Book Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha #2
Series: The Grisha #2
Date Started: October 20th 2013
Date Completed: October 23rd 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Action
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I was very excited for this book. I absolutely loved Shadow and Bone, and so I was really eager to see how the story continued. Overall, I don't think it was quite as epic as the first book, mainly because there didn't seem to be a strong objective for the story. However, having said that, it didn't stop me from loving it anyway. The last book is going to make me speechless, I can already tell.
After Alina and Mal escaped the Darkling, they've been on the run from town to town, hiding in plain sight and waiting for their next chance to leave. But sometimes running just isn't enough, and it's not long before the Darkling catches up to them. But when the enemy's ship starts to show evidence of helping Alina and Mal, things start to become confusing when a disguised prince declares himself and the Sun Summoner is carted off to the capital to save Ravka. But it seems the people's expectations of Alina is a little too much for her to handle. Not that she has much of a choice: she has to help them, or their whole - and her own - will fall to the Darkling. And then it can never rise again.
I have to admit, nothing particularly stuck out in the writing to me. That seems to be happening a lot lately, so I'm tempted to say that maybe it isn't because of this writing style, it might just be me. But, that said, nothing bad sticks out to me either. It's a lot better than the majority of Young Adult fiction out there, if I'm brutally honest.
I think the action is told wonderfully - action mainly including Alina's powers (unfortunately this isn't one of my review of physical kick-ass books - although I would love to see that in this series). The imagery was great, and then the general description was really interesting to read as well. Romance was great, and the arguments that took place were so realistic. I don't think I've ever read a fantasy book that has been able to portray a believable relationship between two people: tiny little things were argued about, but they were things that you could imagine would annoy someone, even though we might not be able to relate to them because we aren't the powerful equivalents of witches.
Finally, Alina's narration. It took me a minute to remember that the book is actually told from a 1st person perspective; it feels so much like the 3rd person. For me, that's a good thing. I prefer books told in the 3rd person, because they're less likely to be overwhelmed by someone's own opinions. However, the point of writing in 1st person is so that opinions come through - and eventually you get to know the narrator through the personality they have in the writing. A let down for me is that this doesn't really happen with Alina; she feels quite disconnected with her narrative and personality.
Right. I said up in the introduction that one of the big let downs for me was the fact there wasn't really a storyline. That's true and it isn't. I felt there wasn't a strict storyline that kept the reader stuck to find out how it was going to be resolved. But, despite this, I was still stuck to the page and a awful lot did happen. In a way, I think it's great, because it breaks out of the normal constraints of fictional writing: typically there will be the start of the book, and then something will happen that will create an ultimate ending goal (e.g. the characters find themselves plunged into war and we want to know how they survive at the end). But Seige and Storm (and I remember this coming out a little in Shadow and Bone) don't stick to that.
The action begins almost straight away and then things start to fall over each other one after another. This is great in keeping the reader's attention, since they literally have no idea what's going to happen next. However, my only problem with this is that I think it's really important to prove that your story is going to get somewhere within a book. This novel definitely did get somewhere, but I have a feeling it wouldn't be quite enough for some people.
One other thing I have to mention is the amazing mythology Bardugo has created for her world. I would be very interested in buying a collection of her 'fairytales' from Ravka. I wouldn't mind living there either.
I really, really liked the characters in the first book. I think I fell a little harder for them this time.
Alina is a great protagonist, and frankly, the development she went through in this book staggered me. At the beginning she's very similar to how she acts in the first book, and I liked that. It was familiar and safe. But then everything starts happening and she starts to change, and then by the end you have to stop yourself (there was literally a specific line for me) and think just how much she's grown up. And she grew up in a good way, and she grew up in a bad way. Obviously, a person needs to adapt to survive, and that's what Alina does - but while doing that she loses some part of herself along the way. And this is what would happen in real life. And the fact it's done so bluntly really emphasises the affect.
I've fallen in love with Mal, I swear. I really liked him the first time around, but now he's my favourite character. There's something so blindingly simple about him, I just can't resist it. Really, I should be criticising that fact, since it isn't that realistic, but for some reason it works really well, and he still manages to be the hero. (Another thing I like, Mal's regarded as the 'hero', not Alina. Just another little snippet I found interesting and hope is elaborated on in the next book.)
