Reviews

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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giulia_hikari's review against another edition

3.0

In 300 pagine praticamente non succede NIENTE fino agli ultimi capitoli?
Il primo mi è piaciuto di più.
Poi perdiamo un triangolo per recuperarne un altro... Basta

sj_meadows's review against another edition

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3.0

I thought this one was a little better than Shadow and Bone-- more excitement and intensity for sure.. better plot and storyline. 3.5 stars because I liked it
A lot of people have a problem with Mal's character, which I can kind of see, but it wasn't that bad. I think Bardugo did a great job of portraying his desperation and insecurity with his relationship with Alina.
Sturmhond though....

Spoiler

or should I say Nikolai (!!) serious jaw-drop

new fav! ;)

courtnyklly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

yet again the most interesting part of this (as with shadow and bone) was the last quarter. despite being really quick and easy to read i found myself wanting to put it down several times and the first half of the book was a little dull. i’m going to say it again though: leigh bardugo’s writing has improved astronomically since shadow and bone and the plot for the trilogy is definitely intriguing. the characters feel a little bland still and i have no attachment to alina’s character at all despite her being the FMC and it being from her pov. i wish we had other povs that might have helped move along the emotional side. nikolai was a great new character in this and i loved the earlier chapters on sturmhond’s ship

will be finishing the trilogy so that i can see whether

nikolai, baghra and his parents survived

and so that i can move on to king of scars / rule of wolves in the future

mamamia98's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

c_ab_bage's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5⭐️ rounded up (bc it’s the weakest of the trilogy, but not by much!)

damn. i forget how much i love me some politics. it doesn’t work for some people, but i’m of the sort that absolutely eats up all the showy, twofaced, political stuff. especially when nikolai is the facilitator of most of it. how could i not?

also, alina is such a perfect protagonist bc she literally doesn’t want to be one. she’s passively suicidal this whole book (outright so, at the end), consistently at odds with the facade she has to keep up as “general” and “saint” and “sun summoner”, and more than anything, just wants a fucking break. it makes her all the more relatable and i feel for her so much. alina is so special to me.

mal, however, is at peak annoyance in this book. do i logically understand why he’s acting this way? are his concerns partially valid? sure, yeah. but fuck if he isn’t such a man. ALINA IS THE ONE STRUGGLING HERE. I CANT BE ASSED TO DEAL WITH YOUR INSECURITIES, LACK OF PURPOSE, AND YOUR NEED TO MAKE THEM ALINA’S PROBLEM WHEN SHE CLEARLY HAS ENOUGH GOING ON. i know he’s just a kid, really, but so is alina and he can’t expect her to be able to just magically fix everything. it’s so. fucking. annoying. but i’m doing my best to be lenient with him bc like i said, he’s a literal kid.

the darkling in this book is at his peak level of “menace” and, as much as i hate him, i eat it up. reminds me exactly why he’s the absolute worst while providing peak entertainment. appearing right when mal was taking alina into his arms?? making her flinch away?? “tell him you see ne when he takes you in his arms.” ABSOLUTELY FOULLLL. JAW ON THE FLOOR. and then appearing *as* mal?? and kissing her?? that’s literally just assault but fuck if it wasn’t perfectly in character. and his bullshit at the end about the war being alina’s fault?? hes such a slimy, shitty, little loser and he’s on full display in this book.

AND NIKOLAI!! let’s not forget him while we’re touching on alina’s suitors. his banter with alina is so lovely, and it makes me wish they were compatible, but they are absolutely not. at the end of the day, he’s half the reason she’s forced into this facade she hates so much. he’s the one using her for political gain (even with pure intentions). he’s the one who will never understand why she’ll never truly trust him. yknow? i love nikolai, tolerate mal, but i’m absolutely, 100% team malina at the end of the day, because alina was never meant to uphold the burden and responsibility that being with nikolai would force her to live with *everyday*. it’s why ROW with him and zoya is so perfect, bc she wants that in her life. alina never has and never will.

yeah i think that’s my spiel. i didn’t actually plan to write any of this. tl;dr, i fucking love this book.

jenhurst's review against another edition

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2.0

What is this book about.... Uh... I felt like nothing happens. Usually middle books are weak in this regards, but this is especially bad. Alina spends more time with the darkling and falls further away from Mal. I don't think anything else really happened honestly.
I didn't really enjoy this book at all and the 1st book was merely okay for me. I continued this series because I am a completionist and I need to finish everything. Plus Netflix announced the adaptation that combines this series with Six of Crows. So you can bet your bottom dollar that I will read the 3rd book too!
2/5.
If you're wondering why this is getting 2 stars for me it's because I really like the Darling. He seems so tall dark and handsome. Plus I like Leigh and this was her first series. I recommend this to anyone who is a completionist and wants to read the book series before the adaptation comes out.