ARC Review: Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm (Grisha, 2) by Leigh Bardugo, June 4, 2013. 432 pages. Published by Henry Holt and Co. Source: publisher.

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.

First Sentence:

The boy and girl had once dreamed of ships, long ago, before they'd ever seen the True Sea.

I'm not sure how this happened, but in the craziness of moving and unpacking organizing all my books (and being reunited with those I'd been without for eight months), I overlooked Siege and Storm. What really makes me sad about not reading it sooner is that I had been wildly excited to get my hands on a copy of it, mainly because I really loved Shadow and Bone.

Leigh Bardugo did it yet again with her sequel to Shadow and Bone, one of my favorite fantasy reads a couple years ago. The world-building and character development/struggles, as well, as her writing are just a couple reasons why I've enjoyed Ms. Bardugo's Grisha books as much as I have.

What I really enjoyed about Siege and Storm would have to be that she doesn't pull any punches by letting her characters slide on by in life; frankly, I love seeing Alina struggle with her power and feelings for certain male characters because it makes her seem more human.
      Characters aside, I could not get through Siege and Storm fast enough because I wanted to now the fate of Ravka and whether or not those loyal to Alina and the crown would stand a chance against the Darkling and his new ability. I'm not saying how it ends, but it was brutal and shocking...and many other emotions that shall plague me till I know the final outcome in the next installment.

While I do feel for the characters and their struggles, I was not surprised in the least by some of the happenings (and I didn't even see/stumble upon any spoilers prior to reading) because it was the natural conclusion. Even though I was not surprised by the drifting away between certain characters, I thought it was a wise move on the author's part since it gives the story and characters more room to change and grow with the plot.
  So, yeah, you could say that what I enjoyed most about Siege and Storm would have to be the characters and seeing how much they changed from book one. It was definitely interesting to see how Alina's desperation changed from trying to out run what she did; to that of seeking more and more power. So many internal struggles for all that I was completely pulled into the lives of each character.

With all the turmoil the characters experienced at the end of the book, I'm not sure how I'll survive waiting till June to see the conclusion of Leigh Bardugo's Grisha series. Seriously, the absolute worst thing about Siege and Storm is knowing that I cannot have Ruin and Rising right this very moment. In all honesty, I cannot recommend this serious enough because of the excellent writing, world-building, and crazy, emotion roller-coaster that the characters put you through.

Not sure if you want to read Leigh Bardugo's Grisha books? I'd recommend checking out my review of Shadow and Bone and seeing why I thought it was a must read.

Final Verdict:  Siege and Storm- The descriptively rich writing and riveting world within makes this one series that I really think everyone should read.

Siege and Storm earns 5 out of 5 griffins

This book was received in exchange for an honest review.