A Gathering of Shadows Collector's Edition: A Novel: 2 (Shades of Magic)

I enjoyed the first book of this series. The basic premise of four parallel Londons with various degrees of magical ability striving for magical and political balance was original and the central character the wizard Kell engaging and sympathetic. This sequel focuses more strongly on the feisty street thief Lila - the man secondary character in the first novel. It's far less satisfactory. Lila's cheeky unwillingness to follow rules or convention turns nasty in A Gathering of Shadows. Anyone who crosses her or gets in her way is either dispatched or killed and it becomes increasingly difficult to root for her or even to like her. The main theme of the book - a wizard tournament in Red London - feels very derivative next to the originality of the first novel - drawing strongly on tropes from the Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and while the novel picks-up in the final chapters it feels weak and bitter next to its prequel.

A Darker Shade of Magic introduced us to one of the more dynamic world-buildings of the last few years, and its combination of characterisation and magic was enchanting. The action, of course, took place mainly in an alternate London to ours, during the reign of George IV.Following on from the first in the series, most of the action is again centred on Red London, with the majority of the narrative leading to the aforementioned tournament of magic. Here, Schwab skilfully builds the tension, while introducing a myriad of new characters, the most remarkable of them undoubtedly Alucard Emery, who is weaved into the heart of the story over the course of this book.There is a long enough lead up to the tournament, though, and it gives ample time to explore further the character of Lila Bard, who continues to kick ass as it if it were her right in whatever world she finds herself in. She maintains her role as the most interesting character in this world.The dynamics between Lila and Kell, and between Lila and Emery, in this book are great all round and in stark contrast to each other. Empathy abounds for Kell as he comes closer to becoming a real tragic figure, as he struggles to find his place.The story itself is a well-contained one within this book, with lots of possible outcomes from the tournament. There’s also plenty left over for the next instalment, as the relative absence of the other Londons will almost certainly change.A Gathering of Shadows confirms VE Schwab’s talent for world-building and characterisation. Her descriptions of people in particular are brilliant and evocative.

Lila started off (book 1) as a semi-likeable, interesting character with some quirks and nice potential for growth. Book 2 has devolved from an exciting vivid description of a new fantasy universe to some standard fare teen adult romp. I really didn't like the entire book focusing mainly on the magic competition, and why does Lila seemingly become brilliant at EVERYTHING she does??! Mary Sue , and annoying!!!!

I have been looking forward to this one for quite some time ever since I read the first book in the series, and even though it was at the tail end of last year that I read A Darker Shade of Magic once I had dived back into the world of multiple London’s it felt like it was only yesterday.This is one of those strange times as a reviewer when you absolutely loved a book but can’t think of anything to say that will convey just how amazing said book is. I don’t know why I thought it wouldn’t be possible but A Gathering of Shadows is even better than I thought it was going to be. I think this is because at this stage we know enough about the world that there is a lot more action, plus there is a lot more at stake in this book.It was great getting to catch up with Kell again, he’s a lot edgier in this book and you can feel the weight of everything that he feels burdened with. I love that he is at a kind of impasse in his position, he has a lot of power but after the events of the first book, he isn’t trusted and is starting to feel the confines of restrictions. I will admit to spending most of the book hoping and praying that Lila and Kell would come back into each others orbit, the wonderful tension of that alone could have kept me turning the pages but there was so much more to keep my interest.The Element Games were amazing, it gave us the chance to learn more about the different cultures and gave Rhys a little bit more of the spotlight. Which is fantastic because I definitely wanted more of him and I was glad that he was his witty and charming self, but that there was a vulnerable side to him as well. The relationship between the two brothers was great, I loved that Kell was so protective of Rhys but that they could still wind each other up.I was so happy that Lila got to have an adventure and that she was still a strong and feisty female who took every opportunity and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty to get what she wants. But I will admit that I was extra happy to get to any chapters that were based on the ship with Lila because of the elusive and captivating Alucard Emery, what a character. I could read about him all day and the chemistry he had with numerous characters just had me itching to know more.I really want to gush and gush about things that happen in this story but I really don’t want to spoil anything, but I can already tell that the next book is going to be an emotional rollercoaster and I can’t wait but I’m also kind of terrified to get into it.

