BOOK REVIEW: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Name: Siege and Storm (The Grisha Series #2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Number of Pages: 435
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Date Published: June 4th, 2013
Source: Gift
Rate: 4.5/5

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.
  
*This review will reveal spoilers from the first book - Shadow and Bone - if you have read it continue! If you have not I would suggest reading the book!! Cuz it's awesome*

[GOODREADS][B&N][AMAZON]

Why, why, why do I read series that get me so riled up to the point I could just chuck the book across the room! Ugh, just my luck to pick up a series that truly gets my heart going! If you have yet to pick up a book from Leigh Bardugo, specifically the Grisha Series, then where have you been! Her writing captures your heart and keeps it pounding until the very last page is turned!

At the end of Shadow and Bone, you are left with Mal and Alina escaping the Darkling with one of the amplifiers wrapped around her neck, although she is not as powerful as she can become, she is truly powerful. Of course, many thinking she has perished, have started calling her saint "Santa Alina."

I must say that Siege and Storm became my favorite at the end, while it had its many bumps and the main characters started to anger me; I could not help but love it! 

The thing I loved the most was the character development with Alina. The further you get through the book, the more you start to see what true power can do to a person. You could almost see the obsession in her eye, the need to have more. Some people would be like are you kidding me! She is going crazy; however, I think they way Alina feels is very realistic. Maybe that's why I liked it so much - that what power can do to people can change them - which it shows through this book! I also loved how Alina becomes more of a women then a child and starts to take up more responsibility! It was truly an experience to go on her journey.

However, the one thing I did not enjoy was Alina and Mal's relationship. I thought, maybe, they would grow closer together now that they were finally together they would start to become more of a couple and say the big, "I love you!" I was sadly disappointed, in fact they grew further apart..although, I think Bardugo has something planned! We shall see! 

I also have no complaints about the plot. It was always moving, always pushing forward to something new. The plot was so moving that finishing Siege and Storm felt like it only took a moment, rather than the three days it did take me to read the book. If you have not picked up this book, I suggest that you do! You will not regret it. 

If you are looking for a historically placed, fictional world, and a beautiful story - READ THIS BOOK!