Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone series – Book 2)

Picking up right where Shadow and Bone ended, Mal and Alina are on the run and trying to make a life for themselves in a new and unfamiliar land. She has to keep her identity a secret, but not using her powers is wearing on her. The Darkling is not far behind and he has some new tricks up his sleeve. Alina will have to make new alliances and test the limits of her friends in order to prepare to meet the Darkling in the battle for the country. She is slipping into a darkness and wondering if Mal will be able to understand what she is going through. Are her new powers too much for her to bear alone? Will her new found alliances prove to be enough to get her through the tumultuous times ahead? Saints only know.

The second book in the Shadow and Bone series, Siege and Storm continues to keep you on your toes right from the beginning. My favorite part of this book was the addition of new and interesting characters as well as parts of the map that we hadn’t explored before. I fell head over heels for the quick wit of the new privateer character and his crew is a great little found family that I didn’t expect we would find at this point in the story. The pace of the story is a bit different than in the first book and the quick action really shakes up the status quo early on.

The pace slows down a bit later on when they are in the regrouping and planning phases. I did feel a bit exhausted with the intentional lack of communication between Mal and Alina in this book and an overabundance of jealous teenage relationship drama. It was a ton of “I should really tell him how I am feeling and what I am going through” except she never did. I didn’t really enjoy that part, it wore on me a bit after a while, but I was able to see past it in order to follow the larger storyline and it wasn’t too bad in the larger scheme of things.

The adventure has many twists and turns where you still aren’t sure who to trust or where the next chapter will take you. I was in tears at parts towards the end scared for my favorite characters and when it tugs on my heart strings, that is always indicative of a good story.

I rate Siege and Storm 4 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Format & Source: Paperback from Main Street Books

Publishing Info: Macmillan Publishing Group 2013

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

An orphan and a soldier in the army of Ravka, Alina is just like every other Ravkan citizen. But, when her regiment is tasked with going across the Fold, chaos ensues and a dormant power within her springs to life. This new power sends her mundane life spiraling out of control and away from everything she knows. She must now train with the Grisha, the magical soldiers that are led by the mysterious Darkling, to possibly become the savior of her war-ravaged country. She must face down enemies from within and without all while navigating her own emotions and desires.

When I picked up Shadow and Bone, I was mostly inspired to do so because I wanted to read it before I watched the series on Netflix. I had Just recovered from having my tonsils removed and I was still moving a bit slowly so I was looking for a restful activity to focus on. I read the first couple of chapters and I was sucked in immediately.

The book is very fast paced and it is a quick read, I flew through it in less than 2 days. By the end of the second chapter, blood was already being shed in the darkness of the fold. The country has a dark history that unfolds as the story does and it keeps you engaged. I liked the characters and the ways that Alina interacted with many of them.

I didn’t love the relationship built between Alina and the Darkling, and I wish it would have been a bit more platonic. I personally would have loved to see a mentor or a fatherly relationship with him rather than a romantic one, but that is just me. It did slow a bit in the middle while Alina navigated all of her studies, but it did give me a chance to fully fall in love with some of the side characters.

I would recommend this book to any reader who loves fast paced young adult fantasy. There are so many YA fantasy books out there and this one manages to stand out with unique characters and intricate world building. I really enjoyed the ride and didn’t even take a breath before picking up the second book.

I rate Shadow and Bone 4.5 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Format & Source: Paperback from Main Street Books

Publishing Info: Macmillan Publishing Group 2012

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Haven’t we all dreamt of a magical place where the fruit is juicier, the colors are brighter and the sun feels like magic on our skin? Lazlo Strange has dreams that show him memories of beautiful landscapes and mysteries of a long-lost civilization called Weep. Or at least that is what he must call it because everyone has forgotten its true name. He grows up to be a librarian and studies the lost history but always wishes to become more. He soon finds himself on a journey to find the answers he seeks in ways he never expected, dreams of a beautiful blue goddess and learns that he was closer to the answers than he could have ever imagined.

