Siege and Storm, 432 pages
Ruin and Rising, 422 pages, all by Leigh Bardugo
Alina Starkov, a soldier in the continually war-plagued Ravka, is like many others of her age. Orphaned at a young age, she's never felt like she's really belonged anywhere, except with her best friend, fellow orphan, and potential love interest, Mal. So when their regiment is attacked while crossing the Shadow Fold (a vast stretch of darkness, filled with monsters called volcra that physically cuts Ravka in half), it comes as a surprise when Alina suddenly glows with all the power of the sun. It turns out she's Grisha, one of those with powers who make up Ravka's Second Army led by the Darkling. While many Grisha fall into neat categories, she's different (naturally, this is YA) - she can summon the sun. With the fate of Ravka now resting on her shoulders (and Ravka's enemies now gunning for her), she's whisked away to be trained with the hope that she will be powerful enough to eradicate the Shadow Fold forever. After some setbacks, she manages to come into her powers, delighting in them (and also sort of delighting in the attention they give her from the Darkling). But soon she discovers the Darkling's true plans, and finds herself on the run. Will she be able to outwit the Darkling? Or will she be pulled into his schemes after all?
I'll try to keep this relatively spoiler free, since I'm writing one post for three books. There's a lot to this story that my little synopsis doesn't convey, and a lot of it has to do with the world-building aspects of this story. And that's one of my favorite parts about this trilogy. Leigh Bardugo manages to put together a world with its own rules, giving you just enough information to build your own story upon. I really like the Russian influences (I have a weird affinity for Russia, despite it being bitterly cold and politically intolerant), which really help come into play once the Apparat, an almost Rasputin like priest to the king, starts whipping up religious fervor by declaring Alina a living saint. In many ways, The Grisha trilogy is a lot like the Hunger Games books. You've got your heroine with all the right stuff who finds herself leading a revolution, whether she likes it or not, and dealing with being manipulated and needing to manipulate others in order to do what needs to be done. But unlike Katniss, Alina doesn't deal with PTSD. What happens at the end of Shadow and Bone definitely affects her, but, like I said, she's just as willing to manipulate those who would manipulate her, especially if it means getting what she needs. I also liked that while there was potential twice for a love triangle, Alina stuck with Mal, even when they couldn't see eye-to-eye. Unfortunately, the stakes don't necessarily feel high enough going into the final showdown with the Darkling, even with Alina facing a terrible decision in order to defeat the Darkling. Granted, this isn't my first young-adult-true-love rodeo, but I kinda knew that everything would work out for the better. That didn't lessen my love for this story, so it all works out in the end. If you're looking for some solid world building and haven't gotten tired of chosen-one-type stories yet, then check this one out.
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