Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Siege and Storm

I loved this second book! Leigh focused much more on the political and strategic side of the plot, I think, and I loved it! It's true that before Rule of Wolves, I didn't realize this was something Leigh worked on a lot, but now I realize it a lot more, and it's a delight! I also really liked Alina who asserts herself a little more. She has to measure herself against the desire for power, must prevent herself from succumbing. It made her come a little closer to the Darkling (like calls to like), and it was very interesting to follow her in this internal fight in which she was engaged.

The appearance of Nikolai was quite spectacular, but I tried, for this rereading, not to be fooled by his beautiful manners. What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men. And Nikolai is no exception. He too wants the power. And it's interesting to analyze the approach he has. A real politician. I tried to give Mal more credits, but it was quite complicated just looking at Alina's point of view. I understood her distress, and I just wanted to slap Mal sometimes. But then I said to myself: "but he isn't in her head, he does not understand her unhappiness". The Darkling is less present, or at least in an intangible way. I find it even more threatening! But shit then, he is so toxic and manipulative! I was glad that Alina has measured herself against him, it will bring him back down to earth!

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therobinjoyce's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Once again, Leigh Bardugo has done it and produced a fantastic and gripping piece of fantastical fiction for the world to enjoy.

The action definitely heats up in this one with the introduction of Sturmhond and the whole Pirates, nichevo’ya, and Rusalye arcs.

It’s so wonderful to dive back into the mind of Alina Starkov as she tries to escape the dark forces after her and her strained relationship with her old friends. While it was a little slower pace-wise than Shadow and Bone it was still wonderfully written and I absolutely loved the new characters we got to meet in this novel.

The ending also was insane and I cannot wait to finish Ruin and Rising and find out what happens!

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shaylee_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

2.0

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐/5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐/5

Characters:⭐⭐⭐/5

Romance:⭐/5

Diversity:⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall:⭐⭐⭐ /5

Tropes: Friends to lovers

This book took me so long to get through! The reason for that was that this book was so SLOW! I was about 200 pages into this book and I felt like nothing had happened and I felt like I was still in the beginning of the book, not in the middle. I just felt like nothing was happening and this book could have been cut in half.

Another thing I disliked was Mal… just Mal. He got on my nerves so much in this book, to me he was a very manipulative, gaslighting person who made everything about himself and made Alina feel guilty for wanting to help people. He gaslighted Alina so much in this book! He made her feel like everything that was going wrong in their relationship was her fault and that she should change to make him happy and not be herself and it PISSED me off. Don't even get me started on the whole Zoya thing!!

Another thing I'm not feeling Alina and Mal's relationship, it feels so forced and like we are supposed to believe that they are deeply in love but we don't ever see that because they barely spent any time together. Honestly Alina seemed to be so in love with him and wanting to be with him so much but Mal didn't seem to feel the same, he gave me so much F-boy vibes… like he was only pretending to care about her so he could get into her pants. I'm just not convinced in their relationship.

Another thing is that The Darkling is supposed to be this monster but it's now really shown.. we are told that he is this terrible person but nothing he does seems to back it up. I'm not saying that he's not a terrible person because he is, I'm just saying that we are being told that he is this terrible person instead of being shown that he is.

One thing I loved was Nikolai! He was amazing! Carried this book in his back! I'm in love with him and he saved this book.

All together I enjoyed this book but it just wasn't as good as the first book and it was kinda a let down but I'm excited to finish the trilogy.

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asthxte's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.75

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rayne_1906's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

3 hours 36 minutes - This book was too slow paced for me - I felt there was a long section in the middle where nothing much seemed to happen. This book focused a lot more on the political side of war, which was interesting enough, but it last far too long for me. The beginning and the ending were strong though.
DNF - 1 hour 40 mins (182/381) - Going to come back to this later and start over.

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