Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Siege and Storm

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

92 reviews

oldemort's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

I've decided to rate this book 4 ⭐️. I still really enjoyed it, just less than the first book. 🥲

Let's be real, the reason I didn't like this book as much was the lack of the Darkling content and the ton of Mal content. 😅

Character wise, I still found Alina a bit immature and annoying at times, but I think I liked her a bit more than in Shadow and Bone. 🙂 Obviously, I still love the Darkling and I wish there was way more of him in this book. 😍

The only thing that I didn't really like that he did was making his monsters hurt Genya like that. 😬 I mean, I get why he did it, because she'd kind of betrayed him and all, but still. 🫣

Mal, I COMPLETELY HATED WITH EVERY BONE IN MY BODY. 🤬He's so annoying and petty and throughout the whole book just seemed to be trying to start arguments with Alina and was constantly blaming her for things that weren't even her fault. 😤

Also when he said:

"At least she doesn't flinch when I touch her,"

That was so disgusting! 🤢 And this is the character I'm supposed to like?! 😧

Anyway, I quite liked Nikolai,

although I guess that was because in some ways he was similar to the Darkling, like the way he's constantly just trying to annoy Mal. 🤭

He was also funny sometimes. 😂 As for Tamar and Tolya (I'm pretty sure that's their names), they were okay. 😐 I liked how they were looking after Alina,

but the whole "plot twist" with them secretly, like, following the Apparat person didn't really bother me much. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Like, I wasn't gob-smacked. 😶 I didn't expect it, but I didn't really care about it. 🫤 Like, obviously he's creepy and a weirdo, but meh. 🫥Although I think it would be cool if there was, like, a plot twist in the next book that was something to do with him. 😎 It just kind of seems weird that he's still such an important character if he isn't going to be involved in a plot twist of some sort. 🥸

Plot wise, the end of this book made me sad. 😭

Like, the poor little Darkling thought Alina was going to be nice to him and help him and then she was just like "sike, I wanna take your power". 😣 He's just so misunderstood. 😔 I really liked the plot twist with Vasily thinking he'd made a great deal because I was thinking "Surely he can't actually do anything good or smart" and then BAM! 🤯 He was a massive idiot and basically helped the Darkling get to them. 🤦🏼‍♀️ He kind of deserved to die, he was rude and arrogant. 😤 And then obviously I didn't like when Alina tried to take the Darkling's power because that was just rude! 😠 How dare she! 😡 I really thought for a second she was just going to go with him. 😞 She clearly picked up a few manipulative tactics from the Darkling (and Mal). 🫣 Honestly, Mal was really annoying when he decided to save Alina. 😒 Like, I think it would've been a good ending if they'd have both just died. 🥲 But now, because of Mal, Alina has no power and they're basically just doomed. 😬 It's kind of cool that Alina has white hair now though. 😅 I wonder if the Darkling lost his power too? 🤔 Or if he's still got his power and he's got Alina's as well now? 🧐

Anyway, I'm excited to see what happens in the next book,

especially with Alina not having her power now. 🤩

My ideal ending would be either Alina and the Darkling dying because, I don't know, that just seems like a peaceful ending, or with Mal dying and Alina and the Darkling ending up together (which I don't think is very likely). 🙃

However, I think that the Darkling will die (seeing as that's the only actual way to, like, ensure that he can never do evil again) and that Mal and Alina will live and be together and live happily ever after, even though I obviously don't want that to happen. 😣 (Also, my prediction may end up being correct, so that's why this is in the spoiler bit, just in case. 😌 I mean, my ideal endings could also come true, but I highly doubt it.) 🙃

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cara16's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

3.0

I enjoyed the second book in the series. We got to see Alina as a Saint leading the Grisha in her own power. But with this power comes challenge. Her relationship with Mal becomes unstable and they need to find a way to work together with Nikolai for a common goal. The love triangle with Alina, Mal, and Nikolai becomes a love pyramid when the Darkling reappears. I think this drama took away from the plot where it had the potential to add to it. The power display moment in the cathedral was cool between Alina and the Darkling. The second book ends with the main characters unsure of if the Darkling was wounded or not. They are questioning how much what they just did will accomplish.

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katelyn11's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-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

Where Shadow and Bone fell flat for me, Siege and Storm picked up in a major way.

Alina’s struggle with the darkness within her is compelling. It turned her from a boring protagonist into one with whom I could relate. She fights and feeds her ambition, recognizing where she is similar to the Darkling, but is also afraid of becoming like him. It’s an age-old trope, but is told well. The power of the Darkling is believable, and he becomes a stronger villain. The battle scene at the end is truly heart-wrenching.

Also, Nikolai is a welcome addition to the series! His banter recalls that of Jesper and Nina in the Six of Crows duology. Bardugo excels at writing quick-witted characters.

Content warnings: death, violence, war, PTSD.

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nonotyoshi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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takarakeireads's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

3.0

Well… that was a book I read.

Except the last chapter was a banger!

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snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-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

4.25

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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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creolelitbelle's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

The second book began excitingly enough, but the middle was quite a slog. I enjoyed the growth of characters introduced in the first book and watching them interact with new characters. Learning more about the world and how things operate was fun, but I do wish most outside of Ravka was incorporated into the story. Court politics and relationships amped up to the point that I truly couldn't guess what would happen next. I suspect at least part of the course of the final book with the potential of Alina's weapons, but the evolution of her power and the Darkling's magic is what I'm most interested to see. The best part of a fantasy with politics woven in for me is always the final battle of the war, and events at the Little Palace prove that will be epic.

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Enjoyed this surprisingly more than I expected 😅 I still don’t like the Alina-Mal romance, Nikolai said it right “for an eternal love, you’re both really insecure about it” 🫠 FUCKING TALK TO EACH OTHER?!!

I love Nikolai!! He was entertaining and had some great one liners. The pacing is so much better compared to book 1,

also maybe helps that book 2 is very different from the adaptation so I wasn’t as bored because I didn’t know everything that would happen and when.

I also liked Tolya and Tamar, they had more personality and we got to know them better compared to side characters in the first book. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this more than Shadow and Bone (mostly because of Nikolai and the pacing was better)! I’m actually excited to read book 3 now

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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