Review: A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) by V.E. Schwab

Title: A Gathering of Shadows

Series: Shades of Magic #2
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: February 23, 2016
Pages: 512
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Ebook, Audiobook

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. 

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MY REVIEW

This review MAY contain SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.

That ending! Really? I have to know more this very moment or I will just die! How could Schwab do this to me? 

This book had a different feeling for me from the first book. I didn't like it quite as much as the first, though I do love this series. This book just didn't resonate as strongly with me. The flow was a bit different to me. I think that the reason I feel this way is because the focus of this book lies on the character's internal struggles more. Kell and Lila are apart for most of the book and it affects the overall mood of the story. Their interactions in the first book were among my favorite parts, so without having that in this one I was simply, for the lack of a better word, sad.

That aside, I did love the series of events in this book just as much as the first. The plot was just as thick. And though I yearned for more Kell/Lila time, the happenings up to their meeting were engaging and fulfilling. 

I loved the characters just as much as in the first book. Alucard is a character that really grew on me. This book was a lot of characters figuring out what they want. Out of life, from themselves. And even what they don't want. It was a time of discovery. 

I liked both of the romances. Brief as they were. And even the romantic tension that wasn't really romance. I just wish that there had been more. The romance felt too fleeting. Like if I closed my eyes it would disappear. I think that it could have been stronger. 

As far as world-building, I liked the inclusion of the other cultures from Kell's world. During the Essen Tasch the other kingdoms come to Arnes and we get to glimpse some of their differences and similarities. 

Overall, I think that this book suffers from middle-book-slump. The momentum definitely changes in the second book compared to the first one. It doesn't take away from the series as a whole though. That characters are still strong and the plot still has compelling significance. I would recommend reading the second book of Shades of Magic if you enjoyed the first book. Though I warn that even if it may feel boring at the beginning it is worth trudging on to the end. Almost like delaying gratification. I don't doubt that the third book is going to be the game changer. I will definitely be reading it! 

THIS BOOK CONTRIBUTED TO THESE 2018 READING CHALLENGES

- Beat the Backlist Challenge
- Audiobook Challenge

Check out my 2018 Challenge Page to see my progress!

This is a book series that I have a strange relationship with. While I love the story and the characters and I feel passionate about the books, I still don't get that all-consuming feeling of completeness from them like I would with any other book that I obsess over. I think that these books may simply be the victims in a case of reading when in a rotten mood or while my mind was preoccupied. I think that I may have to reread them to know for sure. Do you ever get this same feeling with any books and don't know why?