Godfrey Under Siege is the second book in the Griffin Legends series by Mark Howard. We pick the story after the ending of Godfrey's Crusade, with Godfrey and Madeline appointed in the Olso fortress; some of the crusade objectives might be considered fulfilled, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Crusaders are starting to feel tired of constant fighting, and some of them want to return to their lands. Godfrey gets appointed as the lord of Olso fortress, not without difficulties; the political game between the crusade leaders is still problematic. Madeline's father accepts to give her in union with Godfrey, but appoints a waiting time until the bishop can marry them. On top of that, Sister Varsha arrives at the fortress, with the excuse of taking care of the books left by the witch, acting as a de-facto librarian of the fortress.
The new librarian also starts acting as the chaperone of Madeline, and somebody who is in charge to keep her far from black magic and heresy. For a Madeline who wants to learn and improve the use of her magic, this becomes a major problem, especially with how closed-minded the sister is.

High Warlord Alvir puts under siege the Olso fortress, making all those problems even more problematic, not forgetting what happened in the past. In this situation, we can see how Godfrey is forced to act as a leader, and honestly, his youngness sometimes becomes a problem, especially because he lets his anger take decisions for him; and we will see some questionable actions commanded by Godfrey during the siege, which will be costly for the crusaders.
In the meanwhile, Madeline starts to feel frustrated, partly due to Sister's vigilance, and partly because of how Godfrey is behaving. Being ignored sometimes by the male characters, she will walk paths that will lead her to really dark situations, but there is still space for the good-hearted girl we knew in the first book.

While the first book had a really extensive world to explore, in this one Howard goes for the opposite recipe: most of the action happens in the fortress or in the fields around. I feel there is a growth in how the characters are treated, and honestly, they are more human than the heroes in the first book. The pacing was in a good spot, with a book that has a more political plot in the first part, but which starts introducing action after it, leading us to a really satisfying climax.

Godfrey Under Siege is a good continuation for those that liked Godfrey's Crusade. Howard has stepped up, improving some aspects of characterization. If you like epic fantasy, I can certainly recommend you pick this saga.