Thursday, October 12, 2017

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab





A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2)



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.









My Review:


A Gathering of Shadows by author V.E. Schwab is the second book in the Shades of Magic trilogy.

In this book we get to see what Lila has been up to since she parted ways with Kell. We see Prince Rhy and Kell dealing with the repercussions of the Black Night and their actions in the previous book.

The Element Games, an international competition pitting the some of the best magicians against each other becomes the center stage for this story.

I love the world that V.E. Schwab has created and her world building and character development is among some of the most entertaining I’ve read. Unfortunately, this book didn’t give me the elements that I was hoping that it would (thrills and action). After being floored by the author’s first book, this sequel left me pretty disappointed.

The book started off with Lila and her life aboard a pirate ship. Now, I love pirate stories, but unfortunately the book didn’t go that direction either. Once she enters Red London, she tries to come up with a way to get herself into the Element Games. The Games were much too long and detailed for my taste. I didn’t quite care who was throwing sand around a wall of fire, etc. The most interesting parts were naturally, anything to do with Black or White London. A certain nemesis (who is to remain unnamed), also didn’t receive the time in the spotlight that they deserved.

I felt this book moved a lot slower than the first book, and while we did get to find out more about certain characters, the book left me wanting more action and more thrills.

After reading this book, I have decided to hold off reading the next (and last) book in this trilogy for now. I’ll get around to it eventually...

Happy Reading!