Reviews with content warning for Gore - Siege and Storm

Didn’t like this one as much as the first. I loved all the new characters and how they felt with the aftermath of the fist book, but I felt that it went way too fast, with very little descriptions of what they were doing, especially near the end, and it was more like ‘they did this and then they did this.’ Like they were rushing to get to the final battle, very repetitive of the first book where they sped through a lot of action and events to get to the final confrontation.

I really liked Mal in the fist book, but I didn’t like how he handles things in this one. I understand that he felt out of place in the Little Palace, but he was very dramatic about it and didn’t even try to talk to Alina till his rage had boiled over.

I really liked everything in the beginning on the True Sea and the ships, I really wish there had been more about Nikolai’s crew. Speaking of the crew, I really liked Tolya and Tamar, their beliefs about Alina being a Saint came out of no where for me, looking back I can see the snippets of it littered thoughout.

I ADORED Nikolai, and I thought he would have been a much better King than his brother, and was super confused as to how he would become king (I don’t know if he actually does but I hope so) and his brother’s death was just horrifying. Basically all the death and destruction from when the Darkling attacked the Palace was horrible and WTF it was mental.

Content Warnings

book_dragon_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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onefineelephant's review against another edition

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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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lis4so's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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soph22's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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elladainty3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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anielabooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Overall great book, but I still preferred the first one. It was very slow at first, but it really picked up towards the end. Honestly, I was not expecting that many character deaths. Some of those were a but out of pocket. However, I was really excited to meet many characters and grow some old ones. I particularly loved Tamar and Nikolai. Although I wasn’t particularly fond of Zoya, I still appreciated how Bardugo developed her character in this book. I’m excited for what is to come in the next book as I am still very much in love with the world and NIKOLAI LANTSOV. Additionally, I really appreciated the bonus Genya chapter because she was always one of my favorite characters from book 1.

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