Synopsis: 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.
Review: Siege and Storm picks up shortly after the events of Shadow and Bone. Alina and Mal quickly find themselves back in Ravka surrounded by new characters. This is the book where we meet Nikolai, booktube's sweetheart in this series. I like Nikolai, but probably not as much as everyone else. Alina spends time with him as well as his brother, Vasily. I like that we get to know both of them, because they both have very different feelings and perspectives on how Ravka is governed. A more interesting character, in my opinion, is Zoya. She is introduced in the first book, but she treats Alina very differently in Siege and Storm. I loved seeing her interactions with Alina and hearing her motivations.
This story doesn't have as much action as the first book, but I'm okay with that. It deals more with palace life and the political side of things. We see this as we get to know Vasily and Nikolai. They both want Alina on their side so they can rule the country. That being said, we do get a fair amount of action at the end. The final couple of chapters are explosive, and we really get to see how Grisha work together in battle. More than anything, I loved seeing how Alina copes with the excessive amount of power she suddenly finds herself with. We also see how this puts a strain on her relationship with Mal.
This second book is dripping with political intrigue and peppered with intense action.
4 howls
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