Siege and Storm

“So many men had tried to make her a queen. Now she understood that she was meant for something more. The Darkling had told her he was destined to rule. He had claimed his throne, and a part of her too. He was welcome to it. For the living and the dead, she would make herself a reckoning. She would rise.”

5 STARS

This book picks up pretty much right were the previous one left of. Alina and Mal have escaped the Darkling and put the True Sea between them, but still it isn't enough. Within the first thirty pages, enemies meet again and the story begins to darken, shadows literally spinning themselves into being to haunt Alina through the night. CHARACTERS Everything I said about the characters in the review of the first book still stands, with the exception of Alina. With the antlers of Morozova's stag in a collar around her neck and now a fetter of scales around her wrist, Alina is being consumed by power. It is eating at her, bit by bit, so gradually that when she stops she can barely recognize herself when she didn't even know that she was changing. This darkness is laced throughout the book, both in decisions and Alina's mannerisms about the Little Palace when she returns. She is no longer the lost orphan aboard a sand skiff protecting her beloved. Now she is a powerful woman set on leading a country out of darkness. This character development was brilliant and I loved it, but it came at a cost. Mal's love for Alina is tested and often seemed broken, and the new power and hunger for it in Alina tore them apart, with the pieces of their love crumbled at their feet in the rubble of the finale of this book. Tears were shed both by the characters and myself. PLOT I'm not saying much, but I think that the first book was a bit better with plot, simply because the reader was still new to the world and didn't know what was happening and it was an adventure to find out. This book was different. The reader already knows the world, already knows the order and ways of Ravka, but in this book, these traditions get distorted, the views of the world changed. I loved the end of this book, but also hated it, but also really, really enjoyed it (it's complicated, I know), but I loved how everything fell together and then fell apart. The author certainly knows how to have plot twists, let me tell you. I've always loved Russia, and this book is highly atmospheric and I love the blend the author has put on the world. The plot flows with it perfectly and though it's different from the first book, it's dark and rich and beautiful. Overall, the writing was beautiful, the plot was intricately laid with trips and traps, and the characters developed more so than I have seen in many books that are far longer than this. I won't say it's perfect, but for me it was pretty near the mark. March 7th, 2015 is coming fast and I can't wait for to meet the author and get her to sign just about anything I can give her and thank you so much for bringing us this wonderful world.