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Siege and Storm  By  cover art

Siege and Storm

By: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
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Publisher's summary

Darkness never dies.

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, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But 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.

©2013 Leigh Bardugo (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Featured Article: Alina Starkov—A Shadow and Bone Character Guide


Gather round, darklings, and let us tell you the tale of Alina Starkov, the star of the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Though the novel came out almost 10 years ago, the Grishaverse has expanded quite a bit since then. And now with the new Netflix adaptation, interest in Alina Starkov and the series at large is greater than ever. So keep reading to learn the answers to all your burning questions about Alina Starkov! (Warning: spoilers ahead!)

What listeners say about Siege and Storm

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Aggravating

I spent most of the time yelling at the main characters for being irrational brats. Even the villain made more sense. Mal yelled at everyone for no reason, I think he needed a hug. This book was thoroughly disappointing. The main characters where completely unlikable.

The villain is one of the most likable characters in the series...I was actively rooting for him.

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49 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Kinda of Falls For the Sophomore Curse

I'm going to admit to a huge ambivalence about this second book in the Grisha series. On the one hand, I am still loving the world and the magic concepts. But then when it comes to the characters and the action sequences, I'm either bored or baffled. Seems like there would be an amazing story here with different people.

In Siege and Storm, Alina and Mal are trying to remain hidden from the Darkling. But double crosses (from both the Darkling and his allies) will force Alina and Mal back to the heart of Ravka. With a new (and interesting) ally, facing the Darkling in the open rather than in hiding may be their only option.

Book two suffers from a couple of sophomore symptoms: 'manufactured' conflict between the two romantic leads, emasculation of the male love interest, a dead dull, bloated middle arc, and recycled storylines from the first book. It was the same themes over again (Darkling capturing Alina and threatening someone she cares about, Alina trusting and getting romantically involved with a stranger, a large section of nothing but Alina moping/learns new responsibilities, then big action at the end) that made for a frustrating book.

But at the same time, there was an attempt at character growth for both Alina and Mal, though one moved forward and the other backward. Yes, every girl in the story wants Mal and every guy in the story seems to want Alina. That gets old and seems to only be there to create jealousy and uncertainty in the Mal-Alina relationship. As such, it made it hard to get into either character. Mal was an elusive character at best in the previous book - now he's practically inscrutable in his insecurity.

The action scenes were also very problematic for me. It seems that none of the Grisha were able to use their powers for anything other than collecting water or making a breeze. Alina can only do a sickle strike with her powers. Even knowing that an army of smoke like creatures are coming, no one seems to bother to create any kind of defense or train to defend/attack those creatures. We get one crazy invention and that's it. I admittedly became really annoyed that all the Grisha and soldiers were so amazingly ineffectual. As well, the Darkling's new power is supposedly life sucking but he seems to be able to summon an entire army just fine, other than looking a bit tired. It just didn't ring true.

There are consequences for those who side with the Darkling. And a few surprises (with hints that Mal is more than he seems) with a trail leading back to the birthplace of Mal and Alina. I'm excited, despite my lukewarm response of this book, to see where Bardugo ends the Trilogy.

The narrator did a good job and felt right for the part of Alina.

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40 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting! A Must Listen

There is no "middle book syndrome" here. This one was amazing! I loved the new characters, the action and all the plot twists and turns along the way. I don't want to give away any spoilers here, so I will just simply say this sequel was awesome! The narration was brilliant as well.
This is a must listen and totally worth the credit. Just be sure to read Shadow and Bone first (you won't be disappointed)

5 *huge* stars!!

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27 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not as good as I had hoped

Liked the first book, was hoping in the second that the main character would grow a spine. For someone who supposedly has a lot of power she let's people push her around. Love triangle is getting old.

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18 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I hate the main character

The book is fine, but the main character drove me up the wall. I spent too much time yelling at her to make up her mind, say something, use her power, stop being useless, etc. My husband was listening with me and quit half way through because he couldn't take it anymore.

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18 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

2,5

meh
if it wasnt an audiobook i prob. wouldnt have finished it...
not impressed
meh

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

ok. unable to complete

I really likes the six of crows series, but I struggled through this and gave up halfway through. just didn't hold my attention enough

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I WANT THE PRINCE!

Is it just me?!

Siege and Storm is delightful story. I will be honest I find myself struggling with fantasies a lot of the time. Too many strange names and places to remember and pronounce. This book is an exception for me. It is no fluff ball but it never takes you too deep you get lost. The plot stays on course and the people and places stay to a minimum, which in my opinion is essential to a great fantasy.

Wild adventure, beautiful magic, good vs. evil, and a little bit of love sprinkled in. What else do you need?

The Sun Summoner will suck you in and leave you waiting for more!

p.s. cliffhanger

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The Dip in the Middle

Compared to my review of Shadow and Bone I am going to try and keep this one short. As a second novel goes I believe that Bardugo really does improve in her world building, characters, and plot (in some ways). First, she makes an effort to better explain how her magic system works, and we get a better picture of how everything falls into place. Second, we learn much more about the political and social landscapes of the kingdom of Ravka, which in their own way advances the plot.

The biggest improvement in this second novel has to be the characters though. Bardugo adds several new characters to the mix, which really make the story click better, and helps us as the reader get a better picture of the overarching plot. These new characters have well defined depth and show personalities rivaling some of the Six of Crows characters.

Now we come to the plot which in one way improves and in another way struggles very much in my opinion. At the beginning of the novel events kick off with a bang and continue the fast pace of the previous book, and the plot seems to be moving at a rapid pace. The same thing occurs in the last quarter of the book, where things really come to a head very nicely. However, the middle 50 percent of this novel is where Bardugo struggles. Her claim to fame is the fast pace constant action plot, which she maintains for the most part in Shadow and Bone and in the first and fourth quarters of this novel. However, it seems to me that the middle 6 hours of this book are nothing but conversations between characters that go nowhere. The plot slows to a crawl, and it feels like she could have easily cut out a good 50 pages. Also, it seems like she attempted a couple of plot twists in this part of the book that were very obvious and didn't help the story whatsoever.

In conclusion, I did like this book more than Shadow and Bone but still not nearly as much as either of the SIX of Crows books. That weak middle of the novel was the cause of my 3 star rating and I really struggled to get passed it.

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Couldn't finish it

Too much like the first in the series. I thought the main character would at least be less whiney and predictable. Too bad. I was hoping.

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