'What do you see, when you look at me?'Lila is basically on a quest to find out just who she is but now 4 months after she left, London is calling....and of course, she gets herself into more trouble!I can't tell you how much I love Kell and I also can't even tell you how much I wanted Lila with Kell. It ate at me...actually ate at me, the angsty feeling I had, tight stomach, wishing the story along!Another contender for my heart is Alucard.....I loved him!!!I love Lila. She is brave, full of life and head strong. The latter made me want to strangle her sometimes!I couldn't help thinking about Holland, what was he thinking?This book draws us further into the world the author created and I just love everything about it!And oh my lord, that ending! I need the last book asap!!!!

<REVIEW> A GATHERING OF SHADOWS•• ⭐️: 5/5••💬: It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift--back into Black London.••🔰: Incredibly written as always. There’s something about Schwab’s writing that always get to me, it always make me feel part of what is happening in the story. The dialogues always funny with a dash of cleverness, and her characters...OMG She really knows how to write complex, lovable and flawed characters that it makes me sometimes relate to people on real life. Even if it’s in a fantasy context I can relate to a lot of things because Rhy, Lila, Kell, Alucard and Holland are so HUMAN.The plot of this one was very captivating, with the Games and all the deception that the characters were trying to achieve. Also, I loved the way we really see how much Kell and Rhy love each other above everything else, they might not be blood brothers but they are real brothers. How much they care about each other’s happiness.And boy, TONS OF EMOTIONS GOING ON ON EACH CHAPTER!I feel like I can’t be the same after reading this one, after seeing Kell’s feelings so raw. I don’t know, I just love this book so much that I want to carry with me to everywhere and introduce it to people.

Die Geschichte von Kell, der aufgrund seiner seltenen magischen Fähigkeiten zwischen mehreren Parallelwelten hin und her reisen kann, bietet spannende Unterhaltung mit überraschenden Wendungen, sympathischen Hauptfiguren und abgrundtief bösen Gegenspielern - also alles, was ein Fantasy-Roman benötigt.Ich habe mich beim Lesen keine Minute gelangweilt und obwohl der Roman in Englisch sehr gut zu lesen ist, finde ich es schade, dass ich bislang noch keine deutsche Übersetzung davon gefunden habe, die das wirklich lesenswerte Buch einem größeren deutschsprachigen Publikum näher bringen würde.Zur Handlung möchte ich nicht zu viel verraten. Sie beginnt mit einem Besuch Kells im "grauen" London. Insgesamt gibt es vier Parallelwelten, die alle über eine Stadt namens "London" als Fixpunkt verfügen: das graue London, das rote London, das weiße London und das schwarze London. Sie unterscheiden sich i. W. durch das Verhältnis der Menschen zur Magie. Die Durchgänge zwischen den Welten wurden vor Jahren geschlossen um zu verhindern, dass böse Magie aus einer der Welten in die anderen Welten gelangt und sich dort ausbreitet. Nur sehr wenige Menschen verfügen noch über die Fähigkeit, diese Grenze zu überschreiten. Einer davon ist Kell. Er überbringt Botschaften zwischen den jeweiligen Herrschern der Welten. Seine Botengänge sind nicht immer ungefährlich und bei einem davon wird er in ein Komplott verwickelt, das nicht nur sein Leben, sondern auch die bisherige Weltordnung bedroht.Das Buch richtet sich eher an jugendliche Leser, ist aber auch für Erwachsene, die "dunkle" Fantasy mögen, geeignet. Die Geschichte des "Reisenden zwischen den Welten" ist nicht neu, wird aber spannend, mit viel Einfallsreichtum und Detailfreude, erzählt. Auch die Farbsymbolik der einzelnen Londons ist perfekt inszeniert und trägt dazu bei, dass dem Leser die einzelne Welt und ihre Atmosphäre regelrecht vor Augen geführt wird.Ich habe direkt im Anschluss den 2. Band bestellt und kann es kaum abwarten, ihn zu lesen.

