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imaginaryalchemist's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
The Shades of Magic Trilogy comes to a close in A Conjuring of Light. It was a fun fantasy ride!
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. I nearly started crying when his parents died, I felt so bad for him. I wanted to reach into the book and give him a hug. My boy suffered so much.
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. I was hoping Kell would naturally remember his past - since he was told the memory spell should wear off over time and he burned the note on how to remove it. I wanted to know where he actually came from, and what his birth name was. I also don't recall Lila's missing eye being fully addressed. I had a theory that the black stone that appeared in book one would end up being the eye. I haven't read the sequel trilogy so I don't know if the question is answered there.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Blood, Child death, Body horror, Death, Violence, War, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
zoeelora's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Alcohol, Violence, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Medical content, and Death
skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
i debated on lowering the score because some moments of this felt a bit slow, but they weren't even that slow, and even then i loved the slow moments so much that i decided i'm sticking with five stars. schwab's writing is ethereal. they write like delilah bard says her name. i loved this book from start to finish, from character development to problem solving to the way schwab is still worldbuilding down to the very last chapter, there was not one single sentence where i went "eh, take it or leave it" throughout this whole read.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Sexual content, and Self harm
Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
msradiosilence's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: War
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
artmuseam's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
brilliant ending to a brilliant series. i’m actually freaking out from how amazing this last book was and the emotional rollercoaster it put me through. first off, i was actually really happy to see this story being told in so many perspectives and i loved how schwab brings up an adventurous and harrowing experience in a beautifully written way. following kell and lila through this finale was way too much fun and im truly sad that this series has now come to an end :( i will miss this so much!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
ten_telegrams's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Confinement, Blood, Death, Self harm, Alcohol, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
marine2907's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Murder, Physical abuse, War, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
grrr8_catsby's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
A Conjuring Of Light is the last entry in the original Shades Of Magic trilogy (with rumors of a brand new Shades Of Magic trilogy on the horizon). While an improvement over its predecessor, A Conjuring Of Light suffers from being a sequel.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Gore and Hate crime
Minor: Homophobia, Death, Cursing, and Death of parent
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Death, War, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Sexual content and Body horror
Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Classism, Suicide, Homophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Confinement, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-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
4.0
Honestly, I kept thinking that I was getting close to the end, realizing I still had several hours left, then wondering what could possibly happen next. I loved all the characters, but this book cemented Rhy as my favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
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