Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Gathering of Shadows

This was a read that I made for TheStoryGraph Onboarding challenge for 2024; the idea was that I browse a user "similar to myself", and read something that they rated as a 5 Star read. I had to scroll through quite a few of their 5 Star reads to find something I hadn't read yet! And lo, it's part 2 of a series I read part 1 of so I was enthused by the idea.

Kel and Rhy are doing some messy stuff... their love lives are even worse.

I was amused in this one to see some of the development of Delilah Bard, a waif from Grey London who doesn't have any training in magical skill, there having been little to no magic to speak of in her home lands. Crewing up with the dashing (and hilariously named) Alucard Emery, she learns some magical stuff and picks up some local lingo.

In a spiral that has me feeling suspicious about her impulsive and dauntless character she decides to not let anything stand in her way as she kicks *rs* and, occasionally, takes names.

Big tournament.. intrigue.. stuff happening in the alternate Londons as one king dies and another rises, and another is formed.. it all looks like the set up for even more exciting happenings in the next chapter.

Honestly.. some of the reasons these kids do stuff just seem completely OUT THERE... but the convoluted mess that comes of these decisions makes for some tense and intriguing stuff.
My money is on

Delilah following the same sort of path as Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, making pacts with dark forces and going full Darth Rosenberg, in the next one.

at least that's my guess.

Content Warnings

laurenleigh's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Oooh this is getting good now! I know sometimes sequels can slump in comparison to the first book, but I just love getting to dive right in, knowing the world and the characters. As if multiple magical Londons wasn’t cool enough, in this book we get PIRATES! Alucard is an incredible addition to our cast. I just want him, Kell, Lila, and Rhy to get together and become like the Power Rangers of Red London. There were times I questioned the structure (this could have been two separate installments maybe?), but I did not mind getting lost in a long story! Can’t wait to read #3.

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fixxon's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

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willowbiblio's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

"'Strength and weakness are tangled things,' the Aven Essen had said. 'They look so much alike, we often confuse them, the way we confuse magic and power.'"
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I'm really glad I chose to stick with this series, because this was so much better than book 1. Lila lost a lot of that "I'm not like other girls" nonsense that made her so insufferable. The inclusion of several more POVs, and shifting through all more continuously/seamlessly kept the narration interesting. I also enjoyed seeing the different cultures even within Red London's world. I enjoyed the way Lila's burgeoning power was explored and that we had several flashbacks to support an ongoing narrative instead of random info dumps.

There were still some aspects that were odd to me- how did no one recognize Kell in the tournament? He's such a *known* figure in that world/city. Additionally, it seemed odd that there was so much tension amongst a family (the royals) that was previously so close. I also felt like it was odd that no one besides Tieren recognized Lila as an imposter.

I enjoyed seeing what became of Holland and getting established a bit in Black London/ the way things can go wrong with magic. This was a massive improvement in all areas and I'm looking forward to finishing the series now.

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bessadams's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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barda's review against another edition

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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

3.5

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zoeelora's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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skillyillian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.0

Spoilers abound ✨

I love so many things about this book. Kell, love of my life. Lila, love of my life. I need more rhy and alucard. Hastra is #1 cinnamon roll and I'd give my life for him. Calla is the ultimate mom, I adore her. The characters are so wonderful.

I feel like Lila as a person didn't develop a ton, although her talents certainly did. I love how much of a badass she is, give no fucks and take no prisoners is so stellar when it's done right and with her it definitely is.

Kell's frustration with feeling trapped and held accountable when no one else really was is such an older sibling vibe. God it was so frustrating to read, but in the way it was meant to be. It was extremely relatable for me and made me support him even more.

I loved this book, but I also had issues with it. Someone online introduced me to the idea of "bridge books" where a novel in a series is basically just a bridge to get from one major plot point to the next and doesn't do a ton for the story in and of itself besides giving context for the next big thing. This kind of felt like that? Not terribly, but it was noticeable. Like the biggest things we needed were Kelly getting back to white London and Lila discovering her powers. Everything else felt, not as important. Which is fine, not every plot point should have the same level of importance, but it did make a lot of the rest of the story feel like it dragged on. There wasn't a lot of vital stuff that happened in the first half of the book, it was mostly drama and kind of "where are they now". The only reason I didn't dock more off my score was because it's Schwab, so even when it felt kind of like filler, it was still really well done and held my attention.

Once things picked up though, they definitely went off. The Essen Tasch was a blast, I definitely caught myself grinning a few times throughout. Schwab builds tension in a way that makes it hard to pull out of once you're there and it's addictive. Truly one of my favorite authors 🖤

I adored this book despite it feeling a little bit like filler at some points so we could get to the third installment. The cliffhanger ending was insane, the characters are lovable af, and the magic system grows ever more interesting. I can't wait to dive into the third one, I love these characters so damn much 😮‍💨🖤

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