I wanted to end the year on a high note, and there’s no higher note to end on on a book blog than a post glorifying books.
So I’m going to be highlighting my 5 star reads from the past year. Let’s get started!
Note: Despite this being a numbered list, it is not ranked in terms of how much I enjoyed these books. It isn’t ranked at all, actually. It’s just organized in the order that I read them.
Gilded (Gilded #1) by Marissa Meyer: I absolutely loved this book. Just… so, so good. Marissa Meyer is truly the queen of fairytale retellings.
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton: This book got me out of a reading slump near the beginning of the year. Going into this book, I had a feeling that I would enjoy it a fair amount, but I was surprised just how much I enjoyed it.
Summer Knight (Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher: I started The Dresden Files very soon after finishing Mickey7 actually, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this series as a whole, as well. (Books 1 – 7 at least – I just... I haven’t gotten to reading the rest of the series yet, okay?!?) I only gave two of the books perfect 5 star ratings, however, and Summer Knight was one of them.
Death Masks (Dresden Files #5) by Jim Butcher: I almost enjoyed this more than Summer Knight if it were possible. Everything was absolutely perfect in this novel: the plot, the characters, the sass. I loved this book. (Note: I haven’t reviewed this series yet on the blog because I’m planning to do a massive review like with The Murderbot Diaries when I finish the entire series.)
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells: Okay, so I’m cheating a bit here. I didn’t rate all of the novellas in this series perfectly. There were two that I gave 4.5 stars. But, as a whole, this series is definitely a 5 out of 5 for me. And the only reason those two even got that score was because they were just the slightest bit less than perfect. But I still consider this to be a perfect series.
Title & Author:A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
Series: Shades of Magic
Length: 512 pages
Publication: Tor Books [January 17, 2017]
Book Description
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 finishes 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 thrill 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.
My Review
Star Rating: 🔴⚪⚫🔴 • 4 / 5 Londons
Note: This novel is a sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic. You can see my review of that here.
Honestly, because this book suffers from Middle Book Syndrome, I was very tempted to give it a 3.5 / 5, but eh, I’ll let it have that extra half-point because I liked the first book so much, and I’ve heard good things about the third one.
For this book… For this book, I’m a little divided. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the first 150 pages as well as the last 150 pages. I also really love most of the characters, both new and old, and the character development and interactions in this book are *chef’s kiss.*
On the other hand, the middle 200 pages are a total slog. Also, as much as I enjoyed her character in the first book, Lila Bard was quite annoying at several points in this novel.
Lila groaned and looked down at the course rope cinched tight around her hands, doubly grateful that the bastards had left her legs here, even if she was trapped in an abominable dress. A full-skirted, flimsy green contraption with too much gossamer and a waist so tight she could hardly breathe and why in God’s name must women do this to themselves?
Good. God. Please. Shut up. It’s just a dress. She talks about it like it physically pains her to wear one, or like she’s allergic to them, or something. Because girl, that is what we call an overreaction.
And dialogue like this is only part of what annoyed me about her in this installment. Some of her character traits were very close to Mary Sue levels on a few occasions – being able to master a brand new language in just a few weeks, becoming a master at magic in just four months despite the fact that it took literally everyone else years to do this. And let’s not forget how often people tell her she’s “Not like other girls.”
She did have a couple of good lines though…
“I know where you sleep, Bard.”
She smirked. “Then you know I sleep with knives.”
Not to mention, I kind of feel like she stole the spotlight from my man Kell. Ya know, the main character?? And speaking of said main character, I really like where Schwab took his arc in this book.
Kell’s relationship and mysterious new connection with Rhy Maresh – his foster brother and heir to the throne of Arnes – was taken in the best direction. They had to deal with the fallout of the events of A Darker Shade of Magic, and I loved how they dealt with their shared pain, emotions, and PTSD, and how they eventually made themselves to be better and began letting their problems go, in order to make each other happy.
