maublew's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Confinement, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcohol and Murder
sofiadanielle's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definitely enjoyed A Darker Shade of Magic more, but I can’t say I didn’t like this book. Took me awhile to get through it, and I don’t love a cliffhanger ending *but* at least I’m driven to finish the last book of the series :)
As always, V.E. Schwab writes in a way that is easy and quick to read. I found the pacing to be a little bit odd (with the peak of action being at the end), but I suppose I’ll have all my answers and such about the peak in the next book.
As always, V.E. Schwab writes in a way that is easy and quick to read. I found the pacing to be a little bit odd (with the peak of action being at the end), but I suppose I’ll have all my answers and such about the peak in the next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Murder, Injury/injury detail, and Kidnapping
trintrin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THAT ENDING!!!! ;-;
Okay so plot-wise pretty much nothing significant happens other than the Essen Tasch and it was quite slow and mostly felt like a filler book but MY GOD did I enjoy this more than I thought I would. The writing is beautiful as expected from Schwab, the characters are so loveable and relatable and I love that their personalities were so much explored more in this one.
Lila is a badass and I'm totally in love with her. Rhy is still a sweetheart and I wanna protect him with my life. Kell, oh, Kell, I still wanna give you a hug, you poor boy. I can't make up my mind if Alucard is a good person or not. I like him nonetheless. Absolutely adore Rhy and Kell's dynamic. Terrified but also excited to start the next one after that cliff hanger of an ending.
Spoilers for the Grishaversepirate privateer -- with how those two are so annoyingly charming but also how Alina/Lila describe they wear different faces for different occasions. I really should've known Alucard would also be royal, what with the way he was so fluent in High Royal, but somehow I totally wasn't expecting that lol
Okay so plot-wise pretty much nothing significant happens other than the Essen Tasch and it was quite slow and mostly felt like a filler book but MY GOD did I enjoy this more than I thought I would. The writing is beautiful as expected from Schwab, the characters are so loveable and relatable and I love that their personalities were so much explored more in this one.
Lila is a badass and I'm totally in love with her. Rhy is still a sweetheart and I wanna protect him with my life. Kell, oh, Kell, I still wanna give you a hug, you poor boy. I can't make up my mind if Alucard is a good person or not. I like him nonetheless. Absolutely adore Rhy and Kell's dynamic.
Spoiler
I was so proud of Holland's come back but then he had to go ahead and ruin it ://Spoilers for the Grishaverse
Spoiler
I was thinking just how much Alucard reminded me of Nikolai Lantsov -- aka the prince turned
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Self harm
noveltay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This series is so good. I loved the new characters and storylines. I loved every aspect of how this story played out, and how it ends with such a cliffhanger that you HAVE to grab the third book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/injury detail, Death, and Murder
pagesof_autumn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Homophobia
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement and Self harm
Minor: Kidnapping
nabecker13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Blood, Kidnapping, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm
Minor: Death of parent
koistyfishy's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
So I don’t think I can review this without keeping spoilers out since it is a sequel and all… so proceed at your own risk…
Should you read it? Yes
Was it amazing? No (but you need to get to book 3 so you kinda have to)
Basically two was ok… it wasn’t better than book 1 but had elements of it that were beyond measure of the first book. Mostly since this is not the first book, you already know the characters slightly and the world system so you can jump right into plot…
Now we jump into the spoiler territory so
On to that rushed point, it really annoys me about books when the pacing feels off at the start and doesn’t remain consistent and then everything is slapped on the end. This one starts of ok but then it reaches a point where it’s just slowly ebbing along with nothing going up and down… and then WHAM, BAM, Thank you Ma’am… the last few chapters (not like half the book), like 10 pages is just BOOM! All the action.
To me this book mainly just focuses on Lila getting into her power but I am still confused as to why all of a sudden she has power. The magic system isn’t really explained very well you just have to believe Lila knows she is magical enough to enter this tournament but you never actually see her use magic until the fights. I can understand if VE wanted to use that as surprise factor but it felt disconnected from what we were told to what we see everywhere outside the ring…so I think that could have used a little more polishing. Also everything builds up to this tournament and we hardly see anything of the fights…
The characters overall are a little bit irritating. Lila is sometimes bratty in her confidence and just insufferable. Kell is just moapy THE WHOLE BOOK and everyone is just treating him like shit when they really shouldn’t cause he just saved Rhy’s life but no… and Rhy just gave up and lost his spark and pizazz and whist there are reasons for this all it was at times is annoying to read.
