I finished reading this series less than 30 minutes ago. I am still buzzing with the excitement and sadness that is to finish a beloved series. I've became a fan of VE Schwab after reading This Savage Song and the more I read her books the more in love with her style of writing and her imagination I am. I did not love all books equally though:
A Darker Shade of magic: 4.8/5
A Gathering of Shadows: 3/5
A Conjuring of light: 5/5
For those who don't know, A Darker Shade of Magic is a story of magic, family and friendship. And it is also the story of the lack of all those things ad how it affects people in different ways.
The main character, Kell, is a magician capable of travelling between parallel worlds (an Antari), These worlds are known as Grey London - dirty and without magic; Red London, that is Kell's London- full of life, color and magic; White London- where people kill for a shred of magic, magic is in turn killing the city; Black London- a place no one speaks off anymore, a place dead by too much magic.
Kell was raised alongside Prince Rhy Maresh in Red London, they are like brothers and their relationship is bound to make you both laugh and cry.
Magicians like Kell are rare. So, although he is in a way part of the royal family, he is also 'theirs', 'belongs to them' and has little to no freedom. He has a good life, a happy life even. But he could not leave the crown if he wished.
The second main character is Lila! She has fast and easily become one of my favorite female characters, at the top of the list together with the likes of Aelin from Throne of Glass.
Lila is a thief from Grey London. She robs Kell while he is in Grey London and from that moment on their lives become entwined. She is one of the single bravest characters to be written in YA.
The next characters worth mentioning are Rhy, Holland and Alucard. Alucard had me laughing from the moment I met him until the very last pages. Prince Rhy is the character that grew the most through out the trilogy. And Holland will have you on your toes, you will both hate him and feel for him as the trilogy progresses; he is, like Kell, an Antari.
A Darker Shade of magic: 4.8/5
Not the fastest book to start with, but once things got moving it was hard to put it down.
The story was gripping and the characters were all well written. It is a darker ya fantasy than most, but that appears to me to be this particular author's style. Although there is a strong family/friendship theme running through the books, that does not mean things are black and white.
The moral compasses here are rather 'interesting'. Perhaps 'twisted' is a better word. Just wait till you meet the loyal thief Lila Bard! 😉
The world building was complex and very intriguing. Nothing was left to chance, everything is well explained.
A Gathering of Shadows: 3/5
Sadly I can't say I liked the second book in the series. There were some good moments, mostly involving Lila and Alucard. But the rest... meh... this did not became interesting until the end. The last third of the book saved it from getting a even lower score.
The story here -without giving anything away- is slow, painfully slow.... and it is like reading 3-4 different stories at once because the characters are separated for a major part of it.
A Conjuring of light: 5/
You must read this trilogy for the sake of this book alone! It was fantastic and I am certain that when the end of the year approaches I will be claiming this as one of my favorite reads of the year.
It was fast paced, entertaining, nerve wracking, sad, happy, exciting, thrilling... Every page was worth reading and re-reading. every character grew and adapted to their situation. There were plot twists, there expected situations and unexpected ones. It was worth every single minute I spent on it and I cannot recommend enough.
As usual, I try to give you all a run through the book without spoilers. So if you have specific question just message me here or find me on my instagram- link address on profile!
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