Siege and Storm (the Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Book Blurb (From Goodreads) 
Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm. 

My Review: 

Siege and Storm is the second book in the Grisha trilogy. I loved the first book so much and I don't really understand why I put off reading the second one so long since it was just sitting on my shelf but I think that the main reason was that I was unconscionably afraid that it was going to do that thing that second books do, start to get bad and then the third one is just this mess, but thankfully Siege and Storm managed to avoid that. 

The plot of this book allowed us to dive deeper into the Grisha world. We got to explore more areas which we had overlooked in the previous book and start to understand just what makes this world tick. Siege and Storm had more action and suspense then the first book which made a suspenseful and exciting read. The stakes are higher and there are so many twists and turns on the way to the books finish line. It sets up perfectly for the second book by leaving us with a cliffhanger and so many questions. 

Alina goes through quite the transformation in this book. It is hard to believe that just two books ago she was a weak, innocent girl because now she has become strong willed and determined but this determination once or twice made her do slightly twisted things that made me question her sanity. She seems to become more sick on power as it goes to her head, but if I know anything from the last book and now this one, she will come out on top. Mal, I though, sometimes became more of a pawn in this book. We didn't see as much of him near the end as he became a jealous love sick puppy. At times you understood what he was doing but other times you would think that he was drunk, 24/7 which he kind of was at some points.

All in all I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and I am pumped to read the next one, eventually.