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    Siege and Storm
    Siege and Storm
    Siege and Storm
    Ebook13 pages10 minutes

    Siege and Storm

    By Leigh Bardugo

    4/5

    ()

    About this ebook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJun 4, 2013
    ISBN9780805094602
    Siege and Storm
    Author

    Leigh Bardugo

    Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, The Language of Thorns, and the King of Scars duology—with more to come. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019). She lives in Los Angeles and is an Associate Fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.

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    Reviews for Siege and Storm

    4/5

    1,101 ratings79 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Interesting new characters in this second of the trilogy. Rogue Grisha, a long-absent prince, and new scary creatures for Alina to deal with.
    • 4/5
      Still loving this story, and the intriguing cast of characters as well.
    • 3/5
      When Netflix released the first season of Shadow and Bone from Leigh Bardugo, my daughter was the one who insisted I read the books first. When my daughter recommends I read a book, I take her advice, especially when this is a series she admittedly rereads as often as she can. So that is what I did.What I discovered in Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising was a fascinating story of magic and power, oppression and heroes. The Grisha world is amazing with all the various powers alongside the fear and anger others hold towards them. At the same time, I will admit that Alina is not my favorite character, Even Mal is more charming and has a bit more personality than Alina does. I found I wanted more of the Darkling and less of Alina’s inner angst. While he certainly is evil, I find his backstory intriguing and his desire to see the Grisha earn a better place in society perfectly acceptable. Granted, he goes about it the wrong way, but he is only trying to make the world a better place for his people. You have to admire that.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as the first book, really drags at times.
    • 4/5
      I definitely enjoyed this more than the first book so that was exciting! I'm going to admit that most of the characters I didn't love in the first book and I don't really like them any more now that I've read the second book but I do appreciate them more as interesting characters. I still don't love Mal as a love interest. I have a really hard time really liking love interest who are people that I would never date and I would never date Mal. He seems like he's very controlling of Alina and that he doesn't trust her to the point where she keeps important facts from him. He's a fine character and he clearly cares about her and I know she was in love with him for a long time but I honestly think they'd be better as friends. A lot of this book dealt with relationship drama which I really didn't like. I liked every plot point beside the relationship stuff but that stuff was so much of the book. I just really hate love triangles and you had Mal, Nikolai, and the Darkling all looking for Alina's attention. It was really frustrating since I hate all of them as love interests. Besides the relationship stuff though I did like the plot more. It is so interesting so see Alina deal with her increasing powers. I actually liked the ending a lot in this book which makes me very excited to read the third and final book.
    • 4/5
      A solid follow-up to Shadow and Bone. If this book has a flaw, it's that the story meanders and feels drawn out, then plenty of action and movement occurs in the last few pages. Still, this book kept me interested throughout and it turned out to be a faster read than I had anticipated. As the middle book in a trilogy often does, this one has unanswered questions and something of a cliffhanger, so I am ready to dive right into the sequel.
    • 3/5
      Book 2 in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. This one continues on pretty much where the first book left off. Alina and Mal are now on the other side of The Fold, trying to stay hidden from The Darkling while also trying to figure out how to save Ravka. They're also hunting down the second of Morozova's amplifiers in order to intensify Alina's power as the Sun Summoner. Ah, but if only it was all that easy....That summary sounds very fantasy-like, and if you've not read the first book, it will make no sense at all. I find it very interesting that when I read other reviews of this book, many people preferred this one over the first. I must be an outlier here, because I found this one a little slow going and dull compared to book #1. I didn't dislike it, but it felt like a letdown after the action in the first book. There is not much of The Darkling in this one. Instead, a new character emerges as an additional protagonist (antagonist?), and I did like that aspect. But Alina....I don't know. Kind of wimpy at times. I'm interested to see how things develop and culminate in book #3.
    • 3/5
      While I liked this better than the first, it is only because all the characters besides Alina and Mal become more interesting and I love Sturmhond. Alina is all kinds of ridiculous and can hold a grudge like whoa, but I kept wishing that Mal WOULD just go away and die every time they had a fight. I don't see the attraction at all. He is a disturbingly manipulative, overbearing, and possessive meathead that can dole out the double standards...it's making me actually shout at the book. If she *has* to be with someone, why can't it be Nikolai? The Darkling and Mal only seem interested in Alina in order to control her, where Nikolai seems to just be interested. He sure is the most mature of the lot (and smart and handsome). Alas, there's no way Alina won't end up with Mal in the end, I'm sure, but dang it, I have to find out how it ends.

