Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
4/5 stars
Henry Holt and Co, 2013
432 pages
YA Fantasy

Source: Received an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

No spoilers for Siege and Storm but some light spoilers for Shadow and Bone (possibly)

When I was choosing a book to read on the plane for my vacation, I thought Siege and Storm would be the perfect pick. Highly anticipated and already receiving rave reviews from the blogosphere. But when I tried reading it on the plane, I was confronted with the fact that this is a fantasy and I really struggled to concentrate on the world, eventually putting it aside until I landed where I promptly devoured it.

I can't share too much about the plot but I will remind you how Alina has an amplifier and is on the run from the Darkling in the company of Mal. This book picks up with them still on the move and quickly escalates from there. No moments of piece for the young couple but new and ever more difficult challenges keep arising, both external and internal.

Although Shadow and Bone received a decidedly meh review from me, the more reviews I read around the blogosphere and the more I mused on the book, the more excited about it I became. Now that I have completed Siege and Storm, I still have similar feelings. There is just something about this series that fails to captivate me like my favorite books do.

Yes, there are some great moments like the introduction of Sturmhond, a privateer with charm to spare who is quite the trickster. Every moment with him sparkles although his flirtation with Alina pissed off the Mal fan in me. Speaking of Mal, he is kind of a gloomy Gus in this book as he feels increasingly stifled by the decisions he and Alina have made and how that limits his future. I just wanted him to give his all to Alina but then I guess he wouldn't have been the kind of guy he is. As someone who quite liked the Darkling despite a long-time dislike of the "bad boy," I was disappointed that he didn't have more page time. When he's there, he's there-he takes over everything and he's always in the background of Alina's thoughts but he didn't have the presence he did last time.

And then we come to Alina who is probably my biggest problem with the book. I just don't click with her. There's nothing particularly objectionable about her to me but we don't have the easy camaraderie that I've had with other heroines (say Alanna of Tamora Pierce's series). It's as simple as that.

Overall: I would still definitely say this is a must-read for fantasy fans and those who enjoyed the first book; it's also a good read for people who want to stay abreast of what's popular in the YA category as these books have inspired a lot of love.

Other Opinions:
Beauty and the Bookshelf
Candace's Book Blog
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Supernatural Snark
The Midnight Garden

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4/5 stars
Henry Holt and Company, 2012
356 pages
YA Fantasy

Source: Received an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

I have seen so many positive reviews of this around the blogosphere; it seems to have garnered a lot of attention and I feel comfortable adding my endorsement although I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as many other bloggers.

Don't get me wrong-I do love YA fantasy and I enjoyed this book a lot. However I guess I would say that it lacked that magical spark for me. I had trouble getting invested in the book and was very confused about the magical Grisha as introduced in the prologue. Still the writing style was easy and I flew through the pages. But when I closed the book, I almost felt like it could have been a standalone. I suppose the enemy is not completely defeated but the ending still felt pretty final to me. At the moment I don't feel compelled to beg for a copy of second book Siege and Storm although I will probably read it once other bloggers remind me that it is available.

There was nothing I hated about this book and in fact a lot I liked. I was very invested in main charachter Alina's romances, first a long-time flame for her best friend Mal (who reminded Small Review of Gale but me of Peeta) and then an attraction to the powerful and mysterious Darkling. One of them gives her a beautifully romantic speech about his love for her (shortly before the run-in with the stag for those who have read this) that made me absolutely swoon. So I really like the romantic aspects of this book without feeling like they were the main focus.

I also loved the magic once I had a better understanding of what it entailed and there was court intrigue, a soft spot for me. I really loved the parts with Alina learning the ropes of her power-her very unique ability to summon light, something that no one else can do, as well as her burgeoning friendship with Genya, forced into the position of servant and scorned by other Grisha.

Overall: An entertaining fantasy but one that failed to fully engage me. I like it but I can't write a gushing review for it.

Cover: I actually really like the ARC cover I have which is black with splatters of blood-this does make the story sound like it might be much creepier than it actually is. Whereas this cover evokes more of the beauty of Russia to me since the setting for this seems to be based on Russia.