Sturmhond. You know I'm not sure what to think about him. At first, I was very wary of him, and I think I grew to like him, just like the characters. Then he annoyed me so much because he crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed and it wasn't really mentioned again and that annoyed me. But then he started to disappear towards the end and now I"m really unsure. I definitely don't dislike him. I'm just not sure whether I actually like him yet or not.
Tamar and Tolya were great. They faded into the background a little bit for me, unfortunately, and I really wish some of the book's chapters had included Alina getting to know them, since it felt like she trusted them more than her actions implied. And also, I just generally like them.
Finally, The Darkling. He was in the book much less than I had expected, which is both good and bad. I liked it when he was included because he still held that threat and the way Alina acted around him was very different from what I'm used to protagonists doing around the antagonists of stories. However, there are some things I wish had been resolved, because they haven't been answered, and I don't think they will be.
Like I mentioned earlier, the pace was very good. There was always something happening, although it wasn't always vital to the plot. Something I did find a little irritating was the fact that there were quite long passages of writing that didn't really contribute to the overall story. This isn't necessarily bad, but I just think with such a complex and epic trilogy, there must have been something else to add to the main plot.
I would recommend Seige and Storm to anyone who loves fantasy. There's a quote from Stylist Magazine on the top of my copy, stating that the series is 'The Hunger Games meets Potter meets Twilight meets Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones,' and I couldn't agree more. If you're just getting into hardcore fantasy, start with this series, it's amazing. There's also some great, realistic romance in there that's still enjoyable, and of course the magic and action is executed perfectly. Definitely on my most recommended list.
(But, you should read Shadow and Bone first, otherwise things could get confusing, and you'll also spoil a lot if you decide to go back to the first book.)
Image Source - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oyKMHUc-BBQ/UZC28PAx1OI/AAAAAAAAAPw/
EVTn3oQx60M/s1600/179948_525507750818731_1177546746_n.jpg
I was very excited for this book. I absolutely loved Shadow and Bone, and so I was really eager to see how the story continued. Overall, I don't think it was quite as epic as the first book, mainly because there didn't seem to be a strong objective for the story. However, having said that, it didn't stop me from loving it anyway. The last book is going to make me speechless, I can already tell.
After Alina and Mal escaped the Darkling, they've been on the run from town to town, hiding in plain sight and waiting for their next chance to leave. But sometimes running just isn't enough, and it's not long before the Darkling catches up to them. But when the enemy's ship starts to show evidence of helping Alina and Mal, things start to become confusing when a disguised prince declares himself and the Sun Summoner is carted off to the capital to save Ravka. But it seems the people's expectations of Alina is a little too much for her to handle. Not that she has much of a choice: she has to help them, or their whole - and her own - will fall to the Darkling. And then it can never rise again.
I have to admit, nothing particularly stuck out in the writing to me. That seems to be happening a lot lately, so I'm tempted to say that maybe it isn't because of this writing style, it might just be me. But, that said, nothing bad sticks out to me either. It's a lot better than the majority of Young Adult fiction out there, if I'm brutally honest.
I think the action is told wonderfully - action mainly including Alina's powers (unfortunately this isn't one of my review of physical kick-ass books - although I would love to see that in this series). The imagery was great, and then the general description was really interesting to read as well. Romance was great, and the arguments that took place were so realistic. I don't think I've ever read a fantasy book that has been able to portray a believable relationship between two people: tiny little things were argued about, but they were things that you could imagine would annoy someone, even though we might not be able to relate to them because we aren't the powerful equivalents of witches.
Finally, Alina's narration. It took me a minute to remember that the book is actually told from a 1st person perspective; it feels so much like the 3rd person. For me, that's a good thing. I prefer books told in the 3rd person, because they're less likely to be overwhelmed by someone's own opinions. However, the point of writing in 1st person is so that opinions come through - and eventually you get to know the narrator through the personality they have in the writing. A let down for me is that this doesn't really happen with Alina; she feels quite disconnected with her narrative and personality.