I did really like Alucard though and he makes up for a lot of the other characters. He adds a lot to the story. He is so funny and smooth and loveable but he doesn’t get enough spotlight and I wanted more.
It felt like some of the angst was too on purpose by keeping the characters apart for so long just to add extended yearning and while I love some angst in my novels…. This was just too much…
I did love the ballroom scene where everything was catastrophic 🫢
Should you read it? Yes
Was it amazing? No (but you need to get to book 3 so you kinda have to)
Basically two was ok… it wasn’t better than book 1 but had elements of it that were beyond measure of the first book. Mostly since this is not the first book, you already know the characters slightly and the world system so you can jump right into plot…
Now we jump into the spoiler territory so
Spoiler
But that’s where this book lacked…not that the plot is weak, it just doesn’t really add anything to the story. Think of it like those filler episodes in an anime… you could prob skip over this book and move right to the next and still know what’s happening after reading a quick “what you missed” summary. Totally suffers from middle book syndrome as the main aspect that happens (which is totally rushed at the end of the book) could have been added at the end of book 1 or start of book 3.On to that rushed point, it really annoys me about books when the pacing feels off at the start and doesn’t remain consistent and then everything is slapped on the end. This one starts of ok but then it reaches a point where it’s just slowly ebbing along with nothing going up and down… and then WHAM, BAM, Thank you Ma’am… the last few chapters (not like half the book), like 10 pages is just BOOM! All the action.
To me this book mainly just focuses on Lila getting into her power but I am still confused as to why all of a sudden she has power. The magic system isn’t really explained very well you just have to believe Lila knows she is magical enough to enter this tournament but you never actually see her use magic until the fights. I can understand if VE wanted to use that as surprise factor but it felt disconnected from what we were told to what we see everywhere outside the ring…so I think that could have used a little more polishing. Also everything builds up to this tournament and we hardly see anything of the fights…
The characters overall are a little bit irritating. Lila is sometimes bratty in her confidence and just insufferable. Kell is just moapy THE WHOLE BOOK and everyone is just treating him like shit when they really shouldn’t cause he just saved Rhy’s life but no… and Rhy just gave up and lost his spark and pizazz and whist there are reasons for this all it was at times is annoying to read.
I did really like Alucard though and he makes up for a lot of the other characters. He adds a lot to the story. He is so funny and smooth and loveable but he doesn’t get enough spotlight and I wanted more.
It felt like some of the angst was too on purpose by keeping the characters apart for so long just to add extended yearning and while I love some angst in my novels…. This was just too much…
I did love the ballroom scene where everything was catastrophic 🫢
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
nicole_rietveld's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
„Ea nu dădea doi bani pe toată poliloghia despre magia care îi cernea pe cei puternici de cei slabi, făcând un soi de judecată spirituală. Nu, asta semăna prea mult cu soarta, iar Lila nu credea în asta. O persoană își alege singură drumul. Sau își croiește o soartă nouă.”
Dacă volumul trecut s-a concentrat mai mult pe acțiune, în acesta s-a pus accent mai mult pe dezvoltarea și cunoașterea personajelor.
Kell a devenit personajul meu favorit din serie, poate și pentru că am multe în comun cu el. Acesta trebuie să suporte consecințele acțiunilor sale din primul volum, să înfrunte atitudinea ostilă și temătoare a locuitorilor Londrei Roșii, să accepte că Rhy nu este chiar atât de fragil și poate face față durerii. Totodată, sentimentele lui de neapartenență în familia regală se adâncesc fapt ce duce la luarea unor decizii pripite, care îl vor costa mai târziu. Deseori se simte folosit și e ținut prizonier în Londra Roșie, iar familia regală în loc să îl răsplătească pentru că le-a salvat fiul îl tratează de parcă orice s-ar întâmpla e din vina lui. De data asta am avut ocazia să văd mai mult din abilitățile sale magice în timpul concursului.
„Vedea în ochii ei o doză de respect, dar și de frică și, mai rău, de neîncredere. Se uita la el ca la un animal periculos. De parcă orice mișcare mai bruscă l-ar fi provocat să atace.”
„În general, Kell se simțise ca fiind proprietatea cuiva. Acum se simțea ca un prizonier.”