Anche questo secondo volume si conferma piacevole, pur se con i soliti difetti.Per esempio, il re Maxime appare un completo idiota anche a quattro mesi di distanza dagli eventi del primo libro, e sembra quasi che in tutto il tempo passato dalla crisi magica al presente nessuno abbia stilato protocolli o pensato a come gestire gli Antari senza farli fuggire a gambe levate.Che poi, ovvio che Kell vada protetto dopo che ha legato la sua vita a quella del principe, ma se di fronte a una tale abnegazione te reagisci così, vuoi vedere la distruzione del tuo bell'Impero.Poi abbiamo l'inutilità completa di tutta la sottotrama di Londra Bianca: se tanto l'esito della scelta era indifferente, il tutto sembra solo un modo per allungare il libro e per far cominciare lì il terzo volume.Inoltre il concetto di questo secondo libro, il torneo, è abbastanza trito e ritrito, visto in mille salse diverse in manga e anime e libri e film. Che originalità!Quantomeno è servito a mostrarci un briciolo del mondo fuori Londra, ma per il resto... anche i combattimenti non sono stati niente di che, a parte gli occasionali scoppi di potere di Lila e la maestria di Alucard.Quello che mi è piaciuto parecchio invece è stato che il suo protagonista ne è Lila.Lila cresciuta in questi quattro mesi, Lila fuggita dal palazzo reale e da Londra, e che scopriamo ora membro di una ciurma di pirati (anzi, di Corsari al soldo della corona), in grado di usare la magia, con una sua reputazione e sempre letale con i coltelli.Che oltre ad allietarci con il racconto di questi mesi passati per mare (e di come è riuscita a entrare sulla nave), ci fornisce un po' di scene piratesche, prima di catapultarci nel vortice del torneo.E negli intrighi brutti, pilotati e inutili di Londra Bianca di cui ho già detto.Però la storia incentrata su Lila tiene bene, la scrittura è scorrevole e malgrado il torneo sia un qualcosa di abusato, alla fin fine non passa mai di moda.Ci si può stare, per il volume di mezzo di una trilogia, ma ora mi aspetto qualcosa di più dal volume finale.

