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A review by silvia_gio
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
4 stars! Four full stars. Although I didn't particularly love the first chapter, I decided to continue reading with the second (and then the third) book of the saga that began with Shadow and Bone driven by the growing curiosity generated by the Netflix series (very nice!) and the enthusiastic (well, for the most part) comments from Leigh Bardugo fans.
If the first volume did not strike me particularly (maybe for the characters - flat!-, maybe for a protagonist mostly intent on complaining herself, maybe for too many clichés), I must admit that I changed my mind with this second volume.
In this second volume Alina shows herself more aware of her powers, torn between the desire for a life on the sidelines and making the right choice and acting to save her country from the lust of for power and revenge that moves the antagonist (I know! cliché! I said that the book is better than the first one, not that it is perfect!). Anyway, the protagonists act on the basis of reasoned and conscious choices, whether it is simply having to choose between the lesser evil, whether they are trying to extricate themselves between family feuds and political propaganda or, more trivially, between love and duty( and it's not not such an obvious detail when we talk about Young adult books. Unfortunately).
In this second volume even the action becomes wider in some parts, though concentrated mainly at the beginning and at the end of the book.
Although Siege and Storm suffers from the problem that afflicts all the central volumes of a trilogy, whereby the story leads by leaving various questions open and offering more questions than answers, I suggest to all those who have faced the first book or who are uncertain whether to continue in the reading this series (and I guess there are very few, because I realize that I am perhaps one of the last 10 people in the whole world who has not read it before, sigh! my fault!), to give this a chance and continue reading. In conclusion .. even if it is not a perfect book (some rabbit popped out of the hat at the right point, some stereotypical characters etc.), the reading runs fast and pleasant. I hope you enjoy this volume as much as I do! Recomended !(expecially for the reylo fans :) )
If the first volume did not strike me particularly (maybe for the characters - flat!-, maybe for a protagonist mostly intent on complaining herself, maybe for too many clichés), I must admit that I changed my mind with this second volume.
In this second volume Alina shows herself more aware of her powers, torn between the desire for a life on the sidelines and making the right choice and acting to save her country from the lust of for power and revenge that moves the antagonist (I know! cliché! I said that the book is better than the first one, not that it is perfect!). Anyway, the protagonists act on the basis of reasoned and conscious choices, whether it is simply having to choose between the lesser evil, whether they are trying to extricate themselves between family feuds and political propaganda or, more trivially, between love and duty( and it's not not such an obvious detail when we talk about Young adult books. Unfortunately).
In this second volume even the action becomes wider in some parts, though concentrated mainly at the beginning and at the end of the book.
Although Siege and Storm suffers from the problem that afflicts all the central volumes of a trilogy, whereby the story leads by leaving various questions open and offering more questions than answers, I suggest to all those who have faced the first book or who are uncertain whether to continue in the reading this series (and I guess there are very few, because I realize that I am perhaps one of the last 10 people in the whole world who has not read it before, sigh! my fault!), to give this a chance and continue reading. In conclusion .. even if it is not a perfect book (some rabbit popped out of the hat at the right point, some stereotypical characters etc.), the reading runs fast and pleasant. I hope you enjoy this volume as much as I do! Recomended !(expecially for the reylo fans :) )