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imaginaryalchemist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I'll start with the things I did like. First, I love the characters. They had good chemistry and played off each other well. I enjoyed the banter between Kell and Alucard. I know some people didn't like Lila, but I did, I thought she was fun and pretty badass. I saw the romance between her and Kell coming a mile away but I still enjoyed it. I thought they were good together.
Speaking of romance, I loved the subplot with Rhy and Alucard. I feel VE Schwab handled it tastefully. Speaking as a queer person, queer romance often feels like it's pandering to us.
I really wanted more time with these characters. In my opinion, Schwab's character writing is pretty strong. They felt like they could be real people, even the background characters. Rhy ended up being my favorite.
Now for some of my criticisms. For the story, I enjoyed it overall but felt it dragged at some points. The ship voyage in particular seemed to go on for a bit too long.
I also had a lot of unanswered questions at the end.
So, overall I really liked this trilogy! It was the first thing I'd read from VE Schwab and I'll definitely read more of her work in the future.
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing and Alcohol
zoeelora's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
skillyillian's review against another edition
- 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
i had moments where i was seriously frustrated with the characters, but it made me love them all the more, bc they were doing things that perfectly fit them and just showed how fleshed-out these characters really are. lila's my favorite fictional character of all time at this point. kell, alucard, rhy, and holland are all the great loves of my life as well but no one can top lila. i'm also biased bc we're birthday twins, but that didn't affect my rating. probably.
the romance subplots were phenomenal. the magic system was as stunning and fantastical as in the first two books. an absolutely incredible, thrilling finale to my new favorite series. i immediately bought the fragile threads of power and can't wait to dive back into this world. i cried for the characters, i cheered for them, this book ran me through a whirlwind of emotions and i will be recovering for a long time to come. even the slower parts, like the flashbacks, still captivated my attention and had me craving more. that might not sound like it makes sense but if you read it you'll get it. and you should absolutely read it. there was not one thing in this book that i felt like didn't belong.
i read this series through KU, bought the paperbacks to annotate, and got the collector's edition box set. schwab is my new favorite author, this is my new favorite series, and i'm never changing my mind. i will recommend this series, and all of their books, until the day i die.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Self harm, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
msradiosilence's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
artmuseam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
ten_telegrams's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
marine2907's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
grrr8_catsby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Part of the charm of A Darker Shade Of Magic was it's self-contained story; while the stakes in A Conjuring Of Light are considerable higher, it feels like an inorganic extension of A Gathering Of Shadows. In fact, A Conjuring Of Light literally opens where A Gathering Of Shadows left off. This second part of the Shades Of Magic series (both A Gathering Of Shadows and A Conjuring Of Light) is a massive story to tell, totaling 1,133 pages. However, it feels as if the story was cut in two segments and padded for length. There are some legitimately exciting sequences in this book, but there are also several that drag on; pacing has been a major issue for these last two installments.
Contrary to what you have read already, I really did enjoy A Conjuring Of Light; in fact, I have thoroughly enjoyed Shades Of Magic overall. It is my willingness to point out the things I didn't like that would change this from a book that I really enjoyed to a book that I loved.
Peripheral characters are finally given sections that help flesh out their characterization, but this is nothing compared to the major salvaging that certain characters receive. Both Lila Bard and Holland receive wonderful character work in this entry, and turn from annoying main characters to important (and, more importantly, enjoyable) pieces of the story. Again, the magic system feels fresh and exciting, and it is thrilling to see characters display mastery over the elements. Battle and action is fast, detailed, and reads as a major motion picture or video game should.
The ending of Shades Of Magic concludes satisfactorily, while, of course, leaving the door open juuuuuuuuuust a little to allow for another set of adventures in the future.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Gore and Hate crime
Minor: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Grief