Review: Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm 
by Leigh Bardugo
The Grisha Trilogy, book two

Book Description:
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, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But 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.

Review: 

A stellar second installment in this dark fantasy trilogy.  (Check out my review for book one, Shadow and Bone)  Again, Bardugo's world feels alive and real in a way some authors struggle to achieve.  The eastern European feeling is evident throughout and I still felt like I could just step into Alina's world and feel the Darkling's power threatening everyone. 

The shivers that I felt reading the first book were ramped up a notch and I found myself unable to stop reading as I dove deeper and deeper into Alina's desperate situation.  I loved that she was torn, unable to stop thirsting for power, but conscious that she must keep herself in check to save her people.  

I cannot wait to see how this darkly fascinating story ends. 

Review: Splintered

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

 

Publication date: January 1, 2013

 

Book Description:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

 

Review:

I LOVED this book. I was simultaneously torn between wanting to desperately tear through it to find out all the crazy/wonderful things that would happen and wanting to put it down periodically so that I could savor that first reading for just a little bit longer.

Howard wrote some ravishingly dark imagery in her version of Wonderland. Every time you think you recognize something from the original, there is a creepy and distinctive twist. Even Alyssa turns out to have facets that you would not expect. The characters have motivations that make for a more intriguing and power hungry tale than Carroll's version and ultimately, you as the reader have no idea who may survive this twisted place.

I'm having trouble even formulating an effective way to describe exactly how much I loved this book. Suffice it to say that even though I received a review copy, I will most definitely be buying my own hardcover copy in January so that I can read it again and ooh and ahh over the gorgeous aesthetic details (the cover, OMG!) inside and out while I do...

For now, let me just say I'm giving it a GOLD STAR and that I demand you all READ IT!!


Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

by Laini Taylor

 

Book Description:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

Review:

Wow. This is a beautifully written, dark fantasy. The word choices are just gorgeous and kind of made me want to read out loud. The descriptions of Prague gave such an atmospheric feel to the book, but it was the descriptions of the "other" world that were really vivid and unforgettable.

 

Karou is an interesting character. She is outgoing and perfectly at home with who she is...though she doesn't quite know who she is! Watching her discover the secrets of her past was captivating.  The way that she interacts with everyone around her made me laugh...and when she met Akiva, it made me shiver.

The sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, just came out so if you like dark fantasies give this one a try and you won't even have to wait for the second one!



Daughter of Smoke and Bone has a sequel!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

by Laini Taylor

Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone yet? It is a dark fantasy that came out last year and was nominated one of the best teen books of 2011 by just about EVERYONE!

Book Description:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

If you haven't read it yet, you should!! And if you have...you'll be stoked to know that Laini Taylor just announced the title of the sequel coming out in Fall 2012!

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Happy Reading!