Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone, #2)
***Description is spoiler for Shadow and Bone***
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.
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Rating: 3.75/5
Here's the summary of how I feel about these books so far: Alina is super dumb and makes me want to punch her, but the magic system is really unique, and the plot has drawn me in.
**spoilers for the first book in the series**
This will be a quick review since it's the second book in a trilogy.
In this book, Alina and Mal are dragged back to Ravka, which we all knew was inevitable because Alina obviously has to save the world and stuff. Even more of Morozovas secrets and even more of the Darkling's power are (at least partially) uncovered, and their path forward is made more clear. That path is, of course, going to be dangerous and exciting and its wisdom is questionable at best. The ending was really, really exciting and absolutely made me want to pick up the last book immediately.
But I've said this before, and I'll say it again: the problem with writing naive first-person characters is that they have to notice everything but never put any of the pieces together on their own. This makes me want to throttle Alina, but still keep reading to see everything come together in the end, which I really hope it will.