Reviews with content warning for Death - A Gathering of Shadows

Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

73 reviews

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark slow-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

I appreciate the way that VE Schwab builds on the world in this book, giving us more about the magic system. Especially how it relates to other areas outside of London. The magical tournament was probably my favorite aspect of this story. While magical tournaments aren't new, I enjoyed the way it was written in this, and Lila's determination to join even if she isn't the most skilled magician.

Rhy might be my favorite character in this; I just think he is one of the most interesting and complex. Kell and Lila aren't terrible, but I found Lila to get a bit repetitive towards the end of this book. Becuase I didn't really realize how long this book was!

Overall, I do think this book suffers a bit from second book sydrome, especially at the beginning. It felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, but I guess there is some build up for the third book. Which I'll definitely be reading, because I still need to know how it ends!

Content Warnings

wiktoria88's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous 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

Content Warnings

creepypiespice's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

the_wandering_wisp's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

Content Warnings

maryjames's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious 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

Lila has managed to find her way aboard a privateer’s chip (naturally, she is very disappointed that it isn’t a real pirate ship) and convince the charming Captain Alucard to give her lessons in elemental magic. When Alucard turns his ship back towards London for the Essen Tasch tournament, Lila begins to hatch a daring plan. Meanwhile, both Kell and Rhy are chafing against their new bond. Desperate for his brother to let off some steam and stop treating him like glass, Rhy enters Kell in the tournament under a false name. In another world, someone believed to be dead makes a deal with a power older and more dangerous than they can imagine.

It’s rare that a sequel captures the magic and heart of the first book, and rarer still when it improves upon it. This is one of those books. I enjoyed A Darker Shade of Magic, but I really loved A Gathering of Shadows. The expansion of the world—both with Lila’s adventures and the new nations introduced during the tournament—made the story feel richer and deeper. Alucard was a great addition to the cast of characters, and definitely gave me Sturmhond (of Shadow and Bone) vibes with his humor and cunning.

I loved the tension between Lila and Kell when they kept narrowly missing each other (the shop! Kell coming by to pay off her debt...but really to see if she’s come back!!). I liked how Schwab didn’t force them together too soon, which would feel out of character for them. I also liked the Rhy/Alucard pairing, though I’d love to see a bit more backstory for them and their history together. I also hope to see more of the Grey London storyline, because I liked Ned and his curiosity in this book.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Cliffhanger, which is to be expected from the second book in a trilogy. Hopefully I can get my hands on the next book soon!

Content Warnings

lunep's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging 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

I understand completely why this book seems to be so controversial in its reviews. It's only apparent function is to set the scene for the third one, and it's mostly centered around the Essen Tasch, which has nothing to do with the big bad, BUT, I fucking loved it. It scratches that itch I always have of wanting more of the characters in more mundane settings (which is why I always run to ao3 after I finish something I really like) and I. ATE. IT. UP. I don't remember why the fuck I had given it 4 stars, for me it deserves the 5 stars, it was fun, kept me hooked, gave me lot of kelila moments that had me giggling and kicking my feet, gave me character exploration and, why not, character development too. It's definitely not for everyone, but for me it was perfect (the only thing I didnt enjoy that much was beginning at a certain point and then going "4 months ago" but I'll ignore it)

Content Warnings