Siege & Storm
Shadow & Bone #2
Leigh Bardugo

Please note that this is the sequel in the Shadow & Bone trilogy!  In order to understand the story & plot, you MUST READ the first book, Shadow & Bone.  Also, there WILL BE spoilers!! So please don't read this if you wish to remain unspoiled, or if you have yet to read the first book.  There are oodles of plot twists in these books & I don't want to give them away without at least warning you first!

This tale begins right where Shadow & Bone left off.  I would highly recommend acquiring the entire trilogy all at once, because there's some really big CLIFF HANGERS.  That way, you can just jump right into the next book without having to wait.  xD I had to wait before I got the second, but it was so easy to dive right in.

The story & world building is beyond AMAZING.  The characters are so very complex.  The magic/special abilities system is incredible.  And the politics (good & bad) of running an entire country just felt so real.  And don't get me started on the PLOT TWISTS.  GAHHHHHHHH.  If I didn't have other reading priorities, I'd already be digging into #3 RIGHT NOW...

Similar to the first novel, there's just (if not more) as much violence, blood, & gore in this sequel.  There's an extremely high body count all told---countless people are cut down from these monster shadow creatures (known as nichevo'ya) who strike out with giant claws & teeth, tearing, gashing, cutting, breaking anyone in their path.  Bodies are strewn about the grounds of a palace after one particular battle.

A great, legendary sea serpent is hunted & killed.  Alina feels great sympathy for taking its life.  Both she & Mal push a harpoon deeper into its chest, ending it's wounded misery.  She takes seven golden scales from its corpse, while sailors harvest more of its white scales in order to sell & make extra money.

A girl is bitten in the shoulder by a nichevo'ya & told it will never fully heal.  Another girl seems to have been tortured by the creatures---we see bit marks & scars all over her body & face, nearly making her unrecognizable.

Grisha known as Fabrikators attempt to fuse Grisha steel (an extremely formidable & nigh unbreakable substance) with human bone in an effort to make the warriors more equal opponents to their enemies.  From the ragged screams we hear from the volunteers, the experiments don't seem to be working... 

We learn that an old woman from the first book was severely punished by the Darkling---her eyes were gouged out, leaving the sockets empty...

We witness at least one match of a brutal fight between two men---others gamble over the opponents.  They come away bloodied & bruised from the hand-to-hand combat.

A man's arm is literally ripped off by the nichevo'ya & he quickly bleeds to death.  Another young man is thrown against a wall, falling to the floor with his neck broken.  People are slashed open, torn apart, & otherwise killed murderously.

The king is still ill & weak from being poisoned in the first book.  It's mentioned he was found in his chambers barely breathing & lying in his own filth.

There was a more prominent spiritual aspect in this book as opposed to the first.  A character known as the Apparat, whom you meet in the first book, has raised an army of believers in the name of the Sun Summoner.  [SPOILER] They have their own underground network, including a cathedral, where they "worship" Saint Alina (to her horror), and have morning & evening prayer rituals every day.  To her credit, Alina hates the idea & the title, feeling they pray to a false saint on false hope.  (Which, for Christian believers is totally true.)  But she goes along with it, FOR REASONS... (<---another spoiler, I'm afraid---can't share that one!)

At one point, she sneaks away from her guards, away from the castle, and out of the kingdom's border walls in an attempt to find relief from her overwhelming responsibilities.  Instead, she comes upon the camp of the poor refugees & their countless tents outside the city's walls, and is nearly killed by the gushing worshippers who recognize her & claw & press & worm their way just to touch her.

Several uses of "d---", "a--", maybe one of "hell", and a couple uses of "bastard."  At least one phrase of "all hell broke loose." The word "lech" is used to describe someone with a sexual desire...

The common alcoholic beverage, kvas, is prevalent now & then.  Partiers at a big to-do are spoken of as "well into their cups."

It's mentioned that the crown prince is off buying horses & "whores"...  It is also widely known in the castle that the older king was a "filthy old lech who liked to corner servant girls."  At one party, we noticed the king ogling an officer's young wife.

Nikolai, second son of the king & prince of Ravka, yanks her close & kisses Alina at least once.

In one scene, Alina & her friends pose as fortune tellers at a party.  They overhear noblemen make crude jokes about the best families having illegitimate children.  Alina gives a false fortune that one man would go bald & catch some kind of illness that would make his private parts shrink.  The man appears appalled & somewhat fearful.

In another scene, a man Alina believes to be Mal comes to her in the night & kisses her intimately.  At first, she welcomes his kisses & the feel of being in his arms, & the weight of his body, until she realizes it's not Mal... O_O  No worries, y'all, nothing happens!

In conclusion, this was a fantastic addition to the Grishaverse trilogy!  I can't wait till I can dive into the third novel.  My hands are SO ITCHING for it!!!

As mentioned above, I can't get over how complex the characters are.  And in this sequel, the author just digs deeper & expounds on each personality---all the while keeping them incredibly consistent---and introducing new characters at the same time!  The story world is FANTASTIC---literally!  I LOVE the writing style & how vibrant the language is, how visual the descriptions are, & how engaging the story is.  In my opinion, this is one of the BEST well-written series I've ever read.  And on top of that, the romance is tastefully done, not too much in regards to graphic, but definitely not vague either. 

Highly recommend!

FOUR out of FIVE stars, due to some language & violent content.