By Leigh Bardugo
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo is the second book in the Grisha Trilogy, AKA the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. It is a YA Fantasy book that is rated 12 and up.
Spoilers for the first book in the trilogy ahead. Do not keep reading if you haven't already read Shadow and Bone.
Netflix will be adapting the Grishaverse books into a series premiering in April 2021 following not only the Shadow and Bones story, but also the Six of Crows story, another book by Leigh Bardugo set in the Grishaverse.
Synopsis
Rumors had surfaced that the Darkling had somehow survived the battle on the Fold, that he had gone to ground to gather his forces before making another attempt on the Ravkan throne. -Pg. 8
Alina Starkov is the Sun Summoner and thanks to Morozovas's Stag she now has an amplifier that makes her more powerful than ever. However, that power came at a price. Alina and Mal escaped the Darkling on the Shadow Fold, but now they are on the run, being hunted across the True Sea and they know that they can't outrun him forever. The Darkling is more determined than ever to use Alina's power to take the Ravkan throne and with no where else to turn to, Alina and Mal team up with an infamous privateer to take back her country.
No Spoiler Review
The boy and girl walked forward, and took their first rolling steps in the new world. "Please," the girl prayed silently to any Saints who might be listening, "let us be safe here. Let us be home." -Pg. 4
First and foremost, I really enjoyed this book! I heard a lot of mixed opinions about Siege and Storm before I started it, but I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it just as much as the first book in the trilogy which is rare for me!
As far as characters go, we get to see the return of some of the characters from the first book, as well as getting to meet some new ones. The older ones are expanded upon and the new ones are just as interesting if not more interesting than the old ones. The privateer that Alina teams up with was exceptionally interesting to me since no one really seems to know his background or which side his true loyalties lie on in the beginning of the book. I also really enjoyed the change in Alina from the first book to this book. She's been through some stuff so she's definitely a lot more guarded now and a lot less trusting.
Like Shadow and Bone, I think Leigh Bardugo did a great job with this book with cutting out any unnecessary information. She doesn't waste time dragging things out and I love that about these books. There's no fluff just for the sake of making it longer or dragging out the suspense. Everything in this book was there for a reason.
The relationship between Alina and Mal was the only thing that I'm really unsure about in this book and everyone seems to have similar opinions on this topic. I don't want to say that I don't like Mal, I just think that their relationship is kinda toxic. Mal constantly seems to switch back and forth between supporting Alina in her choices, and being upset. About what? He never really says. He just gets all pouty and stalks off. My guess is that he's so used to Alina being weak and needing him for everything, that he's jealous or just upset that Alina can fend for herself now and doesn't need him so much. That doesn't mean she doesn't love him, but he seems to be convinced that if she doesn't need him then she won't love him anymore.
Final Thoughts Before Spoilers
Overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to start reading the third one! I definitely recommend it to anyone who liked Shadow and Bone. It was fast-paced, interesting, and like the first book, always had me on the edge of my seat! And to anyone who thinks that the beginning of this book is boring, stick it out. The ending is insane and definitely worth it! The Grishaverse is such an interesting world and I can't wait to explore it more with the rest of Leigh Bardugo's books!
Please feel free to message me with any questions or comments you have about my review or the book itself! I'd be happy to chat with you!
Review With Spoilers
This was no Small Science. This was magic, something ancient, the making at the heart of the world. It was terrifying, limitless. No wonder the Darkling hungered for more. -Pg. 420
I'm writing this literally right after finishing Siege and Storm so please excuse any crazy rambling! The ending of this book was so fast paced and utterly insane that it left me speechless. Let's start with some of the easier parts to digest and work our way into the crazier parts. This book had a lot of plot twists in it so let's unpack some of them together.
Can we just talk for a second about how Sturmhond was actually Nikolai? I definitely didn't see that one coming. I mean, we knew that Sturmhond had some kind of secret identity that he wasn't sharing but the Prince of Ravka? I genuinely thought that the client that Sturmhond was taking Alina too was going to be the Apparat. They had mentioned him so many times I thought for sure that's who the secret client was. I never once suspected that Sturmhond had a Tailor that was changing his appearance or that he was actually the secret client in disguise. Then there's the fact that Tolya and Tamar, Nikolai's most trusted, ended up working with the Aparat who turned out to not be so bad after all.
Additionally, I think that seeing Alina struggle with herself in this book was really interesting. She was always told that power would change her, but we really get to see that first hand in this book. She becomes harder, with a shorter temper, and anger issues that may even rival the Darkling's. When she left the Grisha in the Fold at the end of the first book it was definitely dark, but it was also survival. She didn't have much of a choice in that moment. However, when she almost uses the Cut on Sergei, or when she looses her temper and lashes out at Baghra are both moments when she looses control. Alina is forced to face the fact that she's changing and it's scaring her, but at the same time, she'll also do whatever it takes to defeat the Darkling.
Now for some of the darker parts I'd like to touch on. I think we all knew Genya was going to be punished for letting Alina escape from the Darkling on the ship, but that reveal in the chapel when she pulls off the shawl was heartbreaking. By that point in the book I didn't even like Genya anymore and I still couldn't help but feel sorry for her in that moment. The fact that David was the one to go to her in that moment just made it even more heartbreaking.
However, my favorite moment of the book was the moment when Alina turns away from Mal with every intent of killing herself just to kill the Darkling. I didn't know what to think when Alina went to the Darkling and gave herself and her power over to him and by the time I figured out what she was doing things were moving so fast that I couldn't really process my feelings in that moment. I actually had to close the book for a moment and take a breather when Mal and Alina got caught under the debris of the chapel. It was so well done in my opinion and it's rare that a first person narrative has me confused about the narrator's motives.
Through some of the glimpses we get of the Darkling I can confidently say that I truly think the Darkling loves Alina. However, his lust for power definitely overshadows his love for Alina and he's such a twisted person that he probably wouldn't know how to treat her properly even if he wasn't so power-hungry. I'd also really like to know how the Darkling was able to physically appear to Aline throughout the book. My guess is some sort of shadow travel.
Based on the ending of this book, I'm kind of scared to see what Ruin and Rising has in store. And yet, as nervous as I am to see what Leigh Bardugo has in store for these characters in the next book, I can't wait to start reading it! I think that this book was so well done and honestly don't have enough good things to say about it. I'm so glad that I finally picked up this trilogy! It has been on my TBR for way too long.