The Sun That Shines & The Storm That Will Always Pass

This collection of poetry is about love, truth, life, and light. Four words everyone seems to live for. From the kings and queens of the world all the way down to the beggar on the street. All is a part of a living organism. It is of the wise soul who remembers his or her intrinsic personal philosophy while treading down the dark roads into the unknown.

**

 

Derek Warmington explores four main themes in his book of poetry, The Sun That Shines & The Storm That Will Always Pass. Those themes include love, truth, life, and light, outlined in the synopsis of the collection. Though how he illuminates these themes is the important aspect.

 

Warmington writes of love as something that can be chosen, as if it's sitting right in front of you. But also as something that happens, as if it's inspiration. The truth he writes of is a journey. He searches for the truth behind life, often including questions in his poems. The poems that focus on life hinge on the desire to live without fear and sometimes disagreeing with the search for meaning. He even toys with the idea that there is no meaning in life, it just simply is. And light, well, Warmington tackles the darkness of depression, exploring what exactly is meant by seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Warmington uses a few specific techniques in his poetry. The main one he uses is rhyme. Now, I'm not a big fan of rhyme because I think it can cause a line to be misinterpreted due to it's obvious emphasis on certain words. And I think that happens in some of the poetry in this collection. With Warmington's lack of punctuation to show where a thought begins and ends, the reader makes those choices subconsciously, which in turn can change the meaning of the poem. Warmington also uses alliteration and personification. In "Big World, Small Mind" he writes: "silent sidewalks sing their songs of sincere serenity," which exemplifies both techniques. Though these themes are universal, I think the focus on rhyme will hinder Warmington's connection with poetry readers.

 

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups



Siege and Storm

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.

*May Contain Spoilers*

The epic battle between darkness and light continues in the second book of The Grisha series, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. Alina and Mal escaped the Darkling once and are fleeing as fast as they can. But they fail to stay below the radar and soon find themselves back inside the Darkling's evil grasp. 

The bond formed between readers and Alina in the first book suffers a little throughout this installment. Alina still has the first amplifier for her power, mainly because if she took it off it would create another Shadow Fold or worse. When the Darkling catches up with Alina and Mal, taking them both prisoner once again, their sights are set on a second amplifier from a sea dragon of ancient myth. Up to that point, Alina is still the girl readers were introduced to in the first book. After the sea dragon scales are added, Alina changes. She becomes an angry, power-hungry version of herself. Alina recognizes the darkness within her and hides it, letting it grow in isolation through abandonment. But she can only fight it for so long. Yes, Alina still wants to save Ravka. Yes, she's still brave, sarcastic, and in love with Mal. However, readers won't feel as connected to this changing Alina even if they understand her internal struggle. 

Siege and Storm opens a few months after Alina and Mal escaped the Fold. They're caught pretty quickly by the Darkling and then saved by a pirate who takes them back to the Ravkan capital. The Darkling has new shadow monsters fighting for him and Alina must convince the remaining Grisha of the Second Army to fight with her. Through all of this, Mal is slowly slipping away from Alina as she becomes more powerful and more distracted. Readers will love the intense politics of the palace and revel in the action, but their hearts will ache with Alina and Mal's when darkness tries to pull them apart. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Book One of The Grisha Series