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mpbookreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
koistyfishy's review against another edition
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 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 🫢
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 🫢
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
danajoy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
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: Self harm, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Death and Kidnapping
hannaws's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It's the second book in this trilogy but I have to say I liked the first one more.
A gathering of shadows is a medium paced book. I'd like to say that pretty much 2/3 of the book is rather slow moving. Not much really happens and it was hard to keep focus on the book. But the end of it did pick up pace and threw some twists and turns.
And don't even get me started on that cliffhanger ending! All the time I kept hoping it wouldn't end like that. But here we are, in a need of the third book because we can't leave them hanging like that!
A gathering of shadows is a medium paced book. I'd like to say that pretty much 2/3 of the book is rather slow moving. Not much really happens and it was hard to keep focus on the book. But the end of it did pick up pace and threw some twists and turns.
And don't even get me started on that cliffhanger ending! All the time I kept hoping it wouldn't end like that. But here we are, in a need of the third book because we can't leave them hanging like that!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Murder and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing and Death
jessicaludden's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Call me crazy, but I think we do the best living when the stakes are high.”
The ending convinced me to give this 4 stars instead of 3.5 but really there’s no reason this book needed to be 500 pages and I can’t even fathom the next book being 600. I didn’t start really enjoying this book until the last 200ish pages when the tournament started. I couldn’t tell you anything that happened before that, so was it that important? Probably not. But I will say, even though it did take a while, it was worth it. The action of the tournament and the magic was so cool. I even started to like Lila and Kell a lot more. I loved all the Holland content. And that cliffhanger? Come on. So good. Overall I really enjoyed this, I just wish it didn’t take so long to get to the good stuff.
The ending convinced me to give this 4 stars instead of 3.5 but really there’s no reason this book needed to be 500 pages and I can’t even fathom the next book being 600. I didn’t start really enjoying this book until the last 200ish pages when the tournament started. I couldn’t tell you anything that happened before that, so was it that important? Probably not. But I will say, even though it did take a while, it was worth it. The action of the tournament and the magic was so cool. I even started to like Lila and Kell a lot more. I loved all the Holland content. And that cliffhanger? Come on. So good. Overall I really enjoyed this, I just wish it didn’t take so long to get to the good stuff.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Self harm, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It’s delightful to be back to Kell and Lila after such a long time. It’s been about four years since I read A Darker Shade of Magic, and there are so many aspects of the book that have stuck with me. Above all, Lila’s wanderlust and determination has stuck to my bones, and I think of her more iconic quotes often. A Gathering of Shadows is the second book in this trilogy, and for the most part, it focuses on character development and setting things in place for the dramatic ending. I didn’t like it as much as I liked A Darker Shade of Magic, but I didn’t hate it either. It was good, but it wasn’t great. It was a second book.
Looking at the story design we got - I did enjoy the character development for both Kell and Lila. They are both going through very similar things, but in very different ways. It’s interesting, because usually character development arcs in fantasy novels involve growth in knowledge or power. There is a learning arc. Schwab went a different way with this book. Rather, Kell and Lila are being pushed to breaking points. This is extremely evident in Kell’s storyline. Kell is sharply opposed with every action he executes. The harder he fights for freedom, the more confined he becomes. The tension throughout the book is palpable. It makes it difficult to step away from reading.
Lila‘s breaking point is a little different, an outward manifestation of internal conflict to mirror Kell’s internal conflict driven by exterior forces. She’s the one pushing herself, so there’s a lot more internal conflict and general avoidance. Lila has terrible coping mechanisms and is a reckless individual — acknowledges this for herself. By the end of the book, I don’t necessarily feel that Lila has learned anything, only that she is a little more lost and a little more frustrated. I think she has a while to go still as far as her development arc.
And all of this takes place during Essen Tasch, or the “Element Games”. These Games occur once every three years between three kingdoms with a history of tension. As usual, we see our two favorite characters breaking a lot of rules, and being excused if not encouraged by those closest to them. Rhys, in particular, shines in this book. He’s definitely grown from the character we saw in A Darker Shade of Magic, and even if you don’t love him, he is interesting. We also made a new character, a ship captain that has a history with the royal family. It’s a whole thing, and it’s interesting and really throws some complications into character relationships. I think will be seeing more of him in the next book.
Altogether, it was an enjoyable read. It wasn’t as stunning as some of Schwab‘s other work, but I appreciated that for a middle book in a trilogy, it at least had a standalone plot line. Honestly, I think my greatest gripe with this story has nothing to do with the book or the writing itself, but with the audiobook in narrators both narrators of this edition are well known well loved narrators, and I can’t stand either of them. Their reading is a little too slow and they’re lilts a little bit too repetitive that I often get irritated with the voice and that affects my enjoyment of the book. This is entirely a personal problem, and it is something I have come across repeatedly (particularly with Kate Reading). I want to be honest that this probably shaded my view of the book.
I am absolutely going to read the next book, and I’m still excited for the Threads of Power series Schwab is working on right now. The Shades of Magic trilogy continues to be compelling, dark, vibrant, and peppered with complicated characters. As a whole it is extremely enjoyable, and exemplary of Schwab‘s overall work. Really, I have yet to go wrong with this author. I do recommend the book, but not on its own. You have to read it as part of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Blood
theslowreadernumber5's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
oliverreeds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail