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adventurous
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder
adventurous
dark
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
I really like this series. Definitely felt like a “middle book” of a series in that there was a lot of character growth and set up for the next book. Still really enjoyed all the action of this book and the plot on its own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
On round two, we think we know this world, but there is much to continue to explore and unearth. Again, Schwab is truly great at World building in a satisfying way that does reward readers for paying attention to detail. That being said, this book really does feel like that middle chapter in a story, whether that be due to the sudden cliffhanger at the end or the fact of how long it takes for the main event of the book "The Essen Tasch" to begin roughly 340 pages into the story. Don't get me wrong, I like all the subtle drama and back and forth viewpoints of events (which works out really well in some chapters where the event picks up from different POV seamlessly), but for how much the event is talked up, it's a relatively short-lived part of this story. I'm genuinely more intrigued by Lila as we keep going forward, albeit sometimes ya just wanna yell when she makes some choices. Rhy seems like a more well rounded character in this outing and the brotherly conflict and care seems much more genuine. Now to seek out book 3 to find out what Osaron, White/Red London, and Kell/Lila/Rhy have in store!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Self harm, Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Stalking, Alcohol, Classism
adventurous
dark
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
"She bent most of the rules. She broke the rest.”
A Gathering of Shadows is unequivocally Delilah Bard’s show and it is so much fun. Lila is such a brash and unapologetic character who we get to follow on her journey of magic, mistakes, and growth. We end the story knowing who she is at her core while still questioning what she really is. But we know she is special. After all, she is “not like most girls.” (A direct quote from the book. A bit too on the nose maybe but this is YA!)
Kell and Rhy are having a tough time in this story. Rhy is grappling with the consequences of Kell’s spell on his life. Meanwhile, Kell is grappling with the emotional toll of losing the trust of the royal family and Red London as a whole. They’re -both- struggling together, poor boys. I really started to feel Kell’s sense of confinement and Rhy’s loss of control.
Then we start the games - and these are so fun. I got through this part of the book the quickest because I was enjoying how cinematic it was. Everything was described so vividly it was so easy to picture everything.
I was surprised we actually got some romance(s) in this book too. It wasn’t something I expected but enjoyed and felt natural to the story - not added as an afterthought or an edit at a later date.
If you’re not a fan of fantasy tropes or most YA fantasy, you might have some problems with this book. But if you’re alright with tropes and not interested in critically analyzing the story I think you’ll probably enjoy A Gathering of Shadows and recommend continuing the series. I will warn you in advance that it ends on a very big cliffhanger so you should have A Conjuring of Light ready and waiting!
A Gathering of Shadows is unequivocally Delilah Bard’s show and it is so much fun. Lila is such a brash and unapologetic character who we get to follow on her journey of magic, mistakes, and growth. We end the story knowing who she is at her core while still questioning what she really is. But we know she is special. After all, she is “not like most girls.” (A direct quote from the book. A bit too on the nose maybe but this is YA!)
Kell and Rhy are having a tough time in this story. Rhy is grappling with the consequences of Kell’s spell on his life. Meanwhile, Kell is grappling with the emotional toll of losing the trust of the royal family and Red London as a whole. They’re -both- struggling together, poor boys. I really started to feel Kell’s sense of confinement and Rhy’s loss of control.
Then we start the games - and these are so fun. I got through this part of the book the quickest because I was enjoying how cinematic it was. Everything was described so vividly it was so easy to picture everything.
I was surprised we actually got some romance(s) in this book too. It wasn’t something I expected but enjoyed and felt natural to the story - not added as an afterthought or an edit at a later date.
If you’re not a fan of fantasy tropes or most YA fantasy, you might have some problems with this book. But if you’re alright with tropes and not interested in critically analyzing the story I think you’ll probably enjoy A Gathering of Shadows and recommend continuing the series. I will warn you in advance that it ends on a very big cliffhanger so you should have A Conjuring of Light ready and waiting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love everything about the Essen Tasch and getting to explore the culture that is entwined with the magic systems in this world. A riveting continuation of what is proving to be a memorable story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood
Moderate: Violence, Murder
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Four months after the events of A Darker Shade of Magic, Kell, Lila, and Prince Rhy are all dealing with the fallout and consequences of their actions. As Red London prepares for the Element Games, reunions are on the horizon for our main characters. While everyone has new tricks up their sleeves for the games, something sinister is brewing in another London...
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed A Darker Shade of Magic and I'm realizing it was due to all of our characters' relationships and interactions with each other. This book separates out some characters for a majority of the book and because of that, it felt pretty slow to me for a while. I thought that it took a while to get to the actual plot of the book, and even then, this book felt like mostly filler in the trilogy? I enjoyed the Element Games and wished that had lasted longer or even been the bulk of the book. I loved the addition of our new pirate character, Alucard, though! He was instantly charming and fun and I wanted to find out more about him immediately. And as always, I still love Lila, Kell, and Rhy! All in all, I still liked this book overall, but would like to see a bit more action in the final book!
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed A Darker Shade of Magic and I'm realizing it was due to all of our characters' relationships and interactions with each other. This book separates out some characters for a majority of the book and because of that, it felt pretty slow to me for a while. I thought that it took a while to get to the actual plot of the book, and even then, this book felt like mostly filler in the trilogy? I enjoyed the Element Games and wished that had lasted longer or even been the bulk of the book. I loved the addition of our new pirate character, Alucard, though! He was instantly charming and fun and I wanted to find out more about him immediately. And as always, I still love Lila, Kell, and Rhy! All in all, I still liked this book overall, but would like to see a bit more action in the final book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Self harm, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Death
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Sexual content
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Classism
Minor: Kidnapping, Death of parent