Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows, V. E. Schwab
[Here is my review of the first book]
Title: A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2)
Summary: 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.
[This review may contain spoilers of the first book]
I was really eager to get back to this world because the first book of the series was such a pleasure to read. In contrast, I struggled a bit with this one, so the rating's gone down, but I still enjoyed it a lot. It's a great sequel, honestly.
More or less, the book could be summed up like this:
Lila: Too late, already done it
Kell: I didn't have any other option...
Rhy: Is it too late now to say sorry?
World: *explodes, problems everywhere*
The plot was easier than in the first book, not only because the world had already been explained, but also because it focused more on the characters and less on adventures. Don't get me wrong, the book is even fuller of magic than the first one, but it's like an interlude between all the adventures in the first one and the adventures (I suppose will be) in the last one. It's a place of rest adventure-related, I'd say. However, if you squint a bit you may even see romance, so that's something.
I had complained that I didn't get nearly enough Rhy in the first book, and this one more than makes up for it. There's Rhy everywhere! We get to see his thoughts and his past, and I love him because he's an absolute cinnamon roll that loves Kell more than himself and deserves more hugs. He's such a sweetheart.
Talking about Kell, he's a martyr if I ever saw one. He just believes he has to suffer for Rhys's good, and it's so sad to see how he is being wrongly accused of everything that's wrong with the world. He deserves more than what he is getting (namely, he deserves fewer problems), and I'm really worried about his future.
And then we have our favorite stubborn, reckless, and idiotic fool ever: Lila. She's a walking problem with a magnet for more problems, and just cannot settle for anything. Is that a bad idea? Lila will do it. Can she die doing that? Totally her cup of tea. I love her, but I just wanted to shake some sense into her and tell her to stop being afraid of trusting people.
About the secondary characters, we get a lot of them: King Maxim and Queen Emira are ABSOLUTE FOOLS but I can understand their position, Alucard is really great, and even Master Tieren appeared quite a lot. On the downside, we also get some new but way less pleasant characters... And one that, while not new, I totally wasn’t expecting.
The narrative is still good, but there were some parts that felt heavier to read and sometimes I got stuck. However, it was still a really enjoyable, light read.
All men are immortal, until they're not.
It's difficult for me to sum this book up, because while it had great characters, more magic, and an explosive ending, something didn't click for me, and I didn't really feel the book until almost halfway through.
The best part: The love between Rhy and Kell; Alucard being Alucard.
The worst part: The loss of feeling/fangirling compared to the first book.
I rate this book a 3'5/5, a great sequel.