Lila e din ce în ce mai nesuferită din cauza deciziilor nesăbuite pe care le ia. Nu văd nicio chimie între ea și Kell și nu am agreat-o de loc în volumul acesta. Totuși, aș fi vrut să nu se întâlnească atât de târziu în poveste. Faptul că acum are puteri o face și mai enervantă. Singurul lucru care mi-a plăcut în legătură cu ea sunt interacțiunile cu Alucard. Sincer, cred că s-ar fi potrivit mai bine cu Alucard decât cu Kell. Ce mi s-a părut interesant e faptul că are obiceiul de a fugi de oameni imediat ce începe să se atașeze de ei.
„– Toată lumea crede că îmi doresc să mor, știi? Dar eu nu vreau să mor – să mori e ușor. Nu, eu vreau să trăiesc, iar apropierea de moarte e singurul mod în care te simți viu. Și, odată ce-o faci, îți dai seama că tot ce ai făcut înainte nu a fost să trăiești de-adevăratelea. A fost doar să te mulțumești să fii. Spune-mi că sunt țicnită dacă vrei, dar eu cred că trăim cel mai bine când miza e foarte mare.”
„- Îmi pare rău.
(...)
– Pentru indiferent ce ți s-a întâmplat. Pentru indiferent cine te-a rănit atât de profund, încât vezi lucrurile ca prietenia și afecțiunea ca pe niște arme, în loc de scuturi.”
Rhy devine mai responsabil și își dă seama că e timpul să își asume rolul de viitor rege. M-au distrat interacțiunile cu prietenul și fratele lui, Kell. Dacă cei doi separat fac probleme, împreună trec deja la un alt nivel de bucluc. Mă bucur că a realizat că poate fi un rege puternic și fără abilități magice.â
„Se gândise că Essen Tasch doar glorifica o petrecere și, oricât de priceput ar fi fost Rhy la distracții, năzuia la ceva mai mult. Mai multă responsabilitate. Mai multă putere. Și i-o spusese regelui verde în față.”
Holland a înviat. Eram sigură, haha. E trist că a trebuit să înlocuiască un stăpân cu altul. Eu cred că în adâncul lui e bun și doar vrea să își protejeze și salveze lumea sa de la distrugere. E cam furios pe Kell pentru că i-a luat dreptul de a-i ucide pe frații Dane, dar cred că mai are o șansă cu Osaron. Sper doar să nu fie sacrificat la final.
„Lui Holland i se strânse inima dureros. Altă legătură. Oare n-avea să fie niciodată liber?”
„Holland le crezuse și el, de asemenea. Ba chiar crezuse, când ochiul lui devenise negru, că el ar putea fi eroul. Regele bun. Regele puternic. Salvatorul.”
O adăugire interesantă la poveste a fost Hastra. Tânărul gardian e tare simpatic. M-a amuzat entuziasmul lui de a fi complice în planurile lui Rhy.
Alte aspecte care mi-au plăcut:
- antari nu sunt atotputernici, trebuie și ei să își exerseze abilitățile magice;
- mai multă magie și mai multe informații cu privire la cu funcționează aceasta;
- sunt inserate cuvinte în alte limbi;
- de data asta finalul s-a lăsat cu suspans.
Singurul motiv pentru care nu i-am dat punctaj maxim e deoarece nu s-au întâmplat prea multe lucruri, aș fi vrut mai multă acțiune.
Ce am descoperit?
- poeziile lui William Blake.
Anoshe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, and Murder
Minor: Death and Kidnapping
samchase112's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Whew, what a ride! The second in the Shades of Magic trilogy… I have been waiting years to get to finally read this book, and I'm so so glad I stuck to it (and just bought the damn box set). This world, these characters, are so much freaking fun to read about. Lila is a devilish, crazy character, while Kell… Kell! I just love him. And their world, their banter, their connection, their adventures — it's all the fantasy goodness I crave. The first 70% of this did drag a bit, without Lila and Kell's interaction; I said in an update that the buildup was sweet — and it was, but only for so long, until it became overkill and I was sitting there waiting for fireworks. Good thing the ending 1000% delivered on those promised explosions, and left me itching for the final book. So, yes, A Gathering of Shadows (a perfect sequel name; shadows appeared in bk 1, gather in bk 2, and explode in bk 3) suffered from the sophomore slump/sequel slump/book-two-of-a-trilogy slump… and yet it was still oh so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Alcohol
Moderate: Murder and Alcoholism
Minor: Slavery and War