Reviews with content warning for Torture - Asedio y tormenta

The second book began excitingly enough, but the middle was quite a slog. I enjoyed the growth of characters introduced in the first book and watching them interact with new characters. Learning more about the world and how things operate was fun, but I do wish most outside of Ravka was incorporated into the story. Court politics and relationships amped up to the point that I truly couldn't guess what would happen next. I suspect at least part of the course of the final book with the potential of Alina's weapons, but the evolution of her power and the Darkling's magic is what I'm most interested to see. The best part of a fantasy with politics woven in for me is always the final battle of the war, and events at the Little Palace prove that will be epic.

Content Warnings

jackacj's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Writing this review in the middle of Ruin and Rising because I was too lazy to do it earlier.
I liked this book! It was a good continuation of Shadow and Bone. I loved Sturmhond's character, he was such a strong addition to the series. I liked the plot and the ideas of this book. However, I have issues with the execution.

Alina is at the Little Palace for a while in the book. This is mostly glossed over. I believe this was a mistake. The side characters, specifically the ones who survive the battle at the end of the book, are painfully underdeveloped. Like, seriously. Zoya is a bully. David is basically a stereotypical autistic person (I'm sorry but it's true). Nadia exists. Genya is great and all but she's in the book for like 2 minutes. These characters desperately need some depth

. Also,

I am not sure how I feel about what this book did to Mal. I really like him in the first book where he is, well. I dunno. I am feeling ambivalent about - on one hand, it makes sense, on the other, it all feels too needless .

Finally,

merzost

is sick as fuck.

Content Warnings

ladygetslit's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

While I enjoyed the concept of the series, Siege and Storm falls victim to second book syndrome in that it feels like not much is happening. The best part of the entire book was the addition of Nikolai’s character. The worst part of the book, honestly, was Alina’s narration.

Content Warnings