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A review by klnanker15
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
2.0
I found this to be a disappointing sequel when compared to the first book. I will start with some things that I enjoyed and finish with why I think this book missed the mark.
Some things that I enjoyed in this book were the characters. Lila is a refreshing protagonist, she's interesting and flawed. She behaves in ways that fit the way she was introduced. We also get to see her in some new situations and have interactions with new and different characters, which is fun. Kell is changed by his experiences in the last book and it shows. I also enjoyed getting alot more of Rhy's point of view and found him to be a well developed character. The cliff hanger and the end were fun and I enjoyed the changes to white London.
And now, the reason this book just doesn't live up to it's predecessor. The plot here is very thin. It is much longer than the last book, and somehow, nothing of importance really happens. The previous book was paced well, we knew the problem fairly quickly and followed our characters as they worked to solve it. This book felt like the tournament arc in an anime (a trope I've always disliked). The stakes did not feel real as we knew the tournament had to play out in certain ways. Also, I just didn't care to read a bunch of different action scenes that ultimately had no impact on our characters and plot. The problems that our characters need to solve (not losing? Not getting caught?) are largely inconsequential. The tournament would have been fine if it had taken up the first like third of the book, but it is the entire thing! The book has this interesting subplot in white London that really should have been the main plot. Normally I don't mind a good cliff hanger, but after reading this whole book and realizing that none of what was happening mattered to an overall plot I was honestly mad that the most interesting part was literally the last chapter! I will continue on and finish the last book, since hopefully it will expand on the actually interesting subplot, but this has definitely hurt my opinion of the overall series.
Some things that I enjoyed in this book were the characters. Lila is a refreshing protagonist, she's interesting and flawed. She behaves in ways that fit the way she was introduced. We also get to see her in some new situations and have interactions with new and different characters, which is fun. Kell is changed by his experiences in the last book and it shows. I also enjoyed getting alot more of Rhy's point of view and found him to be a well developed character. The cliff hanger and the end were fun and I enjoyed the changes to white London.
And now, the reason this book just doesn't live up to it's predecessor. The plot here is very thin. It is much longer than the last book, and somehow, nothing of importance really happens. The previous book was paced well, we knew the problem fairly quickly and followed our characters as they worked to solve it. This book felt like the tournament arc in an anime (a trope I've always disliked). The stakes did not feel real as we knew the tournament had to play out in certain ways. Also, I just didn't care to read a bunch of different action scenes that ultimately had no impact on our characters and plot. The problems that our characters need to solve (not losing? Not getting caught?) are largely inconsequential. The tournament would have been fine if it had taken up the first like third of the book, but it is the entire thing! The book has this interesting subplot in white London that really should have been the main plot. Normally I don't mind a good cliff hanger, but after reading this whole book and realizing that none of what was happening mattered to an overall plot I was honestly mad that the most interesting part was literally the last chapter! I will continue on and finish the last book, since hopefully it will expand on the actually interesting subplot, but this has definitely hurt my opinion of the overall series.