spoilers, I will include new characters that were not mentioned in the synopsis. I will inform you once the spoiler-ish part is over.) I loved how the supporting characters helped to make the story better. The mid-beginning of the book introduced new mysterious characters that added a new twist to the story. Those characters were mainly Sturmhond, Tolya, and Tamar (I focused on them. Lol) Sturmhond's character is very very mysterious indeed. His character played and will play a lot of role throughout the series. I really like his character as he helped Alina a lot. Since this is a spoiler zone, I will make the most out of it and express my thoughts about Sturmhond. Sturmhond at the first part was quite a deep character. He doesn't allow himself to be recognized. And then when he became the prince of Ravka that blew my mind away. Sturmhond became that funny, strategic, well planned prince of Ravka, Nikolai Lantsov. The Nikaloi Lantsov that had his heart placed in Alina's heart. I personally ship them for a while you know. (No hate, I also ship Mal with Alina.) Nikolai is a different character from the rest. He can be as manipulative as the Darkling. He can show a side of him that you need without doubt. He's very very wise. I really loved and laughed at Nikolai's character. Tolya and Tamar are great characters. Though I was shocked that Tolya is a boy and Tamar is a girl. I think it should be vise versa. Lol. I loved Zoya and all of the rest characters as they made the story much interesting. And Vasily? Don't ever ask me about Vasily. He is the most annoying character in the history of characters. He's so dumb. he's not thinking enough as being on his position. He is the exact opposite of Nikolai. Overall, these characters have been given great justice by Leigh Bardugo. (Spoilers are over.)
- On the Story: I have to say I was quite expecting less than what I got since usually the middle part of a series/trilogy is kind of like a bridge and doesn't offer a lot than the beginning and the conclusion. I underestimated Leigh's writing skills which made me love her even more! The story developed a lot more than in the first installment, Shadow and Bone. We follow Alina as she escaped the Darkling. She hid with Mal in the western part of the world (or the Map). Their love was yet again interrupted as Darkness never dies. They go along a journey to find the second amplifier as the Darkling planned. She then escapes with the help of a privateer and returns to Ravka. Alina is determined to stop the forces of the Darkling but as she tries to do so, she falls into the Darkling's trick of forbidden magic and farther away from Mal. Like look at that summary. It so good! I loved the different elements in the story. I loved the action packed part of the book where you just can't stop reading. I also loved the new set of romance present in this book. I loved the different tales and the old tale of different creatures. This story is unbelievably greater and better!
- On the Ending: (Spoiler Alert) The ending is mind blowing. Like I never imagined how the Darkling would be able to enter the Little Palace. As much as I hate Vasily for being so careless, I admire Darkling as a villain. I think he might be may favorite villain. He thinks out of the box that makes the story better. I was surprised on how Nikolai can figure out the Darkling's plans withing minutes of knowing what Vasily carelessly did. I was shocked on Alina's need for power that she was able to control the nichevo'ya and link her power to the Darkling. I was not surprised that she is ready to give up her live for the Mal and the others. She's always like that. I'm also not surprised with Mal grabbing Alina off. Alina's expected to survive, there still a book left in the trilogy. (Lol) I was surprised in Tolya and Tamar's alliance with the Apparat. Overall, the ending is unexpected. It blew my mind away!
Reading with Luigi gives Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo a
4.9/5 Books!
Favorite Quotes:
“The less you say, the more weight your words will carry.”
“When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.”
“Of course not," said Sturmhond. "Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.”
“I have loved you all my life, Mal," I whispered through my tears. "There is no end to our story.”
“I want to kiss you,” Nikolai said. “But I won’t. Not until you’re thinking of me instead of trying to forget him.”
“What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.”
My Friend's Short Rating/Review:
Too bad, I only got a person to give me their opinion because a.) a lot of my friends are busy and b.) a lot of my friends haven't read the book. Even so, I'm so happy I can help you with another opinion!
"An even more amazing sequel to a unique first book. The second book was filled with action and romance which you will not expect. The world Bardugo has created is beyond amazing. It's a must-read." - Justine Dy (whom recently started his blog over at Bookwormaniac) gave the book a 4/5 Stars and read the book last May 2015.
--
And so that's it! I'm very very sorry if I messed up a little bit in this review. Already finished Ruin and Rising while doing this review! Review of which will soon to come!
That's it for today! You'll read from again really soon!
Wishing you guys a lot of good reads!
No comments:
Post a Comment