V.E. Schwab

Kell is plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, he is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. As Red London prepares for the Element Games - an extravagant international competition of magic - a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning. Black London has risen again - and so to keep magic's balance, another London must fall.

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 extravagent 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.

A Novel

If these men worshipped anything, they worshipped magic, which she supposed would beheresy back in Grey London. But then again, Christians worshipped an oldman in the sky, and if Lila had to say which one seemed more real at themoment, she’d have to side with magic.

TommyBoi

Once aboard the Night Spire, Lila barely said a word (Kell would have been thrilled). 

A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic)

Stephanie 

"But, Kell ..." she said, sobering, "…don't do what I did.“

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"If you decide to leave--when you decide to leave don't do it without saying good-bye.“

, she thought. What a waste of life, to stand around and think so much on every little thing. 

Standing there on display was painful enough. 

Now came the truly unfortunate task of socializing.

That‘s such an attentive and empathic thing to say. 

He shook his head. "For whatever happened to you. For whoever hurt you so deeply that you see things like friends and fondness as weapons instead of shields."

„My greatest fear in life isn't dying. It's being the source of someone else's suffering.“

Night hours just have a different kind of energy 🌑

 was, hovering in the air around him, waiting until the sun went down and the world got quiet. Quiet enough to 

Thoughts, those were the waiting things, and once they started up, he couldn't seem to silence them.

Her cabin was small – barely big enough for a cot and trunk - but it was the only place on the ship where she could be truly alone, and the weight of her persona slid from her shoulders like a coat as she closed the door. 

Megan Lapides

Liz Griffin

another masterpiece from schwab! truly, this is one of my favorite worlds to immerse myself in. i love everything about it, the way the magic is alive is so captivating and unique. the sharp contrast between the four London's, the glimmer of magic hiding, waiting to be rekindled. 

as for the characters, i initially disliked Lila, because the whole "i'm so strong i've done this and that and i'm not like other girls" spiel is quite annoying, but she grew on me towards the end of this book. the fact that she got to have her girly moment and didn't immediately turn away in disgust redeemed her pretty well in my eyes. i loved being able to see inside of Rhy's head as well, and get to know him as more than the pretty fuck boy prince.

the plot was interesting enough to leave me guessing, and i love a good tournament. there's something about how schwab writes fight scenes that is soooo addicting. 

all in all, beautiful book, absolutely a 5 star read!

kaii

another masterpiece from schwab! truly, this is one of my favorite worlds to immerse myself in. i love everything about it, the way the magic is alive is so captivating and unique. the sharp contrast between the four London's, the glimmer of magic hiding, waiting to be rekindled. 

as for the characters, i initially disliked Lila, because the whole "i'm so strong i've done this and that and i'm not like other girls" spiel is quite annoying, but she grew on me towards the end of this book. the fact that she got to have her girly moment and didn't immediately turn away in disgust redeemed her pretty well in my eyes. i loved being able to see inside of Rhy's head as well, and get to know him as more than