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A review by madeliney
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
this is tough, because there is a lot of potential here. i know this was Leigh's first series, and it shows in many ways, but the main way it shows to me is that there is a strong reliance on what were currently popular themes and tropes of the time it was written with such surface-level commentary on those themes and tropes, with a forced love triangle to boot. it doesn't dive into what it should be diving into -- namely, the anti-hero that is Alina. this should be a dark book that really hones into the way the amplifiers take away humanity and transform the wearer, and it would be way more interesting to explore the connection that gives her to the Darkling (like calls to like, etc...) and how Alina and the Darkling have been impacted in similar ways with different results, but we don't do this. it, quite unfortunately in my opinion, remains very surface-level. because it remains so surface-level, i feel no investment in the story or the characters. it is incredible to me the difference in the writing, plotting, and characterization here, when i compare this to the Six of Crows series set in the same universe, which is fucking fantastic.
in terms of other more random thoughts i have... i really liked the new character in Nikolai, and the twins. i thought Nikolai was interesting and added a great political intrigue element to this story that was much-needed. however, there is no chemistry whatsoever between him and Alina, and it felt so forced. additionally, Mal was frustrating and admittedly felt a little dull -- i found myself frequently comparing him in my head to Gale from The Hunger Games; dismissive of the reality of the situation, stubborn, not accepting of the woman and wanting her to fit the idea he has in his head, etc... though i understood his motivations, i still found myself frustrated with the path of his character arc. in terms of the Darkling, i wish he had more depth in this particular book. he COULD be such an interesting, complex character and i thought that was going to happen, but unfortunately his arc also falls flat for me. i am quite puzzled by all of the readers i see falling apart about this character, he is so surface-level... do they need to read more books? is the bar for the hots so low? i just don't know. i will wrap up this series, for sure, and i hope characters and plot get more fleshed out in the final book. i hope for more depth.
TLDR: very much gives baby's first fantasy series. though there are some interesting plot points and ideas here, it isn't fleshed out as much as it could be and should be. if it fully dove into the dark story it could be and relied less on sell points the marketing department recommended, this would be so much better. with how saturated the fantasy market is, i struggle to recommend this series unless you are already invested in the lore, which is where i fall -- the Six of Crows series is just SO MUCH BETTER than this. read that instead.
in terms of other more random thoughts i have... i really liked the new character in Nikolai, and the twins. i thought Nikolai was interesting and added a great political intrigue element to this story that was much-needed. however, there is no chemistry whatsoever between him and Alina, and it felt so forced. additionally, Mal was frustrating and admittedly felt a little dull -- i found myself frequently comparing him in my head to Gale from The Hunger Games; dismissive of the reality of the situation, stubborn, not accepting of the woman and wanting her to fit the idea he has in his head, etc... though i understood his motivations, i still found myself frustrated with the path of his character arc. in terms of the Darkling, i wish he had more depth in this particular book. he COULD be such an interesting, complex character and i thought that was going to happen, but unfortunately his arc also falls flat for me. i am quite puzzled by all of the readers i see falling apart about this character, he is so surface-level... do they need to read more books? is the bar for the hots so low? i just don't know. i will wrap up this series, for sure, and i hope characters and plot get more fleshed out in the final book. i hope for more depth.
TLDR: very much gives baby's first fantasy series. though there are some interesting plot points and ideas here, it isn't fleshed out as much as it could be and should be. if it fully dove into the dark story it could be and relied less on sell points the marketing department recommended, this would be so much better. with how saturated the fantasy market is, i struggle to recommend this series unless you are already invested in the lore, which is where i fall -- the Six of Crows series is just SO MUCH BETTER than this. read that instead.