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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Mental illness
Moderate: Misogyny, Grief, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement
Minor: War, Vomit, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Sexual content, Torture, Animal death, and Child abuse
azsm's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I feel like this book could have been shorter. A lot of build up just to cut of on an after credit sense type shi*.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Violence
laurak483's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a fantastic sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic and just gives us more of everything I loved in the first book. The worlds get even richer and more fleshed out, our characters are facing more complex inner struggles that are so unrelatable yet entirely relatable at the same time, and there is action and adventure and just a nice undercurrent of romance lying under it all. The only thing that is keeping it from being a full 5 stars for me is this book, despite being great and immensely enjoyable, felt a lot like set up for the third book. And I remember once the pivotal plot device/events of the book started happening, I noticed there really weren't many pages left and I just found myself thinking the whole time "how is V.E. Schwab POSSIBLY going to have this resolve in any satisfying way with what time she has left?" It's because it wasn't going to resolve, it was set up for the next book. The ending is an ABSOLUTE cliffhanger so I'm very glad I am reading this when the trilogy is already complete and I can get my hands on the next book right away.
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm
l3xi3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Self harm, and Alcohol
fixxon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, and Confinement
Minor: Kidnapping
willowbiblio's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"'Strength and weakness are tangled things,' the Aven Essen had said. 'They look so much alike, we often confuse them, the way we confuse magic and power.'"
------------------------
I'm really glad I chose to stick with this series, because this was so much better than book 1. Lila lost a lot of that "I'm not like other girls" nonsense that made her so insufferable. The inclusion of several more POVs, and shifting through all more continuously/seamlessly kept the narration interesting. I also enjoyed seeing the different cultures even within Red London's world. I enjoyed the way Lila's burgeoning power was explored and that we had several flashbacks to support an ongoing narrative instead of random info dumps.
There were still some aspects that were odd to me- how did no one recognize Kell in the tournament? He's such a *known* figure in that world/city. Additionally, it seemed odd that there was so much tension amongst a family (the royals) that was previously so close. I also felt like it was odd that no one besides Tieren recognized Lila as an imposter.
I enjoyed seeing what became of Holland and getting established a bit in Black London/ the way things can go wrong with magic. This was a massive improvement in all areas and I'm looking forward to finishing the series now.
------------------------
I'm really glad I chose to stick with this series, because this was so much better than book 1. Lila lost a lot of that "I'm not like other girls" nonsense that made her so insufferable. The inclusion of several more POVs, and shifting through all more continuously/seamlessly kept the narration interesting. I also enjoyed seeing the different cultures even within Red London's world. I enjoyed the way Lila's burgeoning power was explored and that we had several flashbacks to support an ongoing narrative instead of random info dumps.
There were still some aspects that were odd to me- how did no one recognize Kell in the tournament? He's such a *known* figure in that world/city. Additionally, it seemed odd that there was so much tension amongst a family (the royals) that was previously so close. I also felt like it was odd that no one besides Tieren recognized Lila as an imposter.
I enjoyed seeing what became of Holland and getting established a bit in Black London/ the way things can go wrong with magic. This was a massive improvement in all areas and I'm looking forward to finishing the series now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Murder
pidgepodge's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual content, and Death
zoeelora's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Violence, and Vomit
skillyillian's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Spoilers abound ✨
I love so many things about this book. Kell, love of my life. Lila, love of my life. I need more rhy and alucard. Hastra is #1 cinnamon roll and I'd give my life for him. Calla is the ultimate mom, I adore her. The characters are so wonderful.
I feel like Lila as a person didn't develop a ton, although her talents certainly did. I love how much of a badass she is, give no fucks and take no prisoners is so stellar when it's done right and with her it definitely is.
Kell's frustration with feeling trapped and held accountable when no one else really was is such an older sibling vibe. God it was so frustrating to read, but in the way it was meant to be. It was extremely relatable for me and made me support him even more.
I loved this book, but I also had issues with it. Someone online introduced me to the idea of "bridge books" where a novel in a series is basically just a bridge to get from one major plot point to the next and doesn't do a ton for the story in and of itself besides giving context for the next big thing. This kind of felt like that? Not terribly, but it was noticeable. Like the biggest things we needed were Kelly getting back to white London and Lila discovering her powers. Everything else felt, not as important. Which is fine, not every plot point should have the same level of importance, but it did make a lot of the rest of the story feel like it dragged on. There wasn't a lot of vital stuff that happened in the first half of the book, it was mostly drama and kind of "where are they now". The only reason I didn't dock more off my score was because it's Schwab, so even when it felt kind of like filler, it was still really well done and held my attention.
Once things picked up though, they definitely went off. The Essen Tasch was a blast, I definitely caught myself grinning a few times throughout. Schwab builds tension in a way that makes it hard to pull out of once you're there and it's addictive. Truly one of my favorite authors 🖤
I adored this book despite it feeling a little bit like filler at some points so we could get to the third installment. The cliffhanger ending was insane, the characters are lovable af, and the magic system grows ever more interesting. I can't wait to dive into the third one, I love these characters so damn much 😮💨🖤
I love so many things about this book. Kell, love of my life. Lila, love of my life. I need more rhy and alucard. Hastra is #1 cinnamon roll and I'd give my life for him. Calla is the ultimate mom, I adore her. The characters are so wonderful.
I feel like Lila as a person didn't develop a ton, although her talents certainly did. I love how much of a badass she is, give no fucks and take no prisoners is so stellar when it's done right and with her it definitely is.
Kell's frustration with feeling trapped and held accountable when no one else really was is such an older sibling vibe. God it was so frustrating to read, but in the way it was meant to be. It was extremely relatable for me and made me support him even more.
I loved this book, but I also had issues with it. Someone online introduced me to the idea of "bridge books" where a novel in a series is basically just a bridge to get from one major plot point to the next and doesn't do a ton for the story in and of itself besides giving context for the next big thing. This kind of felt like that? Not terribly, but it was noticeable. Like the biggest things we needed were Kelly getting back to white London and Lila discovering her powers. Everything else felt, not as important. Which is fine, not every plot point should have the same level of importance, but it did make a lot of the rest of the story feel like it dragged on. There wasn't a lot of vital stuff that happened in the first half of the book, it was mostly drama and kind of "where are they now". The only reason I didn't dock more off my score was because it's Schwab, so even when it felt kind of like filler, it was still really well done and held my attention.
Once things picked up though, they definitely went off. The Essen Tasch was a blast, I definitely caught myself grinning a few times throughout. Schwab builds tension in a way that makes it hard to pull out of once you're there and it's addictive. Truly one of my favorite authors 🖤
I adored this book despite it feeling a little bit like filler at some points so we could get to the third installment. The cliffhanger ending was insane, the characters are lovable af, and the magic system grows ever more interesting. I can't wait to dive into the third one, I love these characters so damn much 😮💨🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Cursing
emily_zylstra02's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Blood