I was gifted this book by a friend a while ago, having never heard of it and it sat on my shelf for an embarrassingly long time before I finally picked it up. I really connected with the characters in this book. They all had depth and each could really stand on their own. I found myself always wanting to know more about even the side characters and their backstories. The relationships that were built between the characters on the journey were deep, emotional and they felt very natural.

Even the writing itself in this book is dreamy and magical. It transports you into a whole other world. The perspective changes between the two main characters and weaves their stories together seamlessly as the story progresses. The way that the story is told leaves so much mystery that there is no way to predict what will happen next.

The only thing that I would change about this book is that I would I wished that there was more information about the past and what had happened “before”. I think there is enough depth in the mysteries of Weep that I would read a prequel that was just filled with the stories of what happened before the city was lost. If I’m being honest, am a sucker for lost civilizations and ancient history. But that is only to say that there is so much richness in the story that I would love more of it.

This book was unlike any other that I have read. It moves differently than most and it is jarring in all the right ways. I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers of all ages and I do look forward to reading the sequel very soon. I would guess that this book will be on my sort list of favorites for the foreseeable future.

I easily give Strange the Dreamer 5 Stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

-Jacqui

Author: Laini Taylor
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format & Source: Paperback, Gift
Publishing Info: Little, Brown and Company

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien is an assassin that has been put in a high security underground prison, but the crown prince Dorian and the captain of the guard Chaol (among others) come to get her from the prison in order for her to participate in a competition to become the king’s champion. If she defeats the other champions and survives to be the last one standing, then after she fulfills her time as the king’s champion, she will earn her freedom.

There are enemies within the castle, monsters and magic that no one has seen for hundreds of years and Celaena isn’t sure who to trust. With the captain of the guard on one side and the crown prince on the other, can she determine the best path to earn her freedom and help rid the kingdom of the evil lurking beneath the surface?

When I first found myself scrolling through the endless recommendations on bookstagram, Sarah J Maas was a recurring frontrunner. I did a little digging and I found that Throne of Glass was her the first book in her first series, so I decided that would be where I would jump in. I dove into this book because I was dying to find a book that would pull me in by my hair and keep me addicted. Unfortunately, this book did not do that for me.

I liked the world, the magic of it all, the assassins and the king. I wanted to know more about the wars and the politics of the land but I just couldn’t get attached to the characters. I felt that the book centered too much around the characters and their relationships (which felt a bit forced if you ask me) and not enough around the world they lived in and the reasons behind it all. I’m honestly interested to see if this changes as the series goes on.

The whole plot centers around this competition to become the kings champion, but I never figured out why. Why did he need a champion? Why did all of the different members of court get to appoint their own contestants? Why was it sort of a secret? I have finished the book ya’ll and I still don’t really know.

My biggest negative opinion is that the three main characters are sort of empty and inconsistent. They are introduced as one thing and then often act and even appear very different than the way they were introduced. Celaena is a well-known deadly assassin who has no love for the royal family, and yet she doesn’t hesitate to blush when the prince looks her way. Which brings us to Prince Dorian, the supposedly arrogant, self-centered prince who mostly just isn’t that at all. He seems to be a pretty well rounded and descent guy all things considered. For those of us who like broody dark princes with secrets and dark decisions to make, he falls a bit flat. Then there is Chaol, captain of the guard and jealous puppy. I can’t quite figure out the love triangle here and it felt so forced to me. I just could not get on board with her having feelings for either of them. None of it felt authentic to the characters or their motivations.

I did love some of the other friendships and the enemies that Celaena made along the way and I hope to see them blossom into more fruitful things in the rest of the series. I love fantasy worlds, assassins and kings. I long to live in worlds like the one that Sarah J Maas built for this story. It has so much potential and I will be diving into the rest of series eventually in order to live in the world and give the main characters a chance to grow on me.

I give Throne of Glass 3.5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐✰

-Jacqui

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Format & Source: E-book, purchased on my Nook
Publishing Info: Bloomsbury Publishing, August 2013