      And don't get me started about how Tamar and Tolya are swiftly falling into the "Magical Negro" trope.
    • 4/5
      Continues to be an enjoyable and very readable YA fantasy series. My only complaint is the same as for all YA fantasy series - not enough depth. There is potential for so much more detail in this story. It means the plot moves along at speed but I think the author has the potential to give it all much more depth both in character, culture and plot.I'm getting the 3rd book though so make of that what you will!
    • 3/5
      The second book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy suffers from what a lot of the second books in fantasy trilogies do too much of: wandering around. For some reason, in order to pad a story enough to get the trilogy instead of two really good books, a lot of fantasy authors write the second book in the series with their characters wandering around in a boring, meandering type way. Sure, there are usually a few good scenes, but so much time is wasted on camping here and this town there. Siege and Storm is about Alina and Mal looking for the second and third amplifiers while the Darkling chases them. An additional guy is added to Alina's harem which makes it a bit more interesting. I still like the world and the fantastical elements involved enough to finish the series, but I'm even more annoyed by my e-book ending the story at 60% while the rest is packed with preview chapters for other books. Not a good marketing ploy imho. It still feels like I was cheated out of pages and it doesn't encourage me to buy those other books.
    • 3/5
      This was generally entertaining as the first book BUT. I loathe with fire the "let's withhold crucial information from each other because we're so embarrassed tee hee" trope and this plot is wrapped around it like Zoya around Mal. I don't mind characters who *are* idiots (like, everyone knows they are idiots and treats them like idiots), it's when main characters act like idiots purely for plot mechanics that it makes me crazy. (Or when they are objectively idiots but everyone treats them like geniuses because Main Characters but that's thankfully not a problem here. Yet.)
    • 4/5
      Pandemic read. The saga continues, and I still like it.
    • 3/5
      I forgot that the Darkling was as awful as he was, so there were a few moments where I was all: Oh yeah, this series gets KIND OF DARK SOMETIMES. Also, this was a super quick read and I'm excited to read the conclusion.
    • 4/5
      I likes this book. It was as interesting as the first. Nothing to blow the mind away, but Alina is very well fleshed out as a character and I am actually interested in hearing about things through eh point of view. There's a lot going on, of course. I read some books and nothing happens for a long time, but none of that fear with this book. The Darkling always has something wicked going on that interests me, even during parts of the plot where there's not actual action.
    • 4/5
      Bardugo definitely knows how to keep a reader interested through a trilogy. There seems to never be a dull moment. I have a feeling the final book is going to be a ringer.
    • 2/5
      Frankly, if I weren't reading this trilogy just to get to the SoC duology, I would have DNF'ed this.First of all, Alina is as annoying and inconsistent and boring as she is in the first book. I don't know who claimed that she gets better in books 2 and 3, but I found her more insufferable in this than I did in the first book. Second, there's still the issue of Bardugo having not done her basic research about the Russian language and Russian culture. As much as I think it's hilarious that Grisha translates to "Greg," it's still distracting. Every time I see Grisha, my brain just reads it as Greg now. And of course still wrong are the surnames for Alina Starkov and Ilya Morozova. But Nikolai's surname is Lanstov, not Lanstova, further proving to me that this isn't a switching of gendered surnames, but just straight up ignorance.A love pyramid now exists. Because Alina has 0 actual substance as a character, I don't see the chemistry between her and ANY of her, not one, not two, but THREE love interests. Mal is the least interesting of the three and also the one we spend most of our time reading about Alina fretting over. That all being said, there were parts of this book I liked. Nikolai was a great addition to the story; I just wish that Bardugo hadn't made him in love with Alina. So far, he's the only character in the series with any substance, or that feels at all real and developed.This was feeling like a 3-star book for the most part, but I had to force myself through the romance scenes.
    • 3/5
      Semi possible spoilers below It might be the virus climate but I'm feeling negative about this oneWhat was this book like ? All yee all yee welcome to the church of Alina.It was a good ride. I'm glad Alina and Mel seem to be out of the story for the spin off. I loved them in the beginning but grew to dislike them both as a couple and grew really tired of little miss all powerful. I know, what is wrong with me ? I got tired of Alina being the snowflake that would save them all, of everyone circling around her, worshiping her, Alina, Alina, Alina. Meh. The ending ? Really you pulled that card ? Why not the crash and burn stay crashed and burnt ? it would have made a more impactful ending. I was left eye rolling and sighing the easy path taken. I don't want a happy ending after what went down. Omg did you see the sex scene ? No you didn't it was a blink and it was over. Shouldn't there have been tingles ? After giggles ? Something ? I am moving on the The King of Scars which I'm told is wonderful. Fingers crossed
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved this book. I cannot get enough of the trishaw Stories. Between Darkling and The Sun Summoner, I think the SS is gonna kick his butt !!!!
    • 4/5
      "The world is changing," said Nikolai, the steel edge emerging in his voice. "We change with it, or there will be nothing left to remember us but the dust."
      The Writing and Worldbuilding

