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A review by thejanewayprotocol
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
5.0
This book was amazing!! I can't decide if it was better than the first or not. Part of me says yes, absolutely, but another part of me thinks that the first one deserves more credit... there was so much world building and context that had to be delivered in the first book, the fact that Schwab was able to keep up interest in that book is such an achievement. The second book really allowed for more fun and games, (no pun intended!) that really, makes it difficult for me to decide.
*** If you have not read the first book, A Darker Shade of Magic, then this review will contain major spoilers ***
It is four months later since the end of ADSOM, and Lila and Kell have gone their separate ways. Lila, despite being stuck in Red London, (always resilient and resourceful), has been earning her keep aboard the "pirate" ship The Night Spire, as Captain Alucards best thief. In true Lila fashion, she keeps up the pretense that she is a powerful dark being that can rein her terror on the crew at any moment, and they keep at arms length, both admiring and fearing her.
The captain, on the other hand, despite her best efforts, sees right through her ruse. Despite this, she is handy to have aboard his ship, and ends of being a mentor of sorts; Lila has discovered that she does in fact have a knack for magic, and practices her craft at every waking moment.
Kell is not enjoying himself as much. He is beginning to feel the repercussions of his actions all those months back. It is becoming only to real the danger he has now put himself, and his brother, the Prince Rhy in. By binding himself to Rhy, he now has to take much better care of himself, lest he hurt his brother for it.
That is not his only suffering; despite the great sacrifice he made to save his brother, the King and Queen of Red London treat him differently; where before he was treated as truly one of their sons, the Queen barely looks at him anymore, and the King doesn't even bother to pretend Kell is not merely a pawn in his political game. Kell has never felt so alienated and alone, and it is getting harder and harder for him to keep his loyalty to the crown.
The one major plus is that London is home to the Essen Taschm, The Element Games, where the three major kingdoms in Red London bring their magicians together and compete for the name Champion. Rhy has seen how withdrawn his brother has been, and smuggles Kell into the games as a way to let off steam. But Kell isn't the only one who plays in the games illegally, and it is what reunites him with Lila once again.
Words can't even describe how much I loved this book. I enjoyed meeting some new characters, like Captain Alucard, who is a nice mix of knowledgeable and terribly flawed. I think we really got to know Lila a lot more in this one, and it just made me love her more and more. The cat and mouse game that Kell and Lila played throughout the story was great and suspenseful, and it kept me reading longer into the night than I normally would have.
I was a little disappointed with the ending of the games. At the beginning I felt like I was right there with the matches, but by the end it seemed to rush. One minute there were 9 competitors left, next thing you know, a Champion was crowned, and the games were over with.
I would have liked to see a little more mischief between Rhy and Kell, especially with so many balls being thrown in this book. I get it might have been a pacing issue, and maybe Schwab was trying to portray the aftereffects on Rhy as well, but all the same it was missing that bit of flair that made me love him so much in the beginning.
The ending, oh what an ending!!! Such an adrenaline rush, and now I am truly worried for everyone. I CANNOT wait for the third. I'm under the impression that this is only going to be a trilogy? I really hope that's wrong, this world is so incredible it deserves to be told in many more books than just three. I cannot recommend this series enough. Victoria Schwab is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.
*** If you have not read the first book, A Darker Shade of Magic, then this review will contain major spoilers ***
It is four months later since the end of ADSOM, and Lila and Kell have gone their separate ways. Lila, despite being stuck in Red London, (always resilient and resourceful), has been earning her keep aboard the "pirate" ship The Night Spire, as Captain Alucards best thief. In true Lila fashion, she keeps up the pretense that she is a powerful dark being that can rein her terror on the crew at any moment, and they keep at arms length, both admiring and fearing her.
The captain, on the other hand, despite her best efforts, sees right through her ruse. Despite this, she is handy to have aboard his ship, and ends of being a mentor of sorts; Lila has discovered that she does in fact have a knack for magic, and practices her craft at every waking moment.
Kell is not enjoying himself as much. He is beginning to feel the repercussions of his actions all those months back. It is becoming only to real the danger he has now put himself, and his brother, the Prince Rhy in. By binding himself to Rhy, he now has to take much better care of himself, lest he hurt his brother for it.
That is not his only suffering; despite the great sacrifice he made to save his brother, the King and Queen of Red London treat him differently; where before he was treated as truly one of their sons, the Queen barely looks at him anymore, and the King doesn't even bother to pretend Kell is not merely a pawn in his political game. Kell has never felt so alienated and alone, and it is getting harder and harder for him to keep his loyalty to the crown.
The one major plus is that London is home to the Essen Taschm, The Element Games, where the three major kingdoms in Red London bring their magicians together and compete for the name Champion. Rhy has seen how withdrawn his brother has been, and smuggles Kell into the games as a way to let off steam. But Kell isn't the only one who plays in the games illegally, and it is what reunites him with Lila once again.
Words can't even describe how much I loved this book. I enjoyed meeting some new characters, like Captain Alucard, who is a nice mix of knowledgeable and terribly flawed. I think we really got to know Lila a lot more in this one, and it just made me love her more and more. The cat and mouse game that Kell and Lila played throughout the story was great and suspenseful, and it kept me reading longer into the night than I normally would have.
I was a little disappointed with the ending of the games. At the beginning I felt like I was right there with the matches, but by the end it seemed to rush. One minute there were 9 competitors left, next thing you know, a Champion was crowned, and the games were over with.
I would have liked to see a little more mischief between Rhy and Kell, especially with so many balls being thrown in this book. I get it might have been a pacing issue, and maybe Schwab was trying to portray the aftereffects on Rhy as well, but all the same it was missing that bit of flair that made me love him so much in the beginning.
Spoiler
The Holland twist really shocked me. I thought for sure that the Danes would have figured out a way to cheat death or something, I really wasn't expecting it to be Holland who came back. His parts were kind of slow to develop, but I give props to Schwab, as she kept his chapters really short so as not to bog down the story too much.The ending, oh what an ending!!! Such an adrenaline rush, and now I am truly worried for everyone. I CANNOT wait for the third. I'm under the impression that this is only going to be a trilogy? I really hope that's wrong, this world is so incredible it deserves to be told in many more books than just three. I cannot recommend this series enough. Victoria Schwab is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.