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kathrynok's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Violence
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: violence, blood and gore, self harm, death
"I am Delilah Bard. Pirate, thief, magician. I have crossed worlds and taken ships. Fought queens and saved cities. I am one of a kind."
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab is book two in the Shades of Magic trilogy. This is my first read of #SequelSeptember , and it was a great way to start! I really need to stop putting off reading Schwab books, because I love her writing style. It's so descriptive and beautiful, it almost feels physical. I love the way they take time to let us get to know the characters, so they feel like real people. Some people might find it slow, but I enjoy the layered world-building.
We pick up with Lilah Bard, who has achieved her dream of becoming a pirate (love that for her). When Lila finds out her captain, Alucard Emery (handsome, annoyingly charming, bisexual), is stopping in London for an international magical games tournament, she is determined to enter. Plus, we all know Lila probably misses Kell as much as his broody ass probably misses her. Lila's story is all about her pushing her limits and defeating the odds.
We follow Kell and Rhy as they deal with the consequences from the last book. Kell struggles with feeling trapped in a cage, while Rhy is bent on self destructive behaviors all while planning an elaborate international tournament. The antagonist was kinda understated in a slow burn kinda way, but was deeply unsettling. That was a beast of a cliffhanger! 😭 I don't have the third book on my tbr this month, but I may have to bump it up!
This world is so interesting!
"I am Delilah Bard. Pirate, thief, magician. I have crossed worlds and taken ships. Fought queens and saved cities. I am one of a kind."
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab is book two in the Shades of Magic trilogy. This is my first read of #SequelSeptember , and it was a great way to start! I really need to stop putting off reading Schwab books, because I love her writing style. It's so descriptive and beautiful, it almost feels physical. I love the way they take time to let us get to know the characters, so they feel like real people. Some people might find it slow, but I enjoy the layered world-building.
We pick up with Lilah Bard, who has achieved her dream of becoming a pirate (love that for her). When Lila finds out her captain, Alucard Emery (handsome, annoyingly charming, bisexual), is stopping in London for an international magical games tournament, she is determined to enter. Plus, we all know Lila probably misses Kell as much as his broody ass probably misses her. Lila's story is all about her pushing her limits and defeating the odds.
We follow Kell and Rhy as they deal with the consequences from the last book. Kell struggles with feeling trapped in a cage, while Rhy is bent on self destructive behaviors all while planning an elaborate international tournament. The antagonist was kinda understated in a slow burn kinda way, but was deeply unsettling. That was a beast of a cliffhanger! 😭 I don't have the third book on my tbr this month, but I may have to bump it up!
This world is so interesting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Self harm, Violence, and Death
solouncapitulomas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
It felt so long but I enjoyed the tournament a lot and Lila's development has been great (she was kinda insufferable during the first book) and I like her more now.
Kell per usual is my number one boy and I want to give him a hug asap
The king and queen can both fuck off and all of the ppl of red london
It felt so long but I enjoyed the tournament a lot and Lila's development has been great (she was kinda insufferable during the first book) and I like her more now.
Kell per usual is my number one boy and I want to give him a hug asap
The king and queen can both fuck off and all of the ppl of red london
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, and Murder
Minor: Kidnapping
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a lot more character driven than I was expecting, but the characters in this series are fascinating so that's only a slight downside. There is a bit of plot, mainly this competition, which was interesting in theory but also didn't seem so important enough that I was that enthralled by it. Kinda felt like 'well something HAS to happen in this book so why not this to bring the characters together'.
Narrators in this book were way better than book 1.
THE ENDING GAH. MAJOR cliffhanger, and this is what I mean, by the time things were really moving plot-wise the book ended. Did it leave me wanting to read the third book immediately? Yes. Am I mad at that? A bit.
Narrators in this book were way better than book 1.
THE ENDING GAH.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Kidnapping and Sexual harassment
guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm and Abandonment
margotgrb'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
SCREAMING. What a cliffhanger ending. I 👏 need 👏 more 👏 Kell 👏 and Lila 👏
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Blood
queen_saysan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Self harm, Alcoholism, and Kidnapping
littletiramisu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Misogyny
auburn_phoenix_15's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
Second installment of the Darker Shade of Magic series.
No words. Honestly. I thought the first was good, this is outstanding! There was a mixture of the Hunger Games into this but without them all killing each other. The friendships and tensions was fabulous. We got introduced to some new people and let me say the tension between Alucard and Rhy (🥵).
I absolutely love these characters and I love the chemistry they all have, either that be friendship, familial or lover. Would love to be part of their worlds!
However... that cliffhanger!!! 😱 I need to start the 3rd one!
No words. Honestly. I thought the first was good, this is outstanding! There was a mixture of the Hunger Games into this but without them all killing each other. The friendships and tensions was fabulous. We got introduced to some new people and let me say the tension between Alucard and Rhy (🥵).
I absolutely love these characters and I love the chemistry they all have, either that be friendship, familial or lover. Would love to be part of their worlds!
However... that cliffhanger!!! 😱 I need to start the 3rd one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Self harm, Blood, Stalking, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder