Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

40 reviews

ladygetslit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

Book 2 of the series got off to a somewhat slow start. I was trying to figure out what Lila was actually up to, and when the royal brothers were gonna get their angsty selves together. But once the plot started rolling, I was absolutely hooked. 

What I loved:
  • Rhy and Kell’s brotherly shenanigans 
  • Alucard is mysterious and slightly sexy (still waiting for the full backstory but I know it’s gonna kill me)
  • Lila is such a boss babe: watching her discover her magic and take the world by a storm was everything I never knew I wanted 
  • Setting up for the third book - I am so glad I already downloaded it 

What didn’t work for me:
  • The pacing in the beginning - I didn’t know why Lila was on a ship and how things were going to tie back together… and I just wanted to get to the tournament already 
  • The pseudo-slow burn between Lila and Kell is a hard pass. I don’t feel the chemistry, and I think they would’ve been better as friends. It felt like she threw in the romance because she was trying to draw That Audience, but the story would be perfectly fine without romance whatsoever. 

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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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keltaklo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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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

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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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msradiosilence's review

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4.5


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victoriousbookworm's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

From a critical perspective, this book's plot wasn't really ... relevant to the progression of this series. The parts that were relevant were amazing, though, and to say that I didn't enjoy this book would've been a lie.

I am absolutely in love with this cast of characters, though?! Well, or Alucard, anyway. And Rhy as well, they're both amazing.

Although I think it was an interesting concept and helped exploring the cultures outside of Arnes, I just cannot see how the tournament was necessary at all. Neither Kell nor Lila really have a strong enough reason to compete. They're just competing to ... do something.
But then again, I did enjoy this book very much. I especially liked Kell and Alucard's dynamic. Kell doesn't seem to get along very well with anyone, really. Loving that for him.

I also enjoy Holland MUCH MORE as the villain ruler of White London than the Dane twins. I hated them, to be quite honest. Haha. They felt a bit too cliché evil™. Holland is more realistic, I think. He wants to restore his home to its former glory (and more), but has some questionable methods. I dunno, he's kinda like Hitler, but with less genocide and more sexy, if that's okay? I think we can agree that less genocide is a good thing.

To be honest, I can't remember all the warnings to put here.

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rinku's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I don’t have too much to say about A Gathering of Shadows. With a random magical tournament in its focus, this book felt more like a filler than anything else. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the writing and the world enough to still give three stars.  

Like I’ve said, the things happening in this book are not really relevant for the overarching plot. Some time has passed, and Lila is now on the sea with some pirates while Kell is just … I genuinely can’t remember, he’s probably angsty about the things that have happened lmao. Rhy and the monarch’s family are planning a magical tournament which is the only big thing happening, but this tournament only starts after the half of the novel which makes the first half kinda unnecessary. 

Another problem I had with the plot was that the two things that made the first novel interesting were mostly absent here, namely travelling to the different Londons and Kell’s and Lila’s dynamic because they are apart for like 80% of the novel. Of course, both take part in the tournament, but their reasons were so weird and stupid that it seemed not believable to me that they would participate there in the first place. Furthermore, the tournament is very predictable; I knew from the beginning that the tournament was just there to get a scene where
Kell and Lila fight against each other, and Alucard winning wasn’t a surprise neither
. There were some moments I liked though, like the discussion of death around King George. 

One big problem I have with the series until now is that there’s no character that I really like. All of them are supposed to be ruthless but they only seem too edgy and hence a little cringe to me. This goes especially goes for Lila that kills so many people without any regret which makes her kinda unsympathetic in my eyes. Also, she literally says at one point that she’s not like other girls, and she sometimes gives me some Mary Sue vibes, especially when it comes to the magic. I feel indifferent towards Rhy and Kell but what made them a bit unlikable in my eyes was how they used their guards. The only character I liked was Alucard and
I love the relationship between him and< Rhy


With A Gathering of Shadows, I still don’t see why this book series is hyped the way it is. I just don’t care for the characters, and I have the feeling that the concept of the different worlds is barely utilized which is unfortunate. 

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donatio's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

Like ADOM this was a reread and definitely took some of the tension out of it since the world building is not as heavy as in ADOM anymore, but I still like the book, especially the writing style, the way everything comes to life in my mind and the characters. I remember being absolutely captivated by the book when I first read it. 

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