I also liked how Kell developed true goals and desires here. In A Darker Shade of Magic, despite his habit of collecting and trading contraband between the Londons, he was still Red London’s magic lapdog that was totally okay with being Red London’s magic lapdog. In A Gathering of Shadows – after experiencing a true adventure, as well as nearly dying for the first time – he wants to be free and go out and see the world whenever he wants. I loved seeing grow as a character like this.
I also enjoyed seeing Holland again and finding out what he’s been up to. AKA, how he moved the plot along while the other characters threw tournaments and parties. And – poor Holland – now that he’s free of Athos Dane’s curse, he just wants to save his world. And all he gets is done overpowered shadow-king who wants to “help.”
“What do you want?” asked Holland.
To live, said the shadow. I can save your life. I can save your world. It is a simple deal, Antari. My power for your body.
“And whose mind?” Holland challenged. “Whose will?”
Now talking about new characters, Alucard Emery was an absolute joy. He was the swashbuckling, handsome, and charming privateer and captain of the Night Spire. I also really liked his interactions with Lila, and how, similar to her interactions with Kell, he wouldn’t tolerate her crap if it went too far.
I also really liked that we finally, sort-of got to meet the main antagonist. We sort of got a glimpse of him in the first book, but he was never properly introduced. I won’t spoil anything more though!
I wish we got to see more of the other Londons, though. Most of the book was spent in Red London, and it felt like we hardly ever saw the other three, especially compared to the first book. I would have loved to see more of Grey London, since it’s basically our London from 1801. Kell only popped in like, twice, and one of those visits was super brief. I immensely enjoyed how Grey London was featured in A Darker Shade of Magic, and how it had characters based on real, historical figures.
It was also nice to pop in and see what was up with White London too, but, like Grey London, I really wanted to see more of it. It was awesome to see Black London for the first time, and that’s a location I understand wanting to save for the finale. It was fascinating to see its current state, and I hope the characters return and spend a good deal of time there in A Conjuring of Light.
But, for the majority of it, I did enjoy this book. And that ending got me excited for the last of the trilogy (and OMG THAT CLIFFHANGER!!). I recommend this book to anyone who liked the first one and is looking to continue the series, especially since it’s the kind of sequel where reading the first book is actually required to understand it.
Have any of you guys checked out this series? How did you feel about this book, if you’ve read it?
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!
Kell wore a very peculiar coat. It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.
Book Description: Kell is one of the last Antari – magicians with the 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 the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
My Review
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5 stars!)
This book really did it for me. I can’t get enough of historical fantasies set in London (when they’re done right), and Schwab met that need with gusto – she went and added three more Londons!
Her writing, though I found it wordy, vividly described all of the different worlds so colorfully. From the vibrant and lush descriptors for the richly magical Red London, to the drab and rainy details of Grey London, Schwab really managed to make all of the settings feel distinct from one another.
Kell was a great protagonist, one that I felt I constantly wanted to know more about as the book went on. His coat was an excellent supporting character – and it does deserve to be included as one, believe me! – and it was just as interesting as Kell himself.
I thought Lila Bard was a fine second protagonist. I’ve seen her getting a lot of hate in other reviews, but I honestly liked her a fair amount during my journey through A Darker Shade of Magic. We’ll see if that changes going forward into the sequels. (She has a rather obvious “secret” that I’m quite annoyed is being teased.)
The plot was also fun to get into once the book picked up. I really liked all the machinations going on behind the scenes and the subtle plot threads that were laid out at the beginning. They all culminated nicely at the end, and the novel didn’t really leave on a cliffhanger, which was nice, even if there were still a few unanswered questions (like Lila’s “secret”😤🙄). I won’t spoil it more than that, though!
Anyway, I highly recommend this book! To everyone mostly, cuz I liked it just that much! But especially so if you like fantasy, or historical fiction, or historical fantasy fiction. This book tells its story well, and I can’t wait to read the sequels!
