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alysereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and War
queer_bookwyrm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
"I am Delilah Bard. Pirate, thief, magician. I have crossed worlds and taken ships. Fought queens and saved cities. I am one of a kind."
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab is book two in the Shades of Magic trilogy. This is my first read of #SequelSeptember , and it was a great way to start! I really need to stop putting off reading Schwab books, because I love her writing style. It's so descriptive and beautiful, it almost feels physical. I love the way they take time to let us get to know the characters, so they feel like real people. Some people might find it slow, but I enjoy the layered world-building.
We pick up with Lilah Bard, who has achieved her dream of becoming a pirate (love that for her). When Lila finds out her captain, Alucard Emery (handsome, annoyingly charming, bisexual), is stopping in London for an international magical games tournament, she is determined to enter. Plus, we all know Lila probably misses Kell as much as his broody ass probably misses her. Lila's story is all about her pushing her limits and defeating the odds.
We follow Kell and Rhy as they deal with the consequences from the last book. Kell struggles with feeling trapped in a cage, while Rhy is bent on self destructive behaviors all while planning an elaborate international tournament. The antagonist was kinda understated in a slow burn kinda way, but was deeply unsettling. That was a beast of a cliffhanger! 😭 I don't have the third book on my tbr this month, but I may have to bump it up!
This world is so interesting!
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Self harm, Violence, and Death
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Moderate: Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Abandonment, Ableism, Grief, Blood, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
chronicacademia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Alcohol, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
trintrin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Okay so plot-wise pretty much nothing significant happens other than the Essen Tasch and it was quite slow and mostly felt like a filler book but MY GOD did I enjoy this more than I thought I would. The writing is beautiful as expected from Schwab, the characters are so loveable and relatable and I love that their personalities were so much more explored in this one.
Lila is a badass and I'm totally in love with her. Rhy is still a sweetheart and I wanna protect him with my life. Kell, oh, Kell, I still wanna give you a hug, you poor boy. I can't make up my mind if Alucard has an ulterior motive or not. I like him nonetheless. Absolutely adore Rhy and Kell's dynamic.
Spoilers for the Grishaverse:
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Alcohol, Death, and Gore
pagesof_autumn'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Homophobia
vaguely_pink's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Self harm, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Classism, and War
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment, Vomit, and Gore
nabaraditi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Blood and Self harm
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Confinement
reddeddy's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Dysphoria, Grief, Torture, and Sexual assault
Minor: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Dementia, Misogyny, and War
betweentheshelves'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
Rhy might be my favorite character in this; I just think he is one of the most interesting and complex. Kell and Lila aren't terrible, but I found Lila to get a bit repetitive towards the end of this book. Becuase I didn't really realize how long this book was!
Overall, I do think this book suffers a bit from second book sydrome, especially at the beginning. It felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, but I guess there is some build up for the third book. Which I'll definitely be reading, because I still need to know how it ends!
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Self harm, and Gore
Minor: Cursing and Kidnapping