      I would have liked more in the beginning of Mal and Alina's life across the True Sea. The blurb lied to me a bit in that regard. I really liked the plot in this, way more than Shadow and Bone; it was more unpredictable and interesting, and also more heart-wrenching when it needed to be. But, because there wasn't as much Darkling as I'd have really loved, it fell just a little flat for me.

      I'm a little confused about the whole magic versus fancy magic science thing. What's the difference? What's the magic really then?

      The Characters

      Alina: I really liked her slow descent into slight madness, growing a bit power-hungry. It was great; I always love slow descents into madness storylines. But her worrying over her love life while on the brink of war was a little annoying at times.



      Mal: I liked him enough, but he was pretty darn jealous all the time, as if he expected Alina to make out with anything that looked at her a certain way. Like, dude. Cool it a little, would you? Just because you were a bit of a philanderer doesn't mean everyone is, alright?

      Nikolai: I love Nikolai! He's so funny and great, but also serious and driven. I really enjoyed him, and I think he's a great addition.

      The Darkling: Give me more Darkling, Leigh Bardugo! I want to know E V E R Y T H I N G

      Tolya and Tamar: They were pretty interesting, but I wasn't particularly attached to either of them, to be honest.

      Conclusion

      It was great, in some ways better than Shadow and Bone, in other ways worse. Overall, I liked it enough, but I still definitely wouldn't say this is one of my favorite series. You still have one more book to convince me, Bardugo. Please let there be ruins and rising in that one. Please. I can't stand title disappointment.
    • 3/5
      The end of this saved the book for me. It felt too much rehash of the first, with way too much leaning on a belabored love story. The world mechanics are still fascinating. I will be reading the conclusion.
    • 3/5
      Hunted and on the run, Alina and Mal have made their escape across the True Sea in an attempt to start a new life for themselves. It's difficult keeping her true identity secret as not using her powers is taking it's toll on Alina. The Darkling's agents are everywhere. As it turns out, you can only outrun destiny for so long.Siege and Storm is the second book in The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It's a decent middle book that suffers some pacing issues. And it's characters. But first, pacing. The story opens with a feeling of repetition as we're off to find the next magical beast to slay for an amplifier! I admit, it keeps the action going for the first couple chapters. Then things slow down to quite a slog. Things pick back up in the last 20% again when the plot really gets going. Now back to the characters. Alina continues to annoy the crap out of me. A lot of this has to do with the YA-ness of the story. Her constant pining for Mal is so frustrating! Mal is nothing but a whiny, jealous child during the whole book. I honestly don't know why she continues to want to be with him when he does nothing but bring her down. He can't handle other men flirting with her. Nor can he handle that she's a very powerful Grisha who's trying to save the world. At this point the best thing she could do is ditch Mal and all his negativity. Aside from that, Alina is starting to show her dark side and the bits we see are interesting. It hasn't helped her overcome her self-confidence issues either which is an interesting internal character conflict. I hope this is something that is explored more in book 3. The Darkling is still an interesting antagonist, a force to be reckoned with, though he's not seen near enough. I truly loved his appearances as visions to Alina. It really kept me guessing if he was real or if she was hallucinating. The highlight is the introduction to Nikolai. What a fun character! He steals every scene he's in and he delivers some of the best lines as well as some pretty good advice. I see now why he is getting his own duology soon. The love square. Or is it a love pentagon? Oy. Does the other prince's marriage proposal count? He only did it because his brother did, not necessarily because of attraction to Alina. Maybe it's only a square after all.That said, I still like this world and it's magic system. I do think Bardugo has a talent for prose though I have issues with the story. I also am a bit more complainy-pants than my star rating really reflects as there are some great scenes with Nikolai and that whole ending is pretty darn amazing. I'm looking forward to book 3.
