Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Zgromadzenie cieni by V.E. Schwab

47 reviews

koistyfishy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

So I don’t think I can review this without keeping spoilers out since it is a sequel and all… so proceed at your own risk…

Should you read it? Yes
Was it amazing? No (but you need to get to book 3 so you kinda have to) 

Basically two was ok… it wasn’t better than book 1 but had elements of it that were beyond measure of the first book. Mostly since this is not the first book, you already know the characters slightly and the world system so you can jump right into plot…

Now we jump into the spoiler territory so
But that’s where this book lacked…not that the plot is weak, it just doesn’t really add anything to the story. Think of it like those filler episodes in an anime… you could prob skip over this book and move right to the next and still know what’s happening after reading a quick “what you missed” summary. Totally suffers from middle book syndrome as the main aspect that happens (which is totally rushed at the end of the book) could have been added at the end of book 1 or start of book 3.

On to that rushed point, it really annoys me about books when the pacing feels off at the start and doesn’t remain consistent and then everything is slapped on the end. This one starts of ok but then it reaches a point where it’s just slowly ebbing along with nothing going up and down… and then WHAM, BAM, Thank you Ma’am… the last few chapters (not like half the book), like 10 pages is just  BOOM! All the action.

To me this book mainly just focuses on Lila getting into her power but I am still confused as to why all of a sudden she has power. The magic system isn’t really explained very well you just have to believe Lila knows she is magical enough to enter this tournament but you never actually see her use magic until the fights. I can understand if VE wanted to use that as surprise factor but it felt disconnected from what we were told to what we see everywhere outside the ring…so I think that could have used a little more polishing. Also everything builds up to this tournament and we hardly see anything of the fights…

The characters overall are a little bit irritating. Lila is sometimes bratty in her confidence and just insufferable. Kell is just moapy THE WHOLE BOOK and everyone is just treating him like shit when they really shouldn’t cause he just saved Rhy’s life but no… and Rhy just gave up and lost his spark and pizazz and whist there are reasons for this all it was at times is annoying to read. 

I did really like Alucard though and he makes up for a lot of the other characters. He adds a lot to the story. He is so funny and smooth and loveable but he doesn’t get enough spotlight and I wanted more. 

It felt like some of the angst was too on purpose by keeping the characters apart for so long just to add extended yearning and while I love some angst in my novels…. This was just too much…

I did love the ballroom scene where everything was catastrophic 🫢

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danajoy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark

4.0


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saurahsaurus's review against another edition

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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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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lucygraham_27's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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


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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It’s delightful to be back to Kell and Lila after such a long time. It’s been about four years since I read A Darker Shade of Magic, and there are so many aspects of the book that have stuck with me. Above all, Lila’s wanderlust and determination has stuck to my bones, and I think of her more iconic quotes often. A Gathering of Shadows is the second book in this trilogy, and for the most part, it focuses on character development and setting things in place for the dramatic ending. I didn’t like it as much as I liked A Darker Shade of Magic, but I didn’t hate it either. It was good, but it wasn’t great. It was a second book.

Looking at the story design we got - I did enjoy the character development for both Kell and Lila. They are both going through very similar things, but in very different ways. It’s interesting, because usually character development arcs in fantasy novels involve growth in knowledge or power. There is a learning arc. Schwab went a different way with this book. Rather, Kell and Lila are being pushed to breaking points. This is extremely evident in Kell’s storyline. Kell is sharply opposed with every action he executes. The harder he fights for freedom, the more confined he becomes. The tension throughout the book is palpable. It makes it difficult to step away from reading.

Lila‘s breaking point is a little different, an outward manifestation of internal conflict to mirror Kell’s internal conflict driven by exterior forces. She’s the one pushing herself, so there’s a lot more internal conflict and general avoidance. Lila has terrible coping mechanisms and is a reckless individual — acknowledges this for herself. By the end of the book, I don’t necessarily feel that Lila has learned anything, only that she is a little more lost and a little more frustrated. I think she has a while to go still as far as her development arc.

And all of this takes place during Essen Tasch, or the “Element Games”. These Games occur once every three years between three kingdoms with a history of tension. As usual, we see our two favorite characters breaking a lot of rules, and being excused if not encouraged by those closest to them. Rhys, in particular, shines in this book. He’s definitely grown from the character we saw in A Darker Shade of Magic, and even if you don’t love him, he is interesting. We also made a new character, a ship captain that has a history with the royal family. It’s a whole thing, and it’s interesting and really throws some complications into character relationships. I think will be seeing more of him in the next book.

Altogether, it was an enjoyable read. It wasn’t as stunning as some of Schwab‘s other work, but I appreciated that for a middle book in a trilogy, it at least had a standalone plot line. Honestly, I think my greatest gripe with this story has nothing to do with the book or the writing itself, but with the audiobook in narrators both narrators of this edition are well known well loved narrators, and I can’t stand either of them. Their reading is a little too slow and they’re lilts a little bit too repetitive that I often get irritated with the voice and that affects my enjoyment of the book. This is entirely a personal problem, and it is something I have come across repeatedly (particularly with Kate Reading). I want to be honest that this probably shaded my view of the book.

I am absolutely going to read the next book, and I’m still excited for the Threads of Power series Schwab is working on right now. The Shades of Magic trilogy continues to be compelling, dark, vibrant, and peppered with complicated characters. As a whole it is extremely enjoyable, and exemplary of Schwab‘s overall work. Really, I have yet to go wrong with this author. I do recommend the book, but not on its own. You have to read it as part of the trilogy.

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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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taryn_g's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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escapismforlife's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book. THIS BOOK.

 Can you hear me almost falling to grab the third off my shelf?

I haven't  felt like this since reading the Legend trilogy Marie Lu back in high school. Or even finishing  Ember in The Ashes Series just last year. I've got through  this series quicker than both. It's taken me a month. And I am eager to see what happens. Though I think its  already  been  told shown to me in this. <spoiler >Something  to do with a dark Lila shown to her. By a dark mirror in a illegal market.  


Anyways, I'm wrecked because  of the ending. Delilah Bard is the true antihero/thief/magician of London. And the fact she's  the strong one in the kind of relationship with Kell is the best thing ever. I love seeing an average woman  do extraordinary  and dangerous  things. And I'm ready to see things take a left turn for once.

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laurynreadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-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? No

5.0


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reddeddy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

i am just *inhales*……Delilah Bard…..you are insane….but you’re also a fucking badass…..i had some issues with this book through the middle and towards the end, but that ending….i’m kinda shook…..that final line gave me literal chills.

overall a solid sequel, and im so looking forward to the last one, especially after that cliffhanger…i mainly had issues with some of the character development, especially Lila, because i feel like she doesn’t get the same kind of nuance as Kell or even Rhy, especially with everything going on, it feels like she doesn’t ever get the same emotional depth the others do, but hopefully in the next book she will!

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