Siege and Storm

Introduction

Siege and Storm was written by Leigh Bardugo and published on June 14th, 2013, by Macmillan Publishers. This book was released just over a year after its predecessor, Shadow and Bone. I felt that this book improved on the first, and I generally had a better time reading it than the previous one. For those who haven’t read this series yet and are looking for a general overview of my opinions without too much detail, the Spoiler-Free Thoughts section is for you. However, I will say that I will reference characters and events from the first book, so be wary if you haven’t read that one yet. Those who have already read these books and want deeper conversations about them can continue on to the Thoughts section. I would love to hear other opinions, so please leave them in the comment sections on either this post or the social media posts!

If you would like to follow up on Leigh Bardugo and her work, visit her website https://www.leighbardugo.com or follow her on social media @lbardugo.

Plot

Mal and Alina are on the run from the Darkling, but when it becomes clear that the Little Palace is the only place that can offer sanctuary, they need to decide if the fate of Ravka is worth returning to the Grisha.

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

True to the style of Shadow and Bone, the plot immediately gets interesting, even more so this time around because we get to bypass the world-building aspect that accompanies the first book of the series. The continuation of the plot further complicates the conflict because while the characters aren’t doing the right things - not even for the right reasons - the justification sounds almost reasonable, and it’s easy to see how others could be swayed while questioning the morality of every single character. It creates a fascinating dynamic that provides depth even during the “down time” between points of action. This is also aided by a new mystery in the book regarding Alina’s development specifically, which I will go a bit more in-depth with in the Thoughts section, but I thought that her progression in particular made her an amazing main character to follow because I was always looking to see what she was thinking about everything and everyone. I’m not even sure I could pick my favorite set of character interactions because each was unique and well-established, but I loved the back and forth between Alina and Sturmhond.

Continuing with the relationships from the previous book, I do love Alina and Mal as friends, and I do even like them beyond that, but Mal is still struggling with Alina being Grisha, which really annoys me. I don’t think it’s fair to Alina that Mal is trying to pick and choose which parts of her to love. He is also the only person she truly trusts, and while I feel as though I do struggle with this concept in other books, the betrayal at the end of Shadow and Bone gives me pause as well. As open as some of these characters seem to be, Alina has been burned before, so I both understand where she is coming from, and I agree with her, which I love. I want so badly to trust these characters, but I don’t feel like I can. This is especially difficult because the banter seems so easy, but again, I said the same while reading the previous installment. I think it’s a testament great storytelling that makes me more invested and makes Alina a more relatable character, which in turn allows me to really dive into her mind and her world.

The ending was exactly what I had hoped it would be. I was left with a ton of questions that had me immediately picking up Ruin and Rising to see exactly how Bardugo planned on ending what has so far been a really great series.

The fast-paced and engaging plot coupled with the dynamic and unique character interactions made this book very enjoyable to read, and I found it to be better than the first book. As a result, I am rating this book an 8.5/10.

Thoughts

I absolutely loved how quickly the Darkling returned because the plot was moving fast right off the bat. The Darkling finding them also continued the characterization that was already established; while Mal is the greatest tracker of his generation, the Darkling has the wisdom of several lifetimes. The Darkling was also immediately able to get back into Alina’s head, first just by swaying her with his reasons to not destroy The Fold, and then literally when he visited her in hallucinations. It only made the comparisons between the two of them more prominent, which I noted relatively quickly and which was acknowledged later by Bhagra. One more character the Darkling had an indirect effect on was Nikolai. I thought Sturmhond was a bad guy, but I trusted that he meant the words he said. The Nikolai reveal was amazing, and despite the fact that Alina didn’t trust him after her experience with the Darkling, I felt drawn to him as a character, especially after his honesty regarding his ambition and hope that he would know where the line needed to be drawn. It was a rare moment of vulnerability beneath the swagger. So much so that by the end of the book - despite the fact that I was a little sad about the miscommunication that led to the break-up between Alina and Mal - I was all for Alina and Nikolai being together as opposed to Alina and Mal.

My issue with Alina and Mal has always been that I don’t like that Mal cannot seem to accept that she is Grisha and has power, and he always seems to be happier when she suppresses that side of herself, even when it makes her weaker. Seeing that she had reverted to who she had been at the start of the series in the beginning of this book, which is another reason I was happy the Darkling came back so quickly. He doesn’t let her be weak because he needs her to be strong, and while his reasons are incredibly selfish, Alina does benefit from it.

As mentioned above, I was left with multiple questions after Alina turned the tables and used the Darkling’s own powers to drain him - and herself - nearly to death. In regards to her character, it was one of my favorite moments in the book. What I was left with were a series of questions leading into the final installment: What happens next between Alina and Mal? Where is Nikolai, and is he okay? What happened to Alina’s powers? Is Alina destined to die in order to kill the Darkling, or is there another way?