Kaitlyn‘s review of Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab
Historical Fantasy published by Tor Books Feb 15 – Feb 17
Hi, my name is Kaitlyn and I’m V.E. Schwab’s newest super fan. This is my first time reading anything of Schwab’s and I’m HOOKED. This trilogy is absolute perfection. The story structure is immaculate, the plot is so interesting, the magic system is unique, and everything about this trilogy has me enthralled.
The writing style drew me in immediately, but I stayed for the twisty plot and multidimensional characters. I feel like I’m the last person on the planet to devour this series, but if you haven’t read these books yet, do yourself a favor and grab them ASAP.
If you like any of the following: multiverse/parallel universes, magicians, elemental magic, pirates, found family, bloody court politics, sneaky thieves – this is the series for you.
A Darker Shade of Magic – Grade A
Excellent plot, fast paced, amazing adventure. This sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. The plot is plotting the entire time.
A Gathering of Shadows – Grade B
Pacing suffers a little in this one, but there are excellent new character additions AND pirates. We get a closer look into the minds of the main characters too that we didn’t have in Book 1, and I love that.
A Conjuring of Light – Grade A+
Hands down the best book of the trilogy. The pacing picks back up with a vengeance. My heart went THROUGH it, but I loved every second. 🥹
I’m starting The Fragile Threads of Power this week and am going to be so sad when I have to leave this world behind. I’ll definitely be making my way through the rest of V.E. Schwab’s backlist now.
Overall Grade: A
Summary:
A Darker Shade of Magic:
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
A Gathering of Shadows:
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.
A Conjuring of Light:
As darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, the once precarious balance of power among the four Londons has reached its breaking point.In the wake of tragedy, Kell—once assumed to be the last surviving Antari—begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. Lila Bard, once a commonplace—but never common—thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry.
An ancient enemy returns to claim a city while a fallen hero tries to save a kingdom in decay. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.