    • 4/5
      Siege and Storm is the second installment in The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and it is every bit as shocking and magnificent as its predecessor. The narration never slows down, and it becomes a whirlwind of emotions, a rollercoaster of events. Iin the rare instances when the story calms itself to let us into the thoughts of Alina, we find ourselves in a harrowing place, as she fights between what she has to do, and where she really wishes to be.

      Our heroine comes to terms with her destiny, and we learn more about the Grishas and the dangers Ravka faces, through her eyes. The Darkling's presence is lingering throughout the pages, offering us some trully haunting nightly scenes. (Can you tell I am a totally fangirl for him? Because I am.) In my opinion, the character that draws much of the attention in the second volume is Nikolai. He is brave and sassy, and develops much better than Mal. He has many leadership qualities and stands as the protector of his land. Mal continues to be Mal, as in ''Mal is annoying to no end.''

      According to my experience with trilogies, the second book tends to be the most action-packed, andSiege and Storm is no exception. The end was bombastic, and I am so eager to see the culmination of this wonderful, epic story.
    • 4/5
      You can run but you can’t hide, at least not from The Darkling! Alina and Mal try to, but really, they have a larger calling than just being with each other. The fate of their world may rest in their mostly capable but somewhat shaky and inexperienced hands. Character growth and development is evident in this middle installment of the trilogy as they do what they must do: return and defeat The Darkling, hopefully without dying in the process.
    • 5/5
      The writing style in this book became much improved compared to the first one in the series, and I found myself waiting with baited breath for what would happen next.
      Cleverly written, this book is impressive in scope and shows evermore of the workd Bardugo has created, showing the limits of Grisha Magic.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed Book 2 of The Grisha Trilogy even more than Book 1. Often the second book in a series feels like a holding place … the background book that the reader needs to get through before moving on to Book 3, which is the finale.But Siege and Storm is a stand alone story on its own. Bardugo does an amazing job of weaving a tale about Alina, the Darkling, and Mal that builds on the first book but also could easily sweep any reader away without having Book 1 as a prerequisite reading.Once again I was immersed in Alina’s story as she struggles to come to terms with her growing Grisha power, her shifting relationship with Mal, and the continued haunting of the Darkling. With a cast of new characters and some old ones, ranging from pirates to princes, I could not put this book down..I’m moving right on to Book 3. If you are looking for a magical adventure laced in darkness, Siege and Storm will not disappoint.
    • 4/5
      As with the first book, this one has excellent world-building and a fast-paced plot. But the characters left something to be desired. Flat and a bit one-dimensional, they felt like tropes in a play. Alina, as a character, becomes more of a leader, and it was interesting to see that growth in her. But the others remained stagnate.However, because the other elements of the story remained strong, it was a good read and if you enjoy fantasy-based young adult novels, this one will appeal to you greatly.
    • 5/5
      OMG the ending

