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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
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 š
I still donāt like the Alina-Mal romance, Nikolai said it right āfor an eternal love, youāre both really insecure about itā š« 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,
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 wasnāt as bored because I didnāt 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)! Iām actually excited to read book 3 now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Death
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol
Minor: Child death and Vomit
e_emmaa's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
filipacmiranda's review against another edition
4.0
Although very different, the second instalment in the trilogy surpasses the first one because it brings a lot of information and (brilliant) new characters to the table.
Siege and Storm conveys new information on the political and religious elements of Ravka and the GrishaVerse, preparing the terrain for what comes next. The beginning and end of this book are fast-paced and action-packed. Meanwhile, the middle part focuses on these themes and makes for a considerably slower pace. Despite this, I never felt like there were any unnecessary parts or that the story was dragging along.
We see Alina transform and turn into a leader and are presented with Sturmhond, Prince Nikolai and the twins - Tolya and Tamar. These deeply thought-out characters change the narrative for this book and the next one. Along with some of the other secondary characters, they forward the reader's grasp on how this world works and grow Alina's support system. Bonus points because they're all witty and fascinating and contribute to how much I enjoyed this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence
robles2yggdrasil's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Classism
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Torture
fionamatilda's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship
matthiasreads's review
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, and Violence
as610's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and War
toastyghosty13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rant incoming
i found the majority of this book to be extremely boring. there were parts like when sturmhond was introduced that were interesting and exciting, but a lot of it was weird political and bureaucratic filler.
i also found the lack of real flirting and the overkill on sexual harassment to be annoying and unenjoyable. sturmhond came off as creepy, in fact most men in this book did besides tolya. at least sturmhond is still an interesting character with the fact that he is the prince and an infamous privateer, but his character is written as if he is a real ladies man but then defaults to being a creeper. i barely registered the fact that alina was interested in him romantically until it said she blushed at him touching her leg when she kicked him?? a weak watery lackluster attempt at enemies to lovers fit into one page.
mal had an existential crisis that could have been solved if he and alina had just slept together. iām not sure what age range this book is meant to be for if there is no intimacy but one of the main characters can plunge deeply into alcoholism for a majority of the book. mal was so unbelievably jealous by 2 guys who were both repulsive in different ways, and alina should have trusted him enough to tell him the truth about her visions given the fact that they have known each other since they were children.
genya was done dirty imo and she would have fought for what is right, especially given that she is literally best friends with alina and would have had a much better quality of life at her side when this is all inevitably over. genya chose to follow the darkling because she wasnāt seen as a real person even though he literally gave her away as a gift to the queen. alina would never, but of course for some reason genya chooses to be on the darklings side of this war and then gets used as an object again shocker.
overall a pretty big disappointment for a sequel. iām still invested in whatever the backstory is about saints and amplifiers, plus i already own the box set so i might as well finish it out. iāve heard six of crows is a lot better thankfully so iām holding out hope for that one.
i found the majority of this book to be extremely boring. there were parts like when sturmhond was introduced that were interesting and exciting, but a lot of it was weird political and bureaucratic filler.
i also found the lack of real flirting and the overkill on sexual harassment to be annoying and unenjoyable. sturmhond came off as creepy, in fact most men in this book did besides tolya. at least sturmhond is still an interesting character with the fact that he is
mal
genya was
overall a pretty big disappointment for a sequel. iām still invested in whatever the backstory is about saints and amplifiers, plus i already own the box set so i might as well finish it out. iāve heard six of crows is a lot better thankfully so iām holding out hope for that one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Torture