Mundie Moms

Monday, June 10, 2013

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, Book Review




Published by: Henry Holt
Released on: June 4th, 2013
Series: The Grisha #2
Source: arc from publisher to review
5 Stars: I Loved It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

 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, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But 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.


A dark, dangerous and enchanting sequel, Siege & Storm is a book I devoured in one sitting. I clung to this book's pages as Leigh Bardugo took me on a darker, more suspenseful journey through the dangerous parts of Alina's world. WOW! I wasn't excepting the majority of what happens in this book, and I loved it! From the action, to the character relationships, romance, and shocking twists, this sequel screams brilliance. What a fitting sequel to Shadow and Bone. It was nothing that I excepted, and oh Darkling, did this book leave me an emotional wreck. 

There's something to be said about an author who's not afraid to tell the story their character wants to tell, and not the one they want to tell. These are the authors who aren't afraid to make their readers hurt, cry, laugh, love, sigh, and have their readers email them going "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?". Oh yes, I have officially put Leigh Bardugo in the same category I have Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, and other authors who aren't afraid of the wrath they receive from loyal fans/readers who are totally caught off guard with what they put their characters through. Let's face it, if we always got that happy, go lucky, perfect storyline in every book we really loved, it would be boring. These authors know how to shake things up, and make you feel every emotion their characters do. That's one of the things the makes me pick up their books over and over again. Well that and the fact their writing is brilliant, and their characters have found a spot in my heart that's all their own.

And like the authors I've listed, Leigh Bardugo also has that talent of making the tides turn. Prior to the start of Siege and Storm I was totally on a certain team, but some events happen, and misunderstandings occur, I became part of Team Alina. This is a character who surprises me. No matter how dark, and discouraging things get, she prevails, and keeps going. Sure she does something less than stellar things in this book, but who doesn't make mistakes. It's all part of her learning process. Through all the stuff that happens in this book Alina stays true to herself, and her belief in what she's doing is for the best/good. Even though there are moments of despair and heartbreak for her, there are also moments she had me laughing, and moments that had me sighing. Though Mal and The Darkling play a big part of her darker journey, there's a new character who came bursting onto the scene in this book that not only made me laugh with the way he ruffles Alina and Mal's feathers, but this guy is seriously one sly fox. 

Sturmhond is a character I wasn't excepting to met, nor did I except to like him after his first introduction. He's one of those characters who takes charge of the scene he's in. He's someone who firmly puts in himself in this story, and makes it extremely hard to one, not notice him, and two, hard to forget. He's one of those characters who makes you as a reader put your guard up a little bit ( or a lot), as you're not sure if you want to trust him or not, but the more you read about him, the more you realize your guard goes down a little bit more each time. Part of his intrigue is finding out what his real motives are, and finding out who he really is. I love the big twist Leigh throws in the story with his character. One of the things I liked the most about him, is the humor he brings to the story. 

Siege and Storm is one heck of a sequel. It's dark, intriguing, twisted, and a book I couldn't put down. Nothing I excepted to have happen in this book happened, and I love that! It's full of surprises, despair, hope, action, strong will, and as that sizzling character chemistry I loved about Shadow & Bone, but in a different way this time. If you were a fan of Shadow & Bone, I highly recommend picking this one up. If you've not yet read Leigh's series, GO PICK IT UP! It's one of my all time favorites. Even though I'm still trying to recover from all that happens in this book, I can't wait for book 3! Though I won't lie, I'm a little nervous about what's to come, and who Alina will choice. Let's just saw, picking herself looks like a fabulous option to me. I'm all for Team Girls Who Kick Butt!


Stop by my Siege & Storm blog tour post HERE to meet Sturmhond and Alina and enter to WIN.

1 comment:

  1. Wasn't Sturmhound the best?!?!?! I was totally surprised that I also ended up loving him so freaking much!
    And besides, Siege and Storm was absolutely epic!:)

    ReplyDelete

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