Reviews with content warning for Blood - Zgromadzenie cieni

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 🫢

Content Warnings

sabrinalefebvre's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

4.25 ⭐️

I waited a whole MONTH before jumping into this one, even though I already owned it. I think I deserve an award for my self control.

I personally do not understand why all my mutuals gave this 1 ⭐️. I really enjoyed this one even though it felt more like a filler for the 3rd book.

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frankieclc's review against another edition

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4.5

slow start but the last third makes up for it by miles omg

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nicole_rietveld's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

„Ea nu dădea doi bani pe toată poliloghia despre magia care îi cernea pe cei puternici de cei slabi, făcând un soi de judecată spirituală. Nu, asta semăna prea mult cu soarta, iar Lila nu credea în asta. O persoană își alege singură drumul. Sau își croiește o soartă nouă.”

Dacă volumul trecut s-a concentrat mai mult pe acțiune, în acesta s-a pus accent mai mult pe dezvoltarea și cunoașterea personajelor.

Kell a devenit personajul meu favorit din serie, poate și pentru că am multe în comun cu el. Acesta trebuie să suporte consecințele acțiunilor sale din primul volum, să înfrunte atitudinea ostilă și temătoare a locuitorilor Londrei Roșii, să accepte că Rhy nu este chiar atât de fragil și poate face față durerii. Totodată, sentimentele lui de neapartenență în familia regală se adâncesc fapt ce duce la luarea unor decizii pripite, care îl vor costa mai târziu. Deseori se simte folosit și e ținut prizonier în Londra Roșie, iar familia regală în loc să îl răsplătească pentru că le-a salvat fiul îl tratează de parcă orice s-ar întâmpla e din vina lui. De data asta am avut ocazia să văd mai mult din abilitățile sale magice în timpul concursului.

„Vedea în ochii ei o doză de respect, dar și de frică și, mai rău, de neîncredere. Se uita la el ca la un animal periculos. De parcă orice mișcare mai bruscă l-ar fi provocat să atace.”

„În general, Kell se simțise ca fiind proprietatea cuiva. Acum se simțea ca un prizonier.”

Lila e din ce în ce mai nesuferită din cauza deciziilor nesăbuite pe care le ia. Nu văd nicio chimie între ea și Kell și nu am agreat-o de loc în volumul acesta. Totuși, aș fi vrut să nu se întâlnească atât de târziu în poveste. Faptul că acum are puteri o face și mai enervantă. Singurul lucru care mi-a plăcut în legătură cu ea sunt interacțiunile cu Alucard. Sincer, cred că s-ar fi potrivit mai bine cu Alucard decât cu Kell. Ce mi s-a părut interesant e faptul că are obiceiul de a fugi de oameni imediat ce începe să se atașeze de ei.

„– Toată lumea crede că îmi doresc să mor, știi? Dar eu nu vreau să mor – să mori e ușor. Nu, eu vreau să trăiesc, iar apropierea de moarte e singurul mod în care te simți viu. Și, odată ce-o faci, îți dai seama că tot ce ai făcut înainte nu a fost să trăiești de-adevăratelea. A fost doar să te mulțumești să fii. Spune-mi că sunt țicnită dacă vrei, dar eu cred că trăim cel mai bine când miza e foarte mare.”

„- Îmi pare rău.
(...)
– Pentru indiferent ce ți s-a întâmplat. Pentru indiferent cine te-a rănit atât de profund, încât vezi lucrurile ca prietenia și afecțiunea ca pe niște arme, în loc de scuturi.”

Rhy devine mai responsabil și își dă seama că e timpul să își asume rolul de viitor rege. M-au distrat interacțiunile cu prietenul și fratele lui, Kell. Dacă cei doi separat fac probleme, împreună trec deja la un alt nivel de bucluc. Mă bucur că a realizat că poate fi un rege puternic și fără abilități magice.â

„Se gândise că Essen Tasch doar glorifica o petrecere și, oricât de priceput ar fi fost Rhy la distracții, năzuia la ceva mai mult. Mai multă responsabilitate. Mai multă putere. Și i-o spusese regelui verde în față.”

