Reviews with content warning for Murder - Die Verzauberung der Schatten

Character development, we love to see it. I got everything I could have wanted in this sequel. Lila and Kell circling around each other in romantic angst, a queer relationship, a mind-controlled villain, epic magic battles...what more could I ask for? I was very satisfied with the introduction of our favorite new character, Allucard

who turns out to have a connection to our favorite Red London princes

. He is incredibly charming and any scene with him is a fun time. We get to spend a bit of time with each character exploring how the events from the previous book affected them. Kell and Rhy are having a hard time dealing with how interconnected their emotions and pain is. The king and queen start restricting Kell more causing him to feel trapped and frustrated and also creating some strain in their relationship. In turn, this affects Kell's relationship with his brother as well. Lila is at sea avoiding dealing with her emotions. Everything comes to a head when the characters are eventually reunited, albeit under unusual circumstances.

This book felt a lot more fun with the previous installments. There were further glimpses into the versatility of the magic in Red London. Additionally, the boundaries of what was thought possible are pushed further than before. The ending was frustrating, but in the best way possible. I finished it and just wanted to continue reading. This installment felt a bit slower than the previous installment, but that's probably because I was anxiously waiting for all of the characters to reunite again. I don't think that is necessarily reflective of changes in the writing itself. I am looking forward to the final installment in this series. Will definitely be picking it up soon.

Content Warnings

escapismforlife's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book. THIS BOOK.

Can you hear me almost falling to grab the third off my shelf?

I haven't felt like this since reading the Legend trilogy Marie Lu back in high school. Or even finishing Ember in The Ashes Series just last year. I've got through this series quicker than both. It's taken me a month. And I am eager to see what happens. Though I think its already been told shown to me in this. <spoiler >Something to do with a dark Lila shown to her. By a dark mirror in a illegal market.

Anyways, I'm wrecked because of the ending. Delilah Bard is the true antihero/thief/magician of London. And the fact she's the strong one in the kind of relationship with Kell is the best thing ever. I love seeing an average woman do extraordinary and dangerous things. And I'm ready to see things take a left turn for once.

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blueberry0531's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.0

No plot.

This book suffers from “middle book syndrome”. The magician games served absolutely no purpose to the overall story, it’s just filler. Kell and Delilah don’t even meet back up for the first time in 4 months until about 80% into the book. It isn’t until 95% into the book that action actually starts happening that moves the plot forward. The rest of the book is just fleshing out the characters, Lila on a ship with mischevious pirates, Kell & Rhy navigating their new bond and then the magician games.

For an audio book that is over 16 hours long, how did nothing happen until literally the last 30 minutes? I’m both astounded and amazed that Schwab can write such a long book where literally nothing happens until the very, very end.

Side note: the two narrators did an amazing job, they were both so good and super engaging. I feel like if they hadn’t been so amazing, I probably would have DNF’d this book.

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reddeddy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

i am just *inhales*……Delilah Bard…..you are insane….but you’re also a fucking badass…..i had some issues with this book through the middle and towards the end, but that ending….i’m kinda shook…..that final line gave me literal chills.

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!

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