YA Weekend: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Book 2 of The Grisha

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (June 4, 2013) 

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy's Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


You might have noticed that I featured the third book of The Grisha earlier in the month in one of my Waiting on Wednesdays. It goes without saying, I continue to enjoy this series very much! Still, it's only natural for readers to compare sequels with their predecessors, and the truth is I did not think Siege and Storm was as strong as Shadow and Bone. 

There are several reasons for this. I don't want to single this book out because this is certainly not the only time I've felt this way, but it does serve to illustrate a pattern I've been noticing with me and a lot of young adult novels lately: Book One manages to make me fall in love with the characters and impresses me with a sweet, endearing little romance, and then invariably Book Two will show up with teenage melodrama and start stirring the pot. 

Thing is, I haven't stopped rooting for Alina and Mal. I still love the fact they started out as childhood friends first, and that their trials and tribulations in the first book brought them together and made them see that their relationship might be something more. But of course, YA conventions dictate that NO ONE can ever be allowed to remain in a loving, happy relationship, dammit! Seems to be the case especially when it comes to middle books of a trilogy.

Now, don't get me wrong; I appreciate a bit of dramatics here and there to help spice things up. But why do they always have to stem from some form of silly misunderstanding or a simple case of miscommunication? You two are best friends, maybe you should try talking to each other. And a love triangle? I thought we'd dodged a bullet with that one when the Darkling turned out to be a nasty in the first book. 

Thankfully, Sturmhond, the third wheel in question, doesn't seem like a bad sort, especially given his secret and intriguing background. Dashing, confident, and just tolerably vain, I actually thought he was a great addition to this series. That I preferred his character over Mal is a testament to just how far the latter had fallen. Oh, Mal, Mal, Mal. What happened? I have very little patience for characters who drown their sorrows by getting so severely smashed that they can hardly even remember their own names. Or those who kiss other girls when they are supposed to be in love with someone else, for that matter.

Alina doesn't get away scot-free either. This book sees her going through some big changes, after she and Mal are intercepted from their escape and taken back to the heart of Ravka to gear up for their fight against the Darkling. A darker side of her emerges, and though this is a result of certain events in the story, frankly her personality change disturbed me. Her arrival and new-found status also meant instigating a lot of social posturing within the egomaniacal ranks of the Grisha, giving the court an unpleasant dynamic, one reminiscent of a hormone-fueled high school cafeteria. Slipping deeper into her role of the Sun Summoner and the savior of her country, she begins to lose sight of what's really important. This mostly means Mal, really.

While this review may sound critical, know that I really did enjoy this book. In embracing a lot of the YA conventions, it also fit my mood like a comfortable glove, much like the first book did. The story may have been a tad too focused on the drama between Alina and Mal, but it also did a couple things really well, mainly in 1) expanding the world of The Grisha and 2) ending things with a bang. If the pattern continues with this series, as the third and final book of the trilogy, Ruin and Rising should be amazing.

Waiting on Wednesday 03/05/14

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on!

Mogsy's Pick

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo: June 17, 2014 (Henry Holt and Co.)

So this January I finally got around to reading Shadow and Bone and ended up loving it! So earlier this week I also devoured the second book Siege and Storm and now I'm definitely looking forward to book three. The cover was also recently revealed for this too. Isn't it pretty?

"The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for."

YA Weekend: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Grisha

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (June 5, 2012)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy's Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


Once in a while, a great book like Shadow and Bone will come along and remind me of why I read YA -- and why overlooking this category of fiction would be a big mistake. It's another one of those titles which had hung around on my to-read list for much too long, and now I wish I'd listened to the glowing reviews and picked it up sooner. It has everything I look for in a YA novel: a likeable protagonist, a sweet and believable romance that's not insta-love, and a pace for storytelling that's just perfect.

At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to a girl and a boy, two orphans who became friends with each other when a kind nobleman took them in. Years later, both Alina and Mal have ended up in the army and are preparing to cross the Fold, a wasteland of darkness where savage creatures called Volcra lurk, ready to swoop down on any unsuspecting travelers. Well, of course they get attacked by Volcra during the crossing. Without understanding how, Alina manages to save the life of her best friend Mal by unleashing a brilliant flash of light as bright as the sun, driving away the creatures.

Anyway, this book doesn't waste time getting to the meat of the story. It turns out Alina is one of the Grisha, and a special one at that. Grisha are what you would call the sorcerers of this world, except I would say that their magic is more like a science -- acts of magic are actually the Grisha manipulating and altering matter at its most basic level. It's an interesting system, and I also find it fascinating that the Grisha have their own social structure, politics and culture. When it is discovered that Alina is the Sun Summoner with the power to control light, she is whisked away to learn the ways of the Grisha, and I had the pleasure of learning all about their society through her eyes.

The world of Shadow and Bone has a sort-of Russian flavor, and yes, the way of the Grisha court has some of your usual YA trappings. Normally, I'd be calling for more world building and further expansion into the book's ideas, but I'm actually quite amazed and how much it was able to convey. Especially when you consider how this was a relatively short novel and a really quick read. The story finds its momentum early on and it just keeps going like that all the way to the end, and I don't think I would have traded that for anything. Everything you need to know is there, and I liked how we don't get any unnecessary detail or lengthy exposition weighing things down.

But it's the characters that made this book such a joy to read. Alina's a tough girl, and even though she can get a tad too sentimental at times, she's proven herself to be quite capable. Her romance with Mal actually feels natural, and I liked the fact that it was the result of a long-term friendship that grew deeper over time. It makes their relationship more genuine, and I could better understand their intense feelings for each other. Since finding a YA romance that I actually like is quite rare for me, it makes a big impression whenever it does happen.

It also helps that this book was exactly what I needed at time. If you're ever in the mood for a quick YA fantasy with a decent romance and a bit of adventure and intrigue thrown in, this will do the trick nicely. I found it very enjoyable!