Holland a înviat. Eram sigură, haha. E trist că a trebuit să înlocuiască un stăpân cu altul. Eu cred că în adâncul lui e bun și doar vrea să își protejeze și salveze lumea sa de la distrugere. E cam furios pe Kell pentru că i-a luat dreptul de a-i ucide pe frații Dane, dar cred că mai are o șansă cu Osaron. Sper doar să nu fie sacrificat la final.

„Lui Holland i se strânse inima dureros. Altă legătură. Oare n-avea să fie niciodată liber?”

„Holland le crezuse și el, de asemenea. Ba chiar crezuse, când ochiul lui devenise negru, că el ar putea fi eroul. Regele bun. Regele puternic. Salvatorul.”

O adăugire interesantă la poveste a fost Hastra. Tânărul gardian e tare simpatic. M-a amuzat entuziasmul lui de a fi complice în planurile lui Rhy.

Alte aspecte care mi-au plăcut:
- antari nu sunt atotputernici, trebuie și ei să își exerseze abilitățile magice;
- mai multă magie și mai multe informații cu privire la cu funcționează aceasta;
- sunt inserate cuvinte în alte limbi;
- de data asta finalul s-a lăsat cu suspans.

Singurul motiv pentru care nu i-am dat punctaj maxim e deoarece nu s-au întâmplat prea multe lucruri, aș fi vrut mai multă acțiune.

Ce am descoperit?
- poeziile lui William Blake.

Anoshe.

Content Warnings

maira_h's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

The problem with this series is probably the way it was marketed as a parallel universe fantasy (as if that's the only thing happening). In the first book, sure, we got to travel to different version of Londons. In this second one we barely got any of that, so I feel a bit cheated, to be honest.

The first few parts of the book, there was a lot of internal monologue/ battle happening with Kell, Lila and Ryle. It was understandable at first after what had happened in the first book. But then, this monologue got kind of repetitive that I almost got bored. I would have preferred Schwab to keep the plot revolving around the concept of parallel universe going (because that's the whole point of the series, isn't it?). Instead, we got thrown into a magical competition. The reasoning behind this magical competition is apparently to strengthen the alliance between Faro, Vesk and Arnes (And also to show off each other's strength because politics). Schwab went as far as introducing these political figures from these countries to us only to just skim the surface of the relationship between these kingdoms. We didn't even get any political intrigue. Like, come on that is such a waste. Don't get me wrong, the magic competition was entertaining, but I also failed to understand the point of it in the grand scheme of things. The duels weren't even that high stakes.

The last three chapters of the book were the only chapters that were absolutely engaging. The whole thing going on with Holland is what I would have liked Schwab to get into. I want more of him, to be honest. Because, let's be real, he's the one actually, truly suffering right now.

Also, let's talk about Lila. She is kind of insufferable, not gonna lie. She was being so reckless. I love that she's so confident of herself (I'll support a strong female character anyday) but everything she achieved felt a bit too convenient. Sure, she also experienced consequences but it did nothing to her character development, in my opinion.

Anyways, 3 stars. Let's see where the series is going next.

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samchase112's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

Whew, what a ride! The second in the Shades of Magic trilogy… I have been waiting years to get to finally read this book, and I'm so so glad I stuck to it (and just bought the damn box set). This world, these characters, are so much freaking fun to read about. Lila is a devilish, crazy character, while Kell… Kell! I just love him. And their world, their banter, their connection, their adventures — it's all the fantasy goodness I crave. The first 70% of this did drag a bit, without Lila and Kell's interaction; I said in an update that the buildup was sweet — and it was, but only for so long, until it became overkill and I was sitting there waiting for fireworks. Good thing the ending 1000% delivered on those promised explosions, and left me itching for the final book. So, yes, A Gathering of Shadows (a perfect sequel name; shadows appeared in bk 1, gather in bk 2, and explode in bk 3) suffered from the sophomore slump/sequel slump/book-two-of-a-trilogy slump… and yet it was still oh so good.

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