Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
The Grisha #2
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: Bought
Recommended by: Judith, for Epic Recs
Goodreads Stars: 4
Rating: Essential
Buy it: Amazon UK

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. - Goodreads

The boy and the girl had once dreamed of ships, long ago, before they'd ever seen the True Sea.

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In my review of Shadow and Bone, I talked about how I had an OT3: Mal, Alina, and the Darkling. All the ship feelings, so little time. Well, now I have completely forgotten about those two idiot guys, because a new player has arrived and already won the game.

If you've heard people talk about this book, then it's more than likely you've heard people talk about a new character called Sturmhond. Sturmhond. I cannot. What a flawless pirate privateer. Judith had raved about him, Christina declared her love for him, and everywhere I went people were squealing in delight at the mere mention of his name. And it's pretty clear why. 

Okay, so Sturmhond is introduced in the first few chapters, and then he stays until pretty much the end. During this time, he managed to win my heart, along with (I hope!) the heart of a certain female character who also happens to be a pretty powerful Grisha. No, I'm not mentioning any names, but I do hope that with these hints you'll be able to figure out who I'm talking about. 

Siege and Storm introduces a slew of new characters, and, aside from Sturmhond, my favourites were Tamar and Tolya. They were such sweethearts! Which may be a strange thing to say about a brutal giant and a ninja-like woman, but whatever. I loved them, and I want to be friends with them.

Despite new characters being introduced, Bardugo still develops the current characters rather well. Alina becomes a flawless queen, Mal is given more attention than I would have liked, and there are a couple of minor characters from the first book who are reintroduced in this one. The only person missing for the most part is the Darkling, although you still feel his presence throughout the book.

Alina goes through some interesting changes in Siege and Storm. I can't go into too much detail due to spoilers, but I can say that her new accessory is having an effect on her, and she's struggling with the changes within herself. I'm very intrigued by what's to come next from her, and whether or not she manages to catch 'em all. Book fans will know what I'm on about, I hope, or else I'm just talking nonsense.

Mal can go fuck himself. I really liked him in Shadow and Bone, but what he becomes in Siege and Storm is atrocious and I want to murder him. He's become everything I dislike in a love interest: controlling, insistent, whiny, broody, bitchy... The list goes on. Basically, I think Bardugo should have had Mal drowned very early on in the book to save me from this arsehole.

Honestly, I'm not really sure if anything happened, plot-wise. Did it? I'm still too caught up in the web of Sturmhond/Alina feels to be able to recall anything other than the major events of this novel. Which may or may not be a good thing, depending on what you're into. 

I have so many feelings about this book, most of which I am too scared to go into because once I start I may not be able to control myself. I even had to liveblog on Twitter, because the excitement/pain/feels was too much for me.

Oh, and the ending. The ending was brutal, and if that's what it's like for a middle book, I can only imagine how the final book in the series is going to end. I am not ready. I will never be ready. I'm quite glad that we have a year to wait between books, because I kid you not I will probably throw myself out of the window when this trilogy ends.

Have any of you read this book? What did you think? If you want to talk spoilers then you should totally tweet/WhatsApp/message me, because I CAN'T GO ON. We can fangirl over Sturmhond together, y/y?

Judith @ Paper Riot: 5 out of 5

Renu @ The Page Turner: 5 out of 5

Nicole @ The Quiet Concert: 5 out of 5

Christina @ A Reader of Fictions: 4.5 out of 5