Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo + Giveaway

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Genre: YA High Fantasy
Expected Publication: June 4th, 2013
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Page Count: 448
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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.

*A review copy was provided*

I will start off this review and say that if you haven't read the first book in this series yet, Shadow and Bone, please do.  You're missing out big time.  I fell in love with Alina's story and her struggle with the Darkling and her powers.  It all created this epic adventure that was hard to put down.

While I like Alina's character, she actually got a bit on my nerves in this one!  It's not necessarily a big deal, but it definitely created some conflict in the story and made me have the desire to pull out my hair.  Like I said, no biggie.  However, she still was stubborn and determined as ever, making rash decisions and trying to save all of Ravka.  If you don't admire this character, there is something possibly wrong with you.  Also, she's got some great snark.  I loved it.

You don't know how excited I was to jump back into this story.  I got it in the mail and I read it as soon as I possibly could.  While I think I like the first book better, Siege and Storm did not let me down in any way.  There was always plenty of conflict to keep me interested, whether it be romance or saving Ravka.  And right in the beginning there is a major plot twist!  Many new characters are introduced and Mal and Alina's relationship deepens.  And I cannot count how many suitors Alina receives!  But it's okay . . . maybe.

Speaking of relationships!  I might as well bring up Alina and Mal!  I love these two together! While there is a certain alluring quality about the Darkling, I think that Alina and Mal are Meant to Be.  There's something about way-back-when-friendship-turned-couple that makes my heart go all mushy.  It just makes me SO HAPPY.  And seeing them hurt makes me hurt, and when they're happy I'm happy.  I am the commensurable reader benefiting from (or suffering from) their togetherness, an unknown presence to them, but a large part of my survival as a reader.  Also, their banter was so cute to read!  They had such great chemistry!

And may I also bring up the subject of Bardugo's writing skillz??  They are AMAZEBALLS.  Everything about it is visual, the descriptions are beautiful and thus, the wonderful and terrible world that Leigh concocted becomes real.  It is magical in every way!  Her writing really sets the tone.

I drifter through the half-light, past the silent lawns covered in mist, the clouded windows of the greenhouse.  The only sounds was the soft crunch of my shoes on the gravel path.  The morning deliveries of bread and produce were being made at the Grand Palace, and I followed the caravan of wagons straight out the gates and through the cobblestone streets of the upper town.  There were still a few revelers snoozing on a park bench.  A group of girls laughed and splashed in a fountain, their skirts hiked up to their knees.  A man wearing  a wreath of poppies sat on a curb with his head in his hands while a girl in a paper crown patted his shoulder.  I passed them all unseen and unremarked upon, an invisible girl in a drab brown coat.

Isn't it beautiful??  Or maybe it's just because I've been reading such meh books with meh writing that going to this one clearly outshines the others.  But still, I have to admit that Bardugo is a very talented author.

5 Splashes

Now, for everyone to get into the cheer for the release of Siege and Storm, I have a giveaway for you all!  You know the rules: play fair and all.  So, now I'll leave it up to you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where bloggers like me get to gush about what makes their hands all grabby.

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.

I can't.  Wait.  For this book! Like--ughh!  I need it now!  I absolutely loved Shadow and Bone to pieces and with the ending that was given, Siege and Storm was put to the very top of my TBR list.  And this almost minimalistic cover draws me in even more.  I kind of like to think of it as The Grisha Trilogy is what you imagine it to be and it lets all my creative juices loose.  Even though I think that The Darkling is some gorgeous creature (and if you disagree, just look at Tom Hiddleston as Loki), I am Team Mal.  So, GOOO TEAM MAL!!!  Make me proud, you scruffy man.

And what are you all waiting for this fine Wednesday?

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Synopsis:
Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, the one thing she could rely on was her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’re sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.
When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, she is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the one person with the power to destroy the Fold.
Swept up in a world of luxury and illusion, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But as the threat to the kingdom mounts, Alina uncovers a secret that sets her on a collision course with the most powerful forces in the kingdom. Now only her past can save her . . . and only she can save the future.

My Thoughts:
There was a lot of hype about this book way before it even came out and I was really excited about this book.  I saved this book for last when I read all four of the Fierce Reads books. (You know the saying, right?  Save the best for last and all.)  And lemme tell ya, this one did not let me down at all.
Alina was more of your silent type.  She was strong in character and driven by her goals, but she, I thought, was more of a believable heroine in the sense that she wasn't quick with her retorts and all of a sudden has this ninja mojo going on.  No, she was not like that.  I loved her determination and love for her childhood friend, Mal.  Her feelings were true and understandable, which I enjoyed to watch throughout the story.
The Darkling certainly was a dark one.  As in dark, I mean mysterious and attractive.  I am not Team Darkling at all, but there was a certain charm about him.  And to top it all off, he saved Alina's life with his mysterious powers.  He had brownie points, but not enough for me. 
The story was something so creative and interesting, something I certainly have not seen anywhere in all of the books I have read.  It had the same idea where the girl who thinks she is completely average discovers something she never new about herself and this whole adventure begins.  For some reason, this storyline usually doesn't bother me as much as it does to others.  I prefer to look more at the originality of the plot and the dimensions of the characters.  And let me just say that there were a lot of dimensions to the characters.  There was growth between the characters and sides of others that I did not expect to see at all.  And the story!  It was something I have never seen before.  I used to be terrified of the dark and in this book, the dark actually is filled with your worst nightmares.  There really is something to that idea that I really like and was excited to read about.
The only thing that I didn't like all that much was how fickle Alina's feelings were.  Not in the beginning necessarily, but towards the middle and end, I felt as if she became quick to judge.  It didn't bother me all that much, but I felt that a little more of an internal battle would have done well, though I'm not sure it would have went well with the rest of the story because you know how the emotions and decisions of the characters affect what they do later on in the book.  And I liked how the story went in the end, so I'm not going to complain too much.
In all, this book was great.  There was plenty of action and adventure that kept me interested and at the edge of my seat.  I couldn't even put it down for a few minutes (I finished it in one day.).  I have never read something so dark and mysterious such as this book.  It definitely deserved that spot in the Fierce Reads book tour.  And I'm very glad that I saved it for last out of the four Fierce Reads books.  I can't wait to read what will happen next in the second book, but what I do know is that it will be a great book with even more action and adventure and I'm sure the stakes will be even higher in the next book.  All I have to say is that I probably should be more wary of the dark.