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A review by writervid
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
2.0
So. I read this.
A lot of my thoughts on the first book in the series still hold true. Lila is a brat, the world is incredible, Holland and Kell are complex characters. However, plot-wise, not a lot held up. There were no STAKES to this story. Nothing happened to further this world or the exciting events from the first book, outside of Holland's perspective, which was woefully limited. The tournament was a letdown, not just because it wasn't nearly as emphasized or well described, but because it was easy to tell that it was just a way for the characters to bide time until the third book. My negativity towards this could have been changed if there was more depth added to characters, but honestly, certain characters don't have much depth to them in the first place, and those that do weren't faced with circumstances that would allow them to grow to an extent that would have really allowed for such a heavy tome.
V.E. Schwab has style, an incredible world, and a few characters that really shine, which carried this book through. But those things don't make up for, say, 800 pages where nothing happens other than Lila and Kell pining after each other (for some reason? it seems wholly undeserved, at least on Kell's side of it; Lila was a complete burden in the first book). I don't feel like much was gained from this story, just as I don't feel that some of the character dynamics are wholly realistic.
Let's hope the next book is better.
A lot of my thoughts on the first book in the series still hold true. Lila is a brat, the world is incredible, Holland and Kell are complex characters. However, plot-wise, not a lot held up. There were no STAKES to this story. Nothing happened to further this world or the exciting events from the first book, outside of Holland's perspective, which was woefully limited. The tournament was a letdown, not just because it wasn't nearly as emphasized or well described, but because it was easy to tell that it was just a way for the characters to bide time until the third book. My negativity towards this could have been changed if there was more depth added to characters, but honestly, certain characters don't have much depth to them in the first place, and those that do weren't faced with circumstances that would allow them to grow to an extent that would have really allowed for such a heavy tome.
V.E. Schwab has style, an incredible world, and a few characters that really shine, which carried this book through. But those things don't make up for, say, 800 pages where nothing happens other than Lila and Kell pining after each other (for some reason? it seems wholly undeserved, at least on Kell's side of it; Lila was a complete burden in the first book). I don't feel like much was gained from this story, just as I don't feel that some of the character dynamics are wholly realistic.
Let's hope the next book is better.