Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift, and into Black London.
In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like 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.
But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills …
Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift, and into Black London.
In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like 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.
But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again-and so to keep magic's balance, another London must fall...in V.E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows.
On a par with the first. A mostly fun romp. Drags a little in the middle, and is marred for me by the occasional use of very modern turns of phrase which I find very distracting (e.g. someone in a regency-ish era London claiming they're good at "multi-tasking").
If you enjoyed the first book of the series, you will probably enjoy the second.
Interesting characters neither strictly hero nor anti-hero.
Some of the characters are further developed, but some minor issues like the survival of the human race are left unresolved.
Not a bad follow-up.
This is going to be a very unpopular opinion but... this book is terrible.
As in, for the first time in 15 years I gave up mid book and mid series. No plot, characters I hated, a world that wasn’t developed and not even good writing. I got to the last chapter and realized I just didn’t care how it ended.
The first book showed promise and I started this one hoping it would be more fully developed. Not only did that not happen, it actually regressed in this installment.
Although this was a strong sequel, I would have enjoyed it more had Schwab not felt the need to, like many other magic-based fantasies, include a tournament. Apart from learning about Lila's abilities and Kell's desire for a life of his own (separate from the one he shares with Rhy), we're not left with much more than we had at the conclusion of A Darker Shade of Magic. Nevertheless, the prose was inviting, the characters were interesting, and the differences between Red and White London never failed to disappoint.
Ends on a cliffhanger -_-
Also feels more like generic adventure book with some good bits in it, not as good as the first. Yeah, kind of feels a bit fan-service-y... Still, fun adventure.
Go get him, Lila. The big dummy needs you.
What felt like a neverending slog through nearly pointless prose has finally come to an end. I had planned on reading all three texts in V.E Schwab's series... but no more. I enjoyed the first installment and came away with the misplaced hope that the remaining volumes would be equally entertaining. Now after being bored to tears by volume 2, I believe I'll read something else.
I read the first book in this fantasy trilogy last year and thought it was super fun but nothing hugely groundbreaking, good enough to keep reading the rest of the trilogy when I had time.
This is the second and middle book. I got about a quarter in and it GRABBED ME AND WOULD NOT LET GO. Like OMG it is 3AM I have to put the book down. Like get out of the shower and read a few more pages standing next to the bed. Like finished it and RAN to Amazon to buy #3.
It is a strong plot for a middle book, well-developed on its own, but that also pulls in threads for the larger trilogy cycle. The characters are so well done and just so much FUN. The world-building is terrific. I could quibble that there’s some implausible decisions to further the plot, the “element games” …
I read the first book in this fantasy trilogy last year and thought it was super fun but nothing hugely groundbreaking, good enough to keep reading the rest of the trilogy when I had time.
This is the second and middle book. I got about a quarter in and it GRABBED ME AND WOULD NOT LET GO. Like OMG it is 3AM I have to put the book down. Like get out of the shower and read a few more pages standing next to the bed. Like finished it and RAN to Amazon to buy #3.
It is a strong plot for a middle book, well-developed on its own, but that also pulls in threads for the larger trilogy cycle. The characters are so well done and just so much FUN. The world-building is terrific. I could quibble that there’s some implausible decisions to further the plot, the “element games” is a bit of a gimmick and drags the pacing, there’s only one major female character in a good-sized cast (a classic example of the “she’s not like all those other girls” problem), and a cliffhanger ending, but still. FUN. FUN.
Also I am a sucker for a good 'ship and this is a REALLY GOOD 'SHIP.
DNF For now, may come back to this. Interesting world and I like a couple of the characters but it's a little... idk wandering I guess? Struggling to stay interested.
A sequel that was more of the same as book one. If you liked [b: A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400322851s/22055262.jpg|40098252] you will probably like this one just as much. The same characters appear, the setting is more concentrated on Red London and instead of Holland we get the roguish Captain Emery. Except of course he is one of the good guys (mostly) and Holland really was not.
What this books lacks most is an actual antagonist. Or someone actively trying to make things go wrong for the protagonists. But here we only have themselves trying to stumble through a long setup for a magical tournament in which none of them should be taking part.
