Reviews with content warning for Grief - Siege and Storm

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

37 reviews

angelsfw's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

5.0

! SPOILERS !

”she would rise.”

honestly, this book surprised me with how enthralled it had me, especially with the plot. i went in expecting to hate it because everyone else did, but its only proven to be another favorite of mine. i really loved the character growth in the book. the progression of the plot never felt too slow or too fast to me. it was so easy to read and i loved it.

of course, my favorite part of the whole book was nikolai. he’s simply the perfect book character and i fell in love.

i was a fan of mal for most of the book; however, at the end he started acting selfish when it came to alina. she carried so much ok her shoulders during the whole book and he never even stopped to consider how she felt.

and the darkling - i simply hate him. he’s disgusting, gross, vile, and manipulative. he spent most of the book tormenting alina and making her think she was losing her grip on sanity. i have no clue how people continue to ship them together, especially after he SAs her ?!?!?!?!?!?! nasty gross vile man.

my main take away from this book really was: men should shut up (not nikolai) and alina should girlboss more.

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lish_e's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-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

3.0

It felt slower than the first one. Sometimes a lot happened and sometimes nothing happened to progress the plot for a while.
While the pacing felt a little off sometimes it was still an okay read and I got through it quickly.

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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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mustnotblink's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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? No

4.0

While the first book of the trilogy set up the universe Siege and Storm upped the anti and took no prisoners. There is a lot of death, shifting alliances, and revealing of untruths between moments of hope.

If the first book was about Alina figuring out who she was then this volume was about her struggle to accept/follow through with her destiny. More players are added to the board and bring with with them their own complications as Alina tries to figure out how to save Ravka.

One of my favorite things is that

despite Nikolai entering in the picture it never falls into the girl caught between two love interest tropes. Alina is very clear with where her regard lies, even if she has to consider other options.

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readwithde's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful 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

4.5

I very rarely prefer a sequel to an initial book in a series, but I was constantly and delightfully surprised by Siege and Storm.

The characters felt even more grounded and real, if that is possible. I'm so used to reading fantasy novels (or watching fantasy) where the heroes constantly fight their flaws and think only of the big picture. It is refreshing to have Alina realize how much she wants power, how much she has obsessed over getting the amplifiers. I love that she is constantly overwhelmed and still full of grudges and emotion; it has been only a year (if that) since she discovered she was a Grisha, and she should be overwhelmed

by commanding her own troops and preparing for war.

Even the love triangle (square?) seems real and grounded in the characters:

Mal is the passive one, waiting for Alina to prove she wants him but refusing to communicate, while The Darkling imposes his own needs and wishes on her, and Nikolai plays the long game, constantly calculating actions and choosing when to risk vulnerability.

While a few of my guesses were correct, most of the last hundred pages were a complete and welcome surprise.

It was refreshing to see Prince Vasily try to match his younger brother's cleverness and fail miserably, losing his birthright by his own hubris -- it was nearly Shakespearean or ripped from a Greek tragedy. Likewise, with nearly half the book away from The Darkling, it was refreshing to see him in his full power, both in his manipulation of others and political scheming, but also his strategies and honed skill as the leader of an army. His ambush and coup were nearly perfect.

I am very intrigued by the Sun Cult led by the Apparat. While in the shadows for most of the book, they proved to be useful allies, not to be overlooked by the Crown or Alina. I was completely unprepared for Tolya and Tamar to be part of it, but I'm excited to see where this will lead. If anything, it's a safe place for Alina to recover from her fight.

And, oh my gosh, what a crazy standoff we had between Alina and The Darkling. They have such a creepy codependent relationship, like a dark fantasy Catherine and Heathcliff, "whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same," that is both enthralling and horrifying. Alina is clever though, and she found a weakness (just as Nikolai taught her, every person has a price), and all the talk of Saints and martyrdom definitely got into her head. Twice she has left him for dead and escaped with Mal, and twice she has been forced into hiding as he survived. I guess third times a charm.

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