A review by sushmita
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


TW: sexual harassment, assault, abuse & pedophilia




It’s beyond me why anyone would ‘stan’ The Darkling. After reading how he treated Genya, Baghra & Alina, I was fuming with anger. Where is the complexity that everybody speaks of? because I don’t see it.  There is nothing complex about a 500 year old pedophile who abuses & enslaves people, who shape-shifts into a teenage boy so he could touch & kiss his vulnerable teenage girlfriend mid-sleep.

The Darkling is not a good villain. He is just your regular old bad guy who does atrocious & unspeakable things in his hunger for power. Good villains, on the either hand, make you want to side with them despite their gray sense of morality. The Darkling’s morality wasn’t gray. It was pitch dark & swirling in shadows with the volcra & the nichevo’ya.

According to me, Mal’s human insecurities about being surrounded by powerful royals & even more powerful Grisha who belittled, spoke down to & spread rumours about him, was more understandable and complex than The Darkling’s entire arch [Being othered as a child, is no excuse to feel emboldened enough to abuse & enslave people]



In this series I find myself to not be that big a fan of The Darkling, Alina or Mal. My heart is more swept by Genya, Nikolai, Zoya, Tolya & Tamar. Their characters seem more rich & interesting for me to read & enjoy.

Overall, this book is a three star book for me as even though it took me on an emotional roller coaster ride, it managed to leave me underwhelmed. I don’t see myself ever re-reading this series or recommending it. 
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