My Review: Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2): by Leigh Bardugo

***Warning! This book contains spoilers for the first book in the series, so continue reading at your own risk. You’ve officially been warned!***

To see my review for book #1 – Shadow and Bone – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the trilogy – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 2.5 Stars

So I’m not sure if this would make any sense, but how does a sequel become so much better than the previous book: the plot gets more intense and impressive, the characters all have great development, and is just more original and creative in general….BUT you didn’t like the book any more than how you we’re lukewarm than the first one? I don’t get it; this book had everything it needed to become a much more entertaining read, but I still found myself bored and struggling to finish it.

One main reason I think this was the case is that I tried to read Siege and Storm during the pandemic for COVID-19, and I hate to admit how something I love to do: reading — is harder to do because somehow it’s a struggle to sit down and concentrate on what I’m reading… I’ve already dropped three books within the last month because I just couldn’t bring myself to care enough to keep reading. Maybe I’ll come back to them later on, but for now, they’re on my DNF shelf.

Overall, while I did mainly enjoy this sequel to Shadow and Bone, maybe it was the way the world is right now that kept me from fully enjoying it like I could’ve. I really liked the male characters like Nikolai Lantsov and the Darkling, and how the plot got so much thicker with many great developments. I was really torn about both Alina and Mal as characters; I get where they’re coming from with what annoys me about them, but they still bug me about certain things they do and the way they are. I didn’t enjoy the midpoint of the story, and it was there that I really struggled to keep wanting to read. I just found it so immensely boring, and believe me, it hurts right in the chest to say something like that about a Leigh Bardugo novel. The Six of Crows is still such a favorite of mine, but those came later than this original trilogy, and going backwards with any author’s titles always ends on a bad note for me.

When I say boring, I think Goodreads reviewer Elise (TheBookishActress) said it best: the narrative of this book won’t allow it to get any darker than it already is. It’s filled with morally grey characters, and how EVERYONE makes evil decisions in order to gain an advantage over all the other key players in the battle for power. Some are less evil than others, but the point is, it could’ve played on the idea of people doing evil things for different reasons and giving us some much more interesting character development and raise a bunch of interesting questions about human nature, but it was limited by what the YA market was looking for at the time. It gets close to crossing the line, but still stays safely in it’s lane, and knowing Leigh Bardugo has more freedom to go farther with it in her later books turns me off to these books more, not allowing me to enjoy them than if I were to have read them before Six of Crows.

I will say that Nikolai Lantsov and The Darkling are easily the best characters to come out of these books so far; they’re possibly the best part of these books period

What It’s About:

I know the truth in your heart. The loneliness. The growing knowledge of your own difference. The ache of it.”

– Leigh Bardugo, “Siege and Storm”

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka.

But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

There is no ordinary life for people like you and me.”

– Leigh Bardugo, “Siege and Storm”

What I Liked:

1. Much Less Tropey Than The First Book! One of my biggest complaints of Shadow and Bone was how there were so many clichés used: the mary sue character who thinks she’s plain and boring yet has more than one love interest, the magical school she travels to in order to train, the hot mean girl, the chosen one, etc. Sure, it may not have been so cliché back when it was first written, but hasn’t aged as well into 2020. This book felt much more original and unique in comparison, the plot has become bigger, the stakes have been raised, the writing continues to improve, and their is some major character development!
2. Nikolai Lantsov! Another book boyfriend to add to the (large) growing list! He turned out to be an amazing character throughout the course of this book; he was so charming, passionate, suave, and witty. The pirate—or privateer as he prefers to be called—made the book more fun to read, and his whole arc made the story feel so much more unique and creative from the author. Personally, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest if Alina ended up with him in the end.
3. The Darkling! He continues to excel at being quite frankly one of the most interesting villains I’ve read in a long time, along with being one of my favorite characters in the whole Grishaverse. There’s hints that suggest he’s still human underneath the dark cloak of being the black heretic, and you can tell there’s an interesting inner battle happening there. Who knows what’ll happen there?
4. The Roles Have Reversed! So I thought it was kind of interesting that Mal and Alina kind of switched places in this book when compared to Shadow and Bone: now Alina is the desired one, the popular one, the one with more influence while Mal fears he’s being left behind. Some could even say it’s poetic justice for Mal, who couldn’t see how great he had it before and now is fully realizing what he’s lost since the beginning of the whole story.

What I Didn’t Like:

1. Really Boring Midpoint…I’m not going to lie, even though it breaks my heart to say this about a Leigh Bardugo novel, but I found the midpoint of this book to be just oh so achingly boring! Little tidbits of excitement were tossed in here and there, but for the most part, I was actually struggling to get through it! Take in mind there are several reasons on my part as the reader as to why this may be: 1. I started out with the Six of Crows books, which arguably are much better written, and going backwards with an author’s books never works out in my favor and 2. I read this is 2020 when the world is in the middle of a flippin’ pandemic! I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it difficult to stick with reading an actual book right now. Like, I’m not able to fully concentrate on what I’m reading because I’m just so stir-crazy if that makes any sense? Maybe I’ll think differently when I reread this book at a different time?
2. Alina Starkov…Now, this one is split down the middle because I do still like Alina as a character; I felt like she’s had a great development as a character in this book especially. My problem with her is that she still sticks to some bad habits that she really just needs to break apart from. I love that she’s starting to gain some confidence in her abilities and now is starting to realize that her powers are really special and that yeah…she’s the chosen one to change the course of history. Everything that’s made her more interesting is because of the Darkling and the influence he’s had on her through these books so far. I hate to say it, because I’m also torn about Mal, but the thing she needs to stop doing is holding onto her past because she’s still too influenced by Mal and what decisions she makes that would make him happy. I get it: she’s a teenage girl in love for the first time, but lets maybe worry about the future of the world instead of worrying about which boy you should kiss next, yes? Katniss Everdeen didn’t have a problem with this.
3. Mal…Arguably one of the most disliked characters in the book, which is sad considering I feel like that’s not the intent the author had for him at all. Many feel like he’s dragging Alina down, being petty and moody because of how things have changed since they were both pretty much foot-soldiers of the first army. To a degree, I can agree with that. While I do admire that the two of them are willing to sacrifice so much in order to make the other one happy, I feel like Mal is going down the same route as Chaol Westfall did in the Throne of Glass series, and only loves certain parts of Alina by this point. Obviously, I mean the non-grisha parts, and he’s upset at how things have changed and they’re out of his control, he’s getting left behind for men like Nikolai Lantsov and the Darkling, and he just wishes things could go back to the way they were before: back to “normal.” I want to like him, I really do, but I will wait until I read the final book, Ruin Rising, before I make my final decision on him.

Conclusion:

Siege and Storm was a much better written, an all around better novel than the previously written book in this trilogy, but I was disappointed to say that it still somehow didn’t draw me in, but that may be the cause of the pandemic were in, and how that’s affected my ability to be able to sit and concentrate on reading in general. I definitely plan to reread this later when things get back to normal to see if my opinion changes at all.

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell