Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Siege and Storm

NIKOLAI LANTSOV!!!!! How does your back feel after carrying this entire book, sir? I know I cannot legally give any book featuring Nikolai Lantsov less than 5 stars but Mal is starting to annoy me so points taken off :(

I love that Alina is becoming a much stronger character but she still kinda relies on men to feel like she matters and I hope she changes in the next book. It's so refreshing to read about her not-so-moral thoughts ~~like her firebird cravings for example~~. I still have hope for Mal to change but he's really insecure and that gets on my nerves. Tamar, Tolya and Zoya are super cool and David too ig. I wanted to see more of the Darkling and Genya but they barely got any scenes ;-;

Let's talk about Alina's love interests. Okay I admit Darklina is hot but nahhh ain't no way I'm gonna ship them that dude is an ancient fossil and he's evil on top of that. Nikolai seems too good to be true and even though I love him, I don't think him and Alina would make a good pair. There was a part where I thought Leigh was gonna kill Mal off (maybe even hoped that would be the case) but that didn't happen and I'm not sure if I like it or not. Because out of the options Mal would be the best fit and they're most likely gonna end up together but I still wish things were a little different. Maybe if Mal was just a little more likeable or maybe if Alina and Nikolai fit together a little better but oh well.

Some parts of the book felt like it's repeating scenes from the first one. ~~like the sea whip or the Alina v. Darkling at the end and the way she tricked him sort of??~~ The middle part dragged a little but over all I think I like this one more than the first. Leigh's writing is as beautiful as ever and it's a page turner for sure.

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

8/10. Alina and Mal are both annoying and I don't like them but because they are so annoying, they deserve each other because neither one should be subjected onto anyone else. With that being said, I love Nikolai even if he is a little sh*t. I also really enjoy the twins. I liked how this book had more of a plot than the first one did. Also, I feel like this one was more rich and had more depth than the first one. The ending was jarring but not entirely terrible.

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