      Oh, I happen to have book three RIGHT HERE because I had a sneaky suspicion this (not exactly THIS, but something cliffhanger-y) would happen. Jumping right in . . .
    • 4/5
      Note: Spoilers for the previous book in this trilogy; slight spoilers for midway through this bookThis is the second book in a young adult fantasy series set in a world that includes a subset of people called Grisha, who are born with rare abilities to manipulate matter at its most fundamental levels. Etherealki can summon elements of nature to raise winds or create tides or fires. Corporalki can stop hearts, heal the wounded, or change a person’s appearance. Materialki are fabricators who work with textiles, chemicals, or metals.  In the first book, Shadow and Bone, we meet our two main protagonists, Alina and Mal, who grew up as orphans in the same house. When they are older and serving in the army together, Alina inadvertently discovers she has Grisha powers as a summoner, but unlike other summoners, she, uniquely, can call up sunlight. In this she is the counterpart of the de facto ruler of the nation of Ravka, the Darkling, who can summon darkness. The Darkling hears of Alina and wants to use her powers to enhance his own. This can be accomplished by attaching “amplifiers” to Alina - the bones of mythical creatures that can increase a Grisha’s power by coming into contact with the Grisha. In the first book, the antlers of a storied stag are found and the Darkling has them placed - permanently - it seems - around Alina’s neck. Mal, renowned as a tracker, helped to find the stag (without knowing it was meant for Alina) and is thought necessary to help the Darkling find a second amplifier, the scales of a mythical dragon. Legend tells that with three amplifiers, the power of the Darkling and Alina will be total and invincible.But at the end of the first book, Alina and Mal escape from the Darkling. Alas, there is a huge price on their heads, and they were hunted, and eventually betrayed. The Darkling takes them as prisoners on a pirate ship with the goal of hunting the dragon, or “Sea Whip.” The Captain of the ship, Sturmhond, is not who he seems however. After the dragon is found, Sturmhond helps Alina and Mal escape once again, and takes them back to Ravka. Strumhond reveals his true identity as the missing prince of Ravka, Nicolai. He is handsome, charming, intelligent and inventive, humorous and self-deprecating, supremely honorable, and seemingly without an ego, in spite of his constant ironic references to his superiority. He does what he can to build up Mal’s reputation with the people, for instance, even though Mal is a putative rival for Alina’s affections. He cares deeply for his country and wants Alina’s help to regain it from the Darkling. He learns from Alina about the need for the third amplifier, which she believes is the fabled firebird, and agrees to help her find it. The key seems to lie in the story of “Sankt Ilya,” or Ilya Morozova, who was working on finding the three amplifiers himself when he was martyred.There is pressure to do something fast. The Darkling has been expanding the Shadow Fold, or “Unsea,” a sinister area of impenetrable darkness that crawls with horrors. He has added his own army of horrors to the mix, the “nichevo’ya,” and he can create them on demand. This is not the power of the Grisha, but “merzost” - black magic, “a corruption of the making at the heart of the world.” They are all afraid of it.Mal and Alina aren’t getting along, through no fault of Mal’s, who is basically close to perfect, just as Nicolai is, but in a different way. Mal’s job is now head of Alina’s guard, and it is boring for him and he feels useless. Alina is becoming obsessed with power, obsessed with the Darkling, and developing secrets of her own. Even though she knows that hunger for power had corrupted the Darkling, she feels its intoxicating pull on herself. Her former teacher Baghra warns her that as her power grows, she will hunger for more, until she loses herself completely. But the pull is too great for her to resist.There are even more complications of course. Alina discovers there is now a “thread” between her and the Darkling, and it is hard for her to resist his pull. The Darkling appears to her with increasing frequency, and it drives a wedge between Alina and Mal. Alina reveals: “I sometimes found myself looking for him or wondering why he hadn’t come, and that frightened me most of all.” She feels lost and confused.Nicolai believes he needs the smarmy priest, the Apparat, to help consolidate power against