Worum geht's?Vier Monate sind vergangen, seitdem Kell den Shadow Stone gefunden hat und sich seine Wege mit Lila Bard gekreuzt haben. Vier Monate, seitdem sein Bruder verwundet wurde und er es mit den Dane Zwilling aufgenommen hat. Mittlerweile sind die meisten in den Alltag zurückgekehrt, jedoch haben die Ereignisse Spuren hinterlassen. Rhy ist ernster geworden und Kell wird von seinen Schuldgefühlen geplagt. Zudem driften Kells Gedanken ständig zurück zu Lila, die ihn vor vier Monaten auf den Docks stehen gelassen hat, um in die weite Welt zu segeln. Doch für Ablenkung ist gesorgt: In Red London finden bald die "Element Games" statt, ein Turnier für Elementmagier aus jedem Land, um den Bund zwischen den Königreichen zu stärken. Aber während Red London damit beschäftigt ist, sich in der Aufregung der Spiele zu verlieren, ist ein anderes London gerade dabei sich wieder zu stärken...MeinungAls A Darker Shade of Magic meine Welt betreten hat, wusste ich nicht auf was ich mich einlasse - und als ich es beendet habe wusste ich, ich brauche mehr davon. A Gathering of Shadows hat mir das und noch mehr gegeben.Es war ein Leichtes, wieder in die bekannte Welt der vier Londons zu tauchen und ich habe sofort gemerkt, wie ich sie und die Charaktere vermisst habe. Die Atmosphäre ist nach wie vor magisch, der Schreibstil fesselnd und innovativ und die Charaktere immer noch herzerwärmend und authentisch.Der Einstieg erfolgt mit Lila, wie sie das Arnesische Meer bereist und zwar genauso wie sie es wollte: Auf einem Piratenschiff. Nichts ist verloren gegangen von ihrer Abenteuerlust, ihrem Drang nach Action, ihrer Bereitschaft, sofort nach ihrem Dolch zu greifen, mit dem sie unter ihrem Kopfkissen schläft. Man lernt am Anfang ein paar andere Orte als London kennen und erfährt über ein wenig mehr über andere Kulturen außerhalb Arnesia, was ich persönlich sehr gut fand, sodass man ein besseres Verständnis über die gesamte Welt bekommen hat - selbst wenn London einem bekannt ist. Durch Lilas Augen (oder soll ich sagen... Auge?) kämpfen wir uns durch das Unbekannte - sie kommt immerhin aus Grey London, das unmagische London. Ein großes Problem von ihr ist Arnesisch zu sprechen, denn das, was sie unter Englisch kennt, gilt in Arnesia als "High Royal" - nur Aristokraten sprechen diese Sprache und es recht ungewöhnlich, dass ein einfacher Dieb diese Sprache beherrscht. Da muss sicherlich mehr hinter stecken..Jedoch kommen auch unsere Lieblingsmänner nicht zu kurz: Kell und Rhy sind in den Alltag zurückgekehrt, jedoch nicht ohne Wunden davon getragen zu haben. Seit dem Ereignis aus dem letzten Buch stehen die Brüder in besonderer Verbindung, was Kell noch empfindlicher macht und Rhy zum Denken anregt. Man merkt, dass der Arnesische Prinz erwachsen wird, sodass seine leichtfertigen Bemerkungen in dieser Fortsetzung nicht so oft Platz finden. Trotzdem lässt er seinen Charme durchblicken, auch wenn auch sein Herz der Dunkelheit nicht entkommen kann. Kell hat ebenfalls seine Dämonen, doch hinzu kommt, dass er das Königspaar ihm misstraut, denn sie denken, dass die Ereignisse der Black Night auf seine Kosten passiert sind, was sie ihm nicht verzeihen können. Er steht unter ständiger Beobachtung von ihnen, und vom restlichen Volk Red Londons, man ächtet, bewundert und respektiert ihn. Er bewegt sich weiter und weiter in die Dunkelheit, seine Gedanken werden düster, aber ehrlich: Wer kann es ihm verübeln? Ihre Beziehung zueinander kommt hier besonders zur Geltung und man wird sich eigentlich ihrer Komplexität bewusst.Doch unter den alten Hasen sind auch neue Gesichter vertreten, am prominentesten das von Alucard