Reviews

[b:A Conjuring of Light|29939230|A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464017758s/29939230.jpg|44752519] is the third book in the "Shades of Magic" trilogy.

The first two books, [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400322851s/22055262.jpg|40098252] and [b:A Gathering of Shadows|20764879|A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429627728s/20764879.jpg|43242915], were 401 and 513 pages long, respectively (Kindle editions). This book weighed in at 624 pages long and that gave me pause for a moment... - until I started reading the book.

As far as I'm concerned, the book could've been a 1000 pages long adding more depth to this excellent story line and I would've been happy.

This novel takes everything from the first 2 books: Kell (and his coat) and Lila, Rhy and Alucard (and the crew of the Night Spire), Holland and Ojka, Maxim and Emira Maresh, Tieren, Hastra, and even Ned Tuttle, and built a towering palace on that foundation (but it looked more like the Maresh edifice rather than Osaron's shadowy, dark dwelling).

So many things were woven together,

Spoiler

the spells to protect the palace, the spell to put all of Osaron's "slaves" to sleep, the rescue of the Silvered, the quest for the Inheritor and the Antari binding rings (which include the pirate's cipher, a Marauder's Map in this world, and the Going Waters, a floating black market), the sacrifice of King Maxim, the death of Emira, the treachery of Prince Col and Princess Cora and Jasta, and even Ned's working in the background of the other London to provide a final hiding place,

all worked together for a most pleasant and heart gripping story. The end of the novel neatly tied up all of the story threads in a very satisfying way.

I'm looking forward to any other books that [a:V.E. Schwab|7168230|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1511218938p2/7168230.jpg] writes (including [b:This Savage Song|23299512|This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1)|Victoria Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445529989s/23299512.jpg|42855493]).

#KeepWriting

faithtrustpixiedust's review against another edition

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4.0

September 6th update: I'm still pissed about Rhy's botched character arc so I added to his section.

May 23rd update: After a lot of thought, I have decided to drop my rating from 5 stars to 4 stars because of the issues I had with the ending. Most of the book was 5 stars, but the ending felt like 3.5 stars, with some parts closer to 2 stars.

"As Illumae."

#LiterallyConjuringLight #RollCredits

The Worldbuilding and Writing

As usual, Schwab utterly impressed me with her ability to weave an intoxicating and intriguing tale in an equally amazing world. The sleeping curse had a strong Sleeping Beauty feel to it that I really liked, and the whole Black curse itself reminded me of Neil Gaiman's [b:The Sleeper and the Spindle|23301545|The Sleeper and the Spindle|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1412343723s/23301545.jpg|41358233].

There were more actual consequences, and character deaths that actually meant something, in this book, and I appreciated that. I hate it when a character dies but it means nothing because they either weren't well developed or important, or there wasn't a thematic meaning behind their death and a result of it shown in the other surviving characters. This book did character death really well.

Unfortunately, there were a few loose threads that were not tied up by the last page and that really disappointed me. Fortunately, the rest of the book was astounding and action packed, so it didn't really bother me that much; it just left this what could have been hole in my heart I can't seem to fill. Or maybe that's just that the series is over. Who really knows?

"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."

The Characters

Kell: As usual, Kell is my bae and I love him, and this book was no different. He's a tad impulsive, but he means well, and he cares so deeply for everyone he loves. His struggle with blame, responsibility, and when all the problems began was interesting and well done.

Spoiler

However, while hinted at, there was no resolution to the question of his parents and what KL stood for, which I had been anticipating since the beginning of the first book, so needless to say, I was disappointed with that.

We don't choose what we are, but we choose what we do.

Lila: She annoyed me a lot less in this book, because it seems she actually met her match in Holland, who wasn't taking any of her crap. She realistically struggled with power balance and testing her limits—learning that you can't set your own limits, no matter how much you might want to.

Spoiler

However, like Kell's unresolved plot, Lila had no consequences for impersonating Stasion Elsor, which I thought would come up again in this book, perhaps with Stasion confronting her, but instead he was completely forgotten, and what she and Alucard did to him was ignored as if it didn't happen.

"Even glass can be strong," said Rhy, "if it is thick enough."

Rhy: He really came into his own in this book, dealing with his mental health and his responsibilities as a royal to his city. He was a real treat to read and I'm very glad he was a POV character. He changed as a person but stayed who he fundamentally was, which a lot of authors can't seem to get right.

