Review: Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This second book of the Grishaverse takes us really up and down the world that Bardugo wrought, giving us a good expansion beyond the continent shown on the map in the first book and taking us far and wide, especially to Novyi Zem, where the book begins. It's a strange contrast, Novyi Zem being basically the Wild West against the Eurasian influences of the rest of the world, and the presence of the jurda crops makes good foreshadowing for the pernicious influence of jurda parem in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.

In terms of story, this middle book is a bit of a sophomore slump, being longer and slower than its predecessor, and feeling a hell of a lot more padded. There's a lot less Darkling, but that amount of him we get, it reminds me of why I've despised him so much for years. As much as I used to ship Mal and Alina, I see in this book just how suitable for her Nikolai truly is, despite my long-standing support for childhood best friend shipping, Climon-style. And now I can see the presence of some important and subtle creatures featured on the original covers - though the new style, more in line with the sequel series and The Language of Thorns, makes the creatures more obvious, I think the original covers are better not only for subtle creatures, but also for showcasing more of the faux-Russian aesthetic of Ravka.

Soon, I'll be re-reading the third book as well. Can't wait to finish this trilogy off once again!

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