Emery, den Lila auf See trifft. Genau wie sie hat auch er seine Geheimnisse und das gegenseitige Kennenlernen artet in ein Katz-und-Maus Spiel, was sehr Spaß macht und für eine Menge Spannung sorgt. Ich fand Alucard als neues Mitglied im Cast ideal. Während ich Lila, Kell und Rhy als Extremitäten betrachte, die in eine bestimmte Richtung gehen, so ist Alucard die goldene Mitte, ein ausgeglichener Charakter, der jedoch nicht langweilig ist, sondern von Tiefgründigkeit zeugt. Seine Fäden sind ganz besonders verwoben, denn auch wenn er für Lila und uns ein neues Gesicht ist, so heißt das nicht, dass er sich woanders wo noch keinen Namen gemacht hat. Victoria Schwab meinte es gäbe "more kissing than killing", etwas, wovon vor allem Alucard profitiert... ;)Die "Element Games" bilden den zentralen Plot des Buches und es ist spannend, den Charakteren dabei zuzusehen wie sie sich darauf vorbereiten. Jedoch hockt das Böse nicht weit entfernt und plant.. Böses. Von diesem Aspekt der Geschichte bekommen wir nur Augenblicke, gerade so viel, dass es reicht neugierig auf mehr zu machen. Diese Technik finde ich gut angewandt, schließlich will man das Rätsel selbst lösen und Theorien aufbauen, was nun Sache ist. Ein weiteres bekanntes Gesicht steckt dahinter, ich sag mal nicht wer, wobei diejenigen die das erste Buch gelesen haben, wohl eine Ahnung haben werden.Die Romanze in A Darker Shade of Magic war ziemlich subtil angelegt, wenn auch die Beziehung zwischen Kell und Lila im Vordergrund stand - sie wurde nur nicht ständig romantisiert. Jedoch wird in A Gathering of Shadows klar, wie viel die beiden einander bedeuten - hey, man überlebt nicht immer gemeinsam mörderische Zwillinge, das schweißt zusammen! - und auch wenn beide meilenweit voneinander entfernt sind, hält es sie nicht davon ab, an den anderen zu denken. Hach. Das fand ich besonders bei Lila interessant, die selten solche Gefühle zur Schau trägt und man merkt, dass sie es auch ungerne macht, denn sobald Kell in ihren Gedanken aufflackert, lenkt sie sich sofort ab. Das Wiedersehen zwischen den beiden lässt auf sich warten... was sehr frustrierend ist, aber wenn es kommt, zahlt es sich aus! Eine Romanze, die einem nicht ins Gesicht geworfen wird, aber trotzdem das Herz in tausend Stücke zerreißt. Und keine Sorge, "more kissing than killing" lässt die Wartezeit ebenfalls überbrücken.Victoria Schwabs Schreibstil ist - wie immer - malerisch, präzise und entführt einen sofort in eine andere Atmosphäre. Was ich besonders bewundernswert finde, ist, wie Passagen, in denen sie Dinge beschreibt, sich nicht wie Info-Dumping anfühlen - jede Beschreibung lässt die Szene voranschreiten, was ich so noch bei keinem Autor gesehen habe. Da ist auf jeden Fall eine Steigerung zu A Darker Shade of Magic zu erkennen.FazitMit A Gathering of Shadows hat Schwab eine würdige Fortsetzung für einen vielversprechenden Auftakt einer Trilogie gesetzt. In diese Welt zurückzukehren fühlt sich an wie nach Hause kommen - der Einstieg fällt deutlich leichter in der bereits bekannten Umgebung, jedoch trifft man auf viele neue Orte und Gesichter, die frischen Wind in das ganze bringen. Die Charaktere bleiben weiterhin authentisch, der Plot reißt einen mit - kombiniert mit einem engagierten Schreibstil, der einem die Geschichte vor Augen Leben einhaucht. Verdiente fünf Sterne.Shades of Magic:A Darker Shade of Magic (2015)A Gathering of Shadows (2016)Shades of Magic #3 (voraussichtlich 2017)Worauf du dich einstellen kannst: Badass-ery, Piraten, Magie, "more kissing than killing"Titel: A Gathering of ShadowsAutor: Victoria "V.E." SchwabVerlag: Tor (USA), Titan Books (UK)Seiten: 508