Spoiler

Except for his ending with Alucard, which totally and completely undermined his character arc. He learned to put the kingdom first, before his own desires. He learned that it doesn't matter what he wants. And then he decides that it only matters what he wants because someone hot said they still liked him 😑 Basically the worst ending for a character I've ever read, especially when he had seemed so promising. It honestly doesn't make sense that he'd decide to stay with Alucard. It literally cannot be long term. Schwab didn't specify how the monarchy's line of succession worked. As far as the reader knows, it works like any European kingdom: biological heir. And, sorry Rhy and Alucard, but fertile and magic or not, you're both dudes. It can be a fun fling but Rhy is going to have to get married for politic's sake. The whole series is literally about how everyone is constantly trying to get their hands on this kingdom! And I thought Rhy cared about that more than he cared for sex. His parents literally died to drive that point home. But I guess he actually doesn't care and he's just a loser.

"I think you're a romantic. One of those fools waiting for the someday king to come. Waiting for the magic to return, for the world to wake up. But it doesn't work like that, Holland. If you want change, you have to make it."

Holland: I love Holland. He's seriously competing with Kell for top spot in my heart. I was surprised to find so much of myself in him, and, well a bit out of style at first, his backstory scenes were very good and needed. I really felt for him and understood him.

Osaron: He was such a good villain!!! I love nonhuman villains and he is honestly a new favorite. His ego and his insatiable desire for more made him quite fearsome.

Maxim and Emira: I'm glad we got to learn more about them through their perspectives.

Alucard: I still don't like him, and I don't really like him with Rhy but only because we're told they love each other, and yes, we're shown that they'll do anything for each other, but passionate action when presented with immediate danger and true love are very different things. I didn't feel a romantic connection between them, and I felt that their personalities didn't really work together for a long term relationship. Also, that "you're mine" line has really got to go. (For more on why their relationship is doomed to fail, read my spoiler tag in Rhy's section.)

Hastra: I just...I just love Hastra. He's the sweetest, most wonderful person ever, and I only wanted the best for him. Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.

Cora and Col: While a bit reminiscent of

Spoiler

Athos and Astrid

, they were well done and honestly surprised me, but in a good way.

Those who thought death looked like sleep had never seen it.

Conclusion

This book kept me on the edge of my seat (or, let's be honest here, bed) the entire time. I would have devoured it faster, but it was a buddy read and I was (and still am as of the time of this review) ahead of my buddies. I'm torn between 4.5 and 5 stars, because I did have my problems with it (the very ending after the climax, mostly) but I did thoroughly enjoy it and would consider it a favorite. I'm just so sad it's over now 😢

Magic made everything feel so impermanent, it was easy to forget that some things, once changed, could never be undone. That not everything was either changeable or infinite. Some roads kept going, and others had an end.

takey's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.5

exorcismemily's review against another edition

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5.0

So sad this series is over. It's one of my all-time favorites. I wish there were going to be more books. Thank you, VE Schwab, for bringing this story to life.

tatyxb's review against another edition

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3.5

Me costo terminarlo. Pero aquí estamos. Creo que uno de mis problemas fue leerlo en el celular, al leerlo en la tablet se me hizo más amena la lectura y la disfrute más. Pero eso solo lo hice con los últimos capítulos así que en general tengo la experiencia del libro un poco arruinada. Sin embargo, es el fin de una trilogía con personajes a los que les tengo cariño. Destacó todo el mundo de magia, la fantasía está bien construida, es un mundo bien construido, con personajes bien construidos, se toman el tiempo para profundizar en ellos y que los conozcamos (tal vez tomaban mucho tiempo en algunos que no me interesaban tanto) Y en eso recae mi problema, es que en un capítulo te hablaban desde el punto de vista de hasta 6 personajes distintos, algunos de ellos no me interesaban lo suficiente para leerlos y hacía que perdiera el ritmo de la lectura, por lo que me desanimaba y quería que terminara rápido. Si nada más que agregar, Anoshe.

katmarhan's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

I thought this was a powerful final book in the trilogy—major storylines wrapped up, plenty of action, and a dash or two of romance. The author elicited pretty much every emotion from me in one scene or another—anger, sadness, frustration, joy, relief, indignation, confusion, satisfaction… you get the idea.

A couple quibbles—I really would have liked to find out Kell’s origins. He had the answers to those questions in his hand and decided he didn’t really need to know. Well, I needed to know! I also wanted to know how Lila lost her original Antari eye.

malpal24's review against another edition

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adventurous

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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