Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Publication Date: June 4th 2013
Publisher: MacMillian
Pages: 435
Series: The Grisha #2 

Source: Purchased

Rating:
 ★★★½

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. 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.

Look at that typography guys! This series has the best typography I've ever seen. It's so beautiful and did you see the dragon at the top? Ah I loved it. Before I go into detail about my feelings toward Siege and Storm, I just wanted to let you guys know that this book has the BEST trailer (you can check it out here). And that's one of the reasons why I so excited to read this book and why it failed me hard =(

I loved Shadow and Bone so much: the mystery, the sexual tension but this book gave me none of that. I found Siege and Storm quite boring, it's like the story has entered a slump. There was no Darkling for the first quarter of the book which was a disappointment since, let's be honest here, the only well developed and interesting character is the Darkling. He's evil yet I can't help being pull toward him. What is his intention, does he really care about Alina? I really want to know the answer but Siege and Storm is a standstill in the plot development. So I hope I can find out more about the Darkling in the next book which also is the last book in this series. About Mal, where should I start, he is: unsecured, whiny, overprotective. I seriously can't stand him and hope that Alina will not end up with him. Siege and Storm introduced several new characters but sadly I don't care about any of them. 

It's bummer that this book has gone down hill for me. But still I'm curious how this series will end and who Alina will end up with (please be with the Darkling or no one and please just don't end up with Mal). I guess I'll check out the next book and this time there is no expectation, that, I'm sure of.