This book is amaaaaazing. How?* This starts off 4 months after the last book so all the characters are scattered around and have to find their way back to each other.* They have a magical tournament in which people from various nations compete, and people also hide their identities and compete. This was a lot of fun to read.* This book has a lot of action to read through which paints a nice, clear picture in your head like you're watching a movie. Never was I confused for even a minute.* Hey look! Is he supposed to be the good guy, or the villain, or is he just an idiot?! Who knows. Get ready for your heart to be torn.* Ohh new characters. Wow, didn't expect to like you so much.* Calm down, Rhy.* It finishes on a really big cliffhanger 😶 like the biggest one ever. So please have the next book on standby.

Le mie speranze di trovare un seguito migliore del primo libro si sono infrante già alle prime pagine, con la descrizione delle gesta alquanto inverosimili di Delilah Bard.“I am Delilah Bard, I am one of a kind, bla bla…” viene ripetuto fino alla nausea. E’ francamente irritante, ed è un chiaro indizio di un complesso di inferiorità nemmeno tanto nascosto.Ci viene spesso detto quanto è brava e figa è Lila, ma non ci viene mai mostrato. Molte delle azioni che intraprende servono solo a complicare ulteriormente le cose. Non sa far altro che mettere i bastoni fra le ruote a tutti.Lila ha ampiamente dimostrato di essere una criminale non per necessità, ma per scelta. Per ottenere qualcosa (capricci, più che altro) usa sempre scorciatoir e sotterfugi, e non esita a mettere in pericolo color che la circondano. Quando decide di prendere il posto di Stasion Elsor, ad esempio, prende anche in considerazione l’idea di ucciderlo. Così… a cuor leggero. “And though she’d certainly killed her fair share, she didn’t take it lightly”; alquanto ironica come frase, visto che ogni azione di Lila dimostra esattamente il contrario: non si fa nessun problema ad uccidere chicchessia per i suoi scopi.Tieren (uno dei pochi personaggi di buon senso) centra l’obbiettivo quando le dice: “You have a dangerous disregard for your own life, and the lives of others”. In un altro punto del libro, anche Kell dice una cosa giusta: “Why am I the only one in this fucking world to be held accountable for my actions?”; Lila è proprio uno di quei personaggi che non si prende mai la responsibiltà delle proprie azioni. Come fanno a crescere e maturare personaggi del genere?Ho scoperto di recente a mie spese che leggere uno dopo l’altro i libri di una serie può essere controproducente. Si tendono a notare ripetizioni di espressioni e schemi che passerebbero altrimenti inosservati, con il risultato che la lettura risulta a volte noiosa e a volte irritante. Ho trovato, poi, inutile la spiegazione delle relazioni tra i personaggi; ci si possono scordare vari dettagli tra l’uscita di un libro e l’altro, ma questo non è il Trono di spade, il fatto che Kell e Rhys siano fratelli (adottivi) è difficile da dimenticare.Alucard sembrava promettere bene, ma poi diventa anche lui uno dei tanti personaggi che si comporta come un bamboccio viziato (e probabilmente lo è).Prima di leggere il terzo libro (che ho già) mi prendo una pausa; non riuscirei a reggere altre 600 e passa pagine di Delilah Bard.

Picking up where A Darker Shade of Magic left off, Kell and Rhy are angsty, Lila’s a character study in somebody I would never want to cross paths with because she’s impulsive and self-centred and seems to revel in her own ignorance (and yet this makes her an interesting character to read about even if I’d never want to encounter her), and something just plain weird seems to be happening with magic in multiple worlds.Seems like the setup for a novel that could be just as fast-paced as the first one, and yet it’s actually incredibly slow, taking a lot of time to build everything up. Myself, I didn’t mind that so much, because I like the characters, but I can see how some readers would be really put off by the pacing, especially because it’s such a contrast to the first novel.Still, I really enjoyed it, and the way it ended made me really excited to see how it all draws to a close in the next book. I usually hate cliffhangers with a passion, but here, I was just left wanting more.

I don't think I'm in the right emotional frame to write a review for this book. I want to scream and cry and throw the book out the window and hold it tight. I am a wreck.The entire rating system for books needs to be revisited now. 5 stars is not enough for any Victoria Schwab book, but if I looked up at the night sky it wouldn't hold enough stars to rate A Gathering of Shadows. I can't find a single fault in this book (I only want to throw it out the window because the set up for the next book is killer and I need it NOW). Everything is utter perfection. The world building is stellar. The writing is up there with Neil Gaiman for genius. Kell and Lila are my favourite characters from any book ever. Simply put, this series has rocketed past everything else I've ever read and is sitting firmly in the number one spot.

4.5*I loved A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC (and everything else V.E. Schwab has written) so I went into this one with high hopes and it delivered. I thought that this was a good sequel, but also felt like a sequel, and that cliffhanger was just rude.Schwab's writing was flawless, as always, with the right mix of describing the setting and the characters while giving us a detailed look at the motivations behind actions. It was nice to be inside the heads of more characters this time around (especially Rhy!!!) because it gave us a broader picture of what was happening in the entire world rather than just in Kell's world. I think the pacing was on point with enough time to build up to the main event but not so much that we were dragging our feet waiting for action and adventure. I would have liked just a tad bit more time spent on the Games but I did like that it wasn't such a heavy focus on the games, but rather what the Games meant to the broad scheme of things.I thought the Games were a bit of a convenient way to have everyone in the same place at the same time but I wasn't too bothered by them. I also thought they were pretty similar to the idea of HP4 but again, not too bothered by that. I also would have liked a bit more of an explanation as to Alucard and Rhy's relationship and why that meant Kell was against the idea of Alucard ever setting foot near Rhy again because while I get the brotherly connection, I feel like I was missing something. But overall I didn't think these things really detracted from the story or made me not enjoy my reading.I thought the plot was well constructed, maybe even better than ADSOM, because it felt like this one needed more to be a full story arc but still WAS a full story arc on its own. I liked the expansion of magic and the idea that it is all about a cycle. I think Schwab has a good grasp on how the magic works and effortlessly explains it to the readers in a way that makes sense but also shows that as much as each of the characters know isn't everything to be known about the magic of this world.I think the characters gained a lot this time around. I liked seeing Kell restless and wanting to fight but scared of what it meant for Rhy. I also really liked seeing Rhy as a less bright version of himself because I feel like we are getting to see the "real" Rhy behind whatever masks he had on before. And I mean, I will always support bisexual characters. Yes please! I love Lila, I thought she was the best character this time around. I feel like the growth she showed in terms of starting to trust people more and not see relationships as a sign of weakness were offset with how naive and reckless she was with her magic. I feel like I understood that she wanted to use it but the way she went about it was offputting to me. But they felt like choices she would really make so it made sense.*SCREAMS ALOUD* THAT CLIFFHANGER THO. SEE THIS IS WHY I WAITED TO READ IT. OMG.

