A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab

June 30, 2017     erinthebooknut     Book review

A Gathering of Shadows by VE SchwabA Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2) by V.E. Schwab, Victoria Schwab
Published by Tor Books on February 23rd 2016
Pages: 512
Goodreads

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.

Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games--an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries--a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.

5 Nuts

Damnit, Schwab, you’re killing me. Take book one, now add in some more pirating, an extra dash of the Triwizard Tournament, and a sword-to-the-gut ending. Yep, that’s this second book in a nutshell.

Where Delilah Bard was my favorite character in book one that place is easily usurped by Alucard in book 2. I even have a candle! While I still like Lila, her recklessness gets so far out of hand in this book. Girl, what in the world are you doing? Like seriously. Alucard takes some of that recklessness with the skill and levelheadedness of Kel and sweetness of Rhy. Basically he’s my perfect baby cinnamon roll. Kel is still badass and Rhy is precious. Seriously can I put this kid in a box and keep him? Schwab why do you do this to me?

Red London and its surrounding world gets so much more exploration in this book, and so does its White counterpart. Black still remains a mystery to me. While the part of the book on the seas doesn’t get a lot of physical action Lila gets a lot of development here as well as her relationship with Luc. Once they hit the shores of Red London everything gets intense so its nice to have those lull moments and I didn’t find them to be boring.

I love the competition as it gives a look at the other types of people who populate the world Schwab’s Red London lives in. I would love a couple of short stories about each country but I doubt I’ll get it so I must be content with this. Still, it would be cool.

The Audio

As with the first book I listened to the audiobook of A GATHERING OF SHADOWS. The narrators are different than the one for book one, this time splitting the POVs between two different narrators. Delilah’s POVs are read by Kate Reading while Michael Kramer takes Kel. Both narrators do an excellent job and I can’t really decide which of the three is my favorite. Their voices are a little hypnotizing to the point i’ve forgotten what I was doing while listening.

I stick by my review of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC, this series is great for both YA and Adult fantasy readers. It gets, if possible, darker with each book so I can only imagine how book 3 will be. Especially after the insane cliffhanger at the end of this one. I can only imagine what the wait would be like. Definitely a series to marathon.

Thought? Leave them in the comments. Who is your favorite pirate?

From my shelf to yours,

Erin

One response to “A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab

  1. I’m so excited to read this book, and your review made me even more pumped to do so. Thanks for such an awesome post!

    I’m new to blogging and book reviewing, and I was wondering if you had any tips for newbie bloggers and book reviewers.

    If you have the time, please check out my blog @breenysbooks. I’d love any feedback. Have a wonderful day.

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