the Darkling, and the Apparat exercises religious power that is dangerous. He has organized a religious army that believes in the Sun Summoner, “Sankta Alina” who will deliver them from the Darkling.Nicolai tries to teach Alina about political power, because she needs to harness it to help raise an army. He tells her for example, to hide what she is really thinking and that every man can be bought if you find the right incentive. He also advises her, “Don’t underestimate the power of the grand gesture, Alina. The people like spectacle. The Darkling understood that.”As this book ends, everyone is gathered together at the palace to celebrate Nicolai’s birthday, when disaster strikes.Evaluation: This is a “middle book” of a trilogy, and so it feels more like a necessary bridge than a book one can talk about independently. Nevertheless, one can say that the world in this story is bleak, but still full of humor, romance, touching friendships, and acts of nobility and compassion. The characters have taken on even more depth than in the first book, and some of them, like Mal and Nicolai, are truly heroic. In any event, the action-packed ending certainly impels the reader to want to seek out the concluding book.
    • 3/5
      ***Spoilers ahead, you have been warned***You’d have to read Shadow and Bone to read and understand Siege and Storm. Otherwise you’d be pretty lost as events follow up right after the first book. The first half of the book was at a great pace and filled with lots of action, bombs, explosions, fighting, magic, all sorts of goodness you would expect for the second book to follow up for an excellent start in the first. It slows down in the second half of the book where preparations for encountering The Darkling are made and you have this whole drama with Alina and Mal going on;Okay I was wrong about The Darkling. I was torn apart when he ended up being jackalope of the year and I was holding a banner of love for Alina and Mal. Then Nikolai steps in. Handsome, charismatic, swashbuckling, people sway to his beat Nikolai. I loved reading about him whenever he came into the picture. It’s like when your school crush comes into the classroom and you realize you’re going to share a table with him. That kind of giddiness is what Nikolai brings to the book. I saw the chemistry with Alina and Mal in the first one, and it just falls apart here in Siege and Storm - understandably so as the dynamics have changed a lot and Alina has climbed up in the ladder of importance and Mal has suddenly fallen off the grid and is just considered a lowly guard of Alina the Sun Summoner. Which is pretty good right? You’re near the person you love and care about, you’re standing guard and you’re close by.No. Can’t be that easy right? First Nikolai steps into the picture and is suddenly looking like a much better prospect and the drama with Alina looking for the Firebird to amplify her powers even more - the point where she becomes obsessed with it changes her personality and makes her more darker, assertive, and she’s not the girl we all once knew in the first book. I really love this personality change in her. There’s a slight whiny voice to it but she really steps up and grows exponentially as a character. So I can see the romance aspect of the book falling apart, but at the same time you ask yourself is it really necessary? I can see the attempt at a love triangle with Mal and Nikolai with Alina in the middle but from what I see, she gets along fine with both of them, but does she really need one or the other as a love interest? I don’t see the chemistry there with either of them.Sure, Alina still cares a lot for Mal but everything’s changed and it just seems like she doesn’t need romance..not yet anyway. Instead, the attempt at the romance is seen as two whiny people who can’t get their own way and they take it out on each other by indulging themselves on the road to self destruction. Again, that’s a very human trait and good on portraying that. The whininess though, I could do without. It caused unnecessary drama in the book, and endless of pages in the second half where the plot doesn’t seem to be moving forward or anywhere. It feels like an unnecessary filler.The last third of the novel though did pick up the pace (did not make up for the whiny drama though) and provided a lot of the explosions and action you had in the first half. Not really featuring a cliffhanger ending, but it’s making me look forward to what I have to see in the third and final book of this series.PS: My heart bled for Genya.
    • 3/5