after reading the first book i was really looking forward to this one and tbh i was kinda disappointed. the stuff that is been promised on the back of the book doesn't come into action after like 60% of the book is then over very quickly. i skimmed through a lot of this first part of the book since it mostly bored. i also found myself being a bit annoyed by the characters, idk what happened. part of the plot also felt kinda repetetive to the first book. still there are some really good parts, character wise and plot, some of which let you fall in love again with the magic in these books. i will still read the third book, i'm hopeful it will be an overall more joyful experience since there a quite a few storylines to be solved.

This book gave me one of my most favorite character Alucard Emery.. the story progress 4 months after the events of the first book.. we got a lot more of rhy from this book.. the elemental games was quite interesting.. but again didn't really like Lila bard much.. and don't see her and Kell as a romantic interest.. they could have been portrayed as friends ..Overall it felt like this book was getting ready for the events to come in the finale

I hate writing reviews that are just one big gushy mess, but there was nothing I didn't love about this book. Schwab is merciless with her characters, but it was all fitting. If there are no consequences, then there would be no reason to be on the edge of your seat! The tension in these books certainly ramps up. The beginning of this story is relatively calm with very important 'backstory' details. These are the character development parts of the story that ensure that you care about everything that happens to the characters once things go south.If you loved the first book, what are you waiting for?There are too few books these days with magician/sorcerer/wizard battles! This one has all of the excitement and danger of The Triwizard Tournament in the Harry Potter books!! I absolutely love competitions like this so that's part of what made this book really soar for me. Plus, pirates. And, training montages! (Montages isn't really the right word, but there are sections where Lila is being taught how to use magic.) Another one of my favourite parts of fantasy novels.I'll take a minute to talk about the one new character for this book. Alucard is awesome. He is funny and deep but I feel torn also because you find out right away that Kell hates him. It's interesting to see Lila become friends with him while knowing how much Kell hates him.Small spoiler alert:I had heard before reading this book that the ending has a cliffhanger so I waited to read it until right before A Conjuring of Light released. I'm so glad that I can instantly read the finale now!

De todos os 3 livros da série, esse é o mais suave, cheio de aventura estilo Piratas do Caribe, emoção de uma competição tipo as lutas do Dragon Ball, bailes, romances.E só imaginem quais personagens vão participar desse torneio de mágicos mascarados?Nesse volume também é apresentado um dos personagens, na minha opinião, mais carismáticos da série, o Capitão Alucard, que além de Capitão de navio, é magico e guarda vários segredos...Um ponto negativo desse livro é que no final alguns eventos criam aquela ansiedade de já começar a ler o 3o. Livro

I am a single mum, working full time. needless to say: i do not have time for reading a book. But this triology made me ignore the washing up, not care about laundry and lie among a pile of toys because reading the second book to Kells and Lilas adventures was just a hell of a lot more important. the story is fascinating, and when something shocking happens, you are upset for ages because the writing makes you feel so involved in the story and close to the characters. kells storyline is the best ive read in years! also cant wait for it to be made into a movie!!

Though I loved all three books of Shades of magic, book two was my favourite. It gives the main characters room to grow and come into their own, packs as much adventure as the first book and has the nice set pieces VE Schwab always seems to craft into her books. The kind of scenes and dialogues that sticks with you long after you're done reading.