I was listening to audiobook read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer because I enjoyed their reading of [b: Words of Radiance|17332218|Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, …
A sequel that was more of the same as book one. If you liked [b: A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400322851s/22055262.jpg|40098252] you will probably like this one just as much. The same characters appear, the setting is more concentrated on Red London and instead of Holland we get the roguish Captain Emery. Except of course he is one of the good guys (mostly) and Holland really was not.
What this books lacks most is an actual antagonist. Or someone actively trying to make things go wrong for the protagonists. But here we only have themselves trying to stumble through a long setup for a magical tournament in which none of them should be taking part.
I was listening to audiobook read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer because I enjoyed their reading of [b: Words of Radiance|17332218|Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)|Brandon Sanderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507307927s/17332218.jpg|16482835] (etc) immensely and for the first few hours of the book it was highly irritating to hear Kaladin and Shallan speaking except they were Lila and Kell.
When I started the first book I had such high hopes that there would be a dark and dangerous type of hero but the darkness in these books seems to be mostly teenage angst or twenty-something-angst (which you get when characters refuse to grow up). I've already got the third book as audio due to an abundance of audible credits I needed to get rid of. The setup for book three is "mildly promising" and yet I feel such ennui when I think of these books. I guess Kell's mindset got to me after all.
A fun, off kilter read, this series defies easy categorization, but then so do the characters.
Sometimes you want to throttle them, sometimes you want to hug them, but you're always interested in what they are doing.
Excellent second book, drawing the world, the characters, and magic into sharper focus, it left me yelling intelligibly and waving my book in the air at the end, before immediately pre-ordering the sequel.
Wow..
Bastard left us at a cliffhanger, though.
Sigh.. I try not to start things that don't have endings. Humans are pained by things they don't know. This pains me. heheh.
Ok, so welcome back to three--er--four--London's. The indefatigable Delilah, the Royal Brothers--er--son Rhys--and--kicker Antari Kell, and a host of others. Including a well characterized Alucard.
I told my wife this book reminds me of a cross between the fantasia of Alice and Wonderland (or really just the taste in the air makes me think this) and Sanderson's [b:Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set|6604209|Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (Mistborn, #1-3)|Brandon Sanderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1257442247s/6604209.jpg|6798109]. It might just be that they have women who gain power and are both crazy, strong willed, and beautifully illustrated. In a world that thrums with a soulful magic.
I like these characters and world. I think Kell & Rhy both don't solve their problems enough and droll-fully sulk in their unresolved …
Wow..
Bastard left us at a cliffhanger, though.
Sigh.. I try not to start things that don't have endings. Humans are pained by things they don't know. This pains me. heheh.
Ok, so welcome back to three--er--four--London's. The indefatigable Delilah, the Royal Brothers--er--son Rhys--and--kicker Antari Kell, and a host of others. Including a well characterized Alucard.
I told my wife this book reminds me of a cross between the fantasia of Alice and Wonderland (or really just the taste in the air makes me think this) and Sanderson's [b:Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set|6604209|Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (Mistborn, #1-3)|Brandon Sanderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1257442247s/6604209.jpg|6798109]. It might just be that they have women who gain power and are both crazy, strong willed, and beautifully illustrated. In a world that thrums with a soulful magic.
I like these characters and world. I think Kell & Rhy both don't solve their problems enough and droll-fully sulk in their unresolved personal issues but that's my MO right?
I'm not sure how much to let on to. Can we talk about Black London and Holland? No? Ok.. Fine.. Be that way.. Can we talk about the Tournament and what Lila can do? No? Thhhrrrrbbttt---Fine. What about..
This book seems spoilerific. Let's sum this up by saying magic is put on display in a tournament which gives us some new nations to think about, use of magic to watch, some hints and the systems in play and the court drama that rolls around these characters like a storm-driven tide.
Now I just need to find the patience and long-term memory to remember all of this when the next volume comes out. I bid you luck in waiting with me.
Grr. Provisional.
4.25 stars.
Review to come.
