As much as she tried to ignore his words, they stuck with her, barbs that keep pricking at her heart even as she gets closer to Mal. She had been told by the Darkling that Mal, an otkazat’sya–someone without powers–would never understand her and her power. One of the best things about Siege and Storm was how much Alina struggled. Now I’m pretty eager to finish the series. Obviously that had changed toward the end of the novel, but I still wasn’t sure of her and the Grisha series. I found her pretty annoying in the first book, a standard heroine that whines about her powers (or lack of) while doing little to advance herself. When she discovers that the Darkling survived against impossible odds and is now more powerful than ever, Alina realizes that she’s going to have to face her past and confront the Darkling and his allies.Īlina came into her power in the first book, which meant that she finally is a character I like in this second book.

She and Mal have been trying to make a life for themselves in a strange land, but as the days pass, it becomes more and more difficult for Alina to hide who she is. I didn’t realize that he was the one who created the maps! So talented.Īfter defeating the Darkling on the Fold, Alina has been running and hiding. Keith Thompson is one of my favorite illustrators. Bardugo is able to explore her world a bit more, showing readers the corners that hadn’t yet been introduced fully. I think it helps that the novel is longer. It was a good novel I enjoyed reading it, but it wasn’t quite something I was raving about despite the impressive amount of love there is for it. I came off of reading Shadow and Bone, the first novel, feeling decidedly unimpressed. Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.

Siege and storm trilogy