Right. I said up in the introduction that one of the big let downs for me was the fact there wasn't really a storyline. That's true and it isn't. I felt there wasn't a strict storyline that kept the reader stuck to find out how it was going to be resolved. But, despite this, I was still stuck to the page and a awful lot did happen. In a way, I think it's great, because it breaks out of the normal constraints of fictional writing: typically there will be the start of the book, and then something will happen that will create an ultimate ending goal (e.g. the characters find themselves plunged into war and we want to know how they survive at the end). But Seige and Storm (and I remember this coming out a little in Shadow and Bone) don't stick to that.
The action begins almost straight away and then things start to fall over each other one after another. This is great in keeping the reader's attention, since they literally have no idea what's going to happen next. However, my only problem with this is that I think it's really important to prove that your story is going to get somewhere within a book. This novel definitely did get somewhere, but I have a feeling it wouldn't be quite enough for some people.
One other thing I have to mention is the amazing mythology Bardugo has created for her world. I would be very interested in buying a collection of her 'fairytales' from Ravka. I wouldn't mind living there either.
I really, really liked the characters in the first book. I think I fell a little harder for them this time.
Alina is a great protagonist, and frankly, the development she went through in this book staggered me. At the beginning she's very similar to how she acts in the first book, and I liked that. It was familiar and safe. But then everything starts happening and she starts to change, and then by the end you have to stop yourself (there was literally a specific line for me) and think just how much she's grown up. And she grew up in a good way, and she grew up in a bad way. Obviously, a person needs to adapt to survive, and that's what Alina does - but while doing that she loses some part of herself along the way. And this is what would happen in real life. And the fact it's done so bluntly really emphasises the affect.
I've fallen in love with Mal, I swear. I really liked him the first time around, but now he's my favourite character. There's something so blindingly simple about him, I just can't resist it. Really, I should be criticising that fact, since it isn't that realistic, but for some reason it works really well, and he still manages to be the hero. (Another thing I like, Mal's regarded as the 'hero', not Alina. Just another little snippet I found interesting and hope is elaborated on in the next book.)
Sturmhond. You know I'm not sure what to think about him. At first, I was very wary of him, and I think I grew to like him, just like the characters. Then he annoyed me so much because he crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed and it wasn't really mentioned again and that annoyed me. But then he started to disappear towards the end and now I"m really unsure. I definitely don't dislike him. I'm just not sure whether I actually like him yet or not.
Tamar and Tolya were great. They faded into the background a little bit for me, unfortunately, and I really wish some of the book's chapters had included Alina getting to know them, since it felt like she trusted them more than her actions implied. And also, I just generally like them.
Finally, The Darkling. He was in the book much less than I had expected, which is both good and bad. I liked it when he was included because he still held that threat and the way Alina acted around him was very different from what I'm used to protagonists doing around the antagonists of stories. However, there are some things I wish had been resolved, because they haven't been answered, and I don't think they will be.
Like I mentioned earlier, the pace was very good. There was always something happening, although it wasn't always vital to the plot. Something I did find a little irritating was the fact that there were quite long passages of writing that didn't really contribute to the overall story. This isn't necessarily bad, but I just think with such a complex and epic trilogy, there must have been something else to add to the main plot.
I would recommend Seige and Storm to anyone who loves fantasy. There's a quote from Stylist Magazine on the top of my copy, stating that the series is 'The Hunger Games meets Potter meets Twilight meets Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones,' and I couldn't agree more. If you're just getting into hardcore fantasy, start with this series, it's amazing. There's also some great, realistic romance in there that's still enjoyable, and of course the magic and action is executed perfectly. Definitely on my most recommended list.
(But, you should read Shadow and Bone first, otherwise things could get confusing, and you'll also spoil a lot if you decide to go back to the first book.)
Image Source - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oyKMHUc-BBQ/UZC28PAx1OI/AAAAAAAAAPw/
EVTn3oQx60M/s1600/179948_525507750818731_1177546746_n.jpg
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