Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - A Conjuring of Light

It took 2 books plus another 300 pages but eventually this series became a page-turner I couldn't put down. It was interesting from page 1; I just wish it had been able to hold my attention faster.

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krijemseoddusana's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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spellboundchapters's review against another edition

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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

5.0

"Love and loss," he said, "are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be."

And here I thought this book couldn’t be better than the second one… how wrong I was.

This book to me had the perfect balance between fast, action packed scenes and slower, more character focused ones. The fight scenes were epic and never confusing to follow despite often having a lot of characters fighting at the same time. The Antari joining forces was truly amazing to witness, I loved how they all have the same powers yet they each use them differently.

Holland’s backstory were some of my favourite chapters. But also: *Captain Holt’s voice* PAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNN. 😭 I can’t believe V.E. Schwab got me to love him so much in this book when I didn’t particularly care for him in the two previous ones. Now I kinda feel like he should’ve been the main character of the trilogy. 🙊
But my favourite character still remains Rhy. This sweet baby deserves the world and eternal happiness!!! Oh and Rhylucard are just the definition of precious. 🥺 I mean...

He remembered, then. Like a dream flickering back to the surface, he remembered Alucard’s hands on his shoulders, his voice cutting through the pain, reaching out to him, even in the dark.
I’m here now, he’s said, so you can’t die.
"I’m here now," echoed Rhy, twining his fingers through Alucard’s. "And I’m not letting go, so don’t you dare."

Alucard and his wittiness: how could I not love him?? I had a soft spot for him since his introduction in book 2, and his backstory ughh- I wasn’t expecting it at all and it made him more human and even more likeable; it added that layer of vulnerability that I feel like he lacked until now. My only complaint is that I wish he and Kell would stop bickering so much, especially given the state of the city. I like a bit of comedic relief here and there, but come on guys, maybe there’s more urgent issues to deal with first rather than having the last word in your silly little arguments.
The King and Queen… well, it was quite weird having their POV all of the sudden, this late in the trilogy. I understand why of course (gotta make you want to read the spin-off series) and it didn’t really bother me, on the contrary, but I just wish they had been as prevalent characters since the beginning.
And I just have a huge soft spot for Kell and Lila, especially them together!! I appreciate how often they kissed and hugged in this, not gonna lie. 😌

My favourite part of this novel was the ending. It felt bittersweet but also I liked how everyone’s storyline tied up at the end. I liked how long the goodbyes to the series were, it truly felt like parting with friends. Even if some of those ends were straight up sad, I wouldn’t imagine it going any other way.

I found Holland’s death in particular to be very poetic, it kinda reminded me of Luke’s in The Last Jedi.

I already can’t wait to read the whole thing again. Until then, Anoshe. ♥️

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ridesthesun's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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 can't express enough how much I love this world, these characters. Brilliant world building, brilliant character work.

The stakes were high, the sacrifices hurt my chest. The whole thing is simply gorgeous, masterful storytelling. I'm gonna live here forever.

Anoshe ❤️

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amelia_dowling's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad slow-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

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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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.

The deaths in this book hurt. Most of them were noble sacrifices: Hastra (my love!!), the King, and Holland. Other were innocents: Calla and Anisa Emery. I was a bit surprised how many characters Schwab did decide to kill off, and I wish it had been fewer. I also didn’t like that so many of the citizens of London died trying to fight off the fog, while those who gave into it and were subsequently put to sleep were, for the most part, fine.

I was hoping for some sort of redemption for Holland, and I got it. I’m a sucker for self-sacrifice, so I loved that, ultimately, it came down to him to defeat the shadow king, sacrificing his magic (and then his life) in the process.

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