      Alina and Mal have successfully escaped the grips of the Darkling — but not for long. The Darkling seems to be omnipresent, omniscient, and now has a new, even more terrifying ability: he can create shadow creatures out of darkness. Alina knows the Darkling needs to be stopped and she is the only one who has the power to. Alongside new allies; Stormhund the privateer, and Tamar and Toyla the twin Grishas, she returns to the Little Palace to become the new leader of the Second Army and harness her powers more than ever. But will the power get to Alina’s head? Will she be strong enough for the Darkling? Will her and Mal’s relationship survive this looming war? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Pros:~Alina finally stopped being a whiny, useless slug and became powerful and badass like I’ve been wanting ~Nikolai/Stormhond is utterly hilarious and I am so happy he came to exist in this book ~The Darkling is still so fascinating to me. Every scene with him just leaves me with so many questions and makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up — he’s just so intriguingThe Cons:~Mal is still here and is even more annoying, which I didn’t think possible ~Remember Genya? Yeah, I don’t because she’s in this book for two scenes (one in which she doesn’t even speak) ~The Darkling‘s appearance is at an all time minimum. Why, Leigh Bardugo, why? And why can’t we have his POV? ~The ending. Dare I say it was…boring? Not the ending sequence, which was pretty badass and action-packed, but just how the book ends in general~~~~~~~~~~~~~Am I the only one that wanted this series to take on a more sinister plot? There are so many times that it’s hinted it will go that way but then it never does. Leigh Bardugo has created such an interesting, complex villain but then someone like Mal takes up 50% of the book. Mal, who is an average, ordinary, underwhelming character that I’ve seen in 100 other books. I don’t get why there’s such an emphasis on him, especially when his character is not evolving, developing, or growing at allIn Shadow and Bone I didn’t like the ending because I don’t care about Mal and his addition towards the end of the book was underwhelming. And now in Siege and Storm I didn’t like the ending either! Literally nothing happened. And I’m not talking about the first 300ish pages – those were great. I’m talking about the ending. The ending could have been so much more had it just gone a different way. But now, the entire lead up to the ending was…pretty much for nothing?Based on the ending of these last two books, I almost 90% sure how Ruin and Rising is going to end, which sucks. I want some surprises, some twists. I’m really hoping that Leigh Bardugo will surprise me with the next book, but we will have to see.Also, I’m really getting sick and tired of Mal. I do not like him, at all.He gets angry over everything, is overly clingy, doesn’t listen to Alina, suddenly has an existential crisis midway through the book, was a tracker in the army for Ravka but doesn’t give a shit about saving Ravka, and wants the old Alina back. Sorry, you want the old, weak, powerless Alina who did nothing but swoon over you every 10 minutes? Wow, what a surprise you want that one back!Literally 50% of this book is dedicated to Mal and Alina’s love life and them fighting. Why? Why? This mundane, unimportant relationship…you guys realize we’re in the middle of a war, right?It’s so hard because I love Leigh Bardugo’s writing and this world, and complex characters like the Darkling, and the potential the plot hasI loved everything else about this book. It started off strong and action-packed with a visit from the Darkling and his new and improved power. And then we meet some new characters: Nikolai, Tamar, and Tolya. Nikolai is…a fantastic character. He is the complete opposite of the Darkling, yet somehow I love them both so much.Nikolai is so funny, charming, charismatic, intelligent, understanding…Sorry, Mal who?And despite a lot of people saying the middle of this book was slow and boring, I really liked it! I didn’t find it slow at all. There was a lot of planning and waiting, but I didn’t find those parts drawn out and still enjoyed them. I loved getting to know Nikolai and I was so happy that Alina grew more powerful and authoritative. Her banter with Nikolai is honestly my favorite. Again…Mal who?Overall, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this book, per say. It’s mostly just my preferences for how I want the plot to go that made me dock 2 stars. But I will say that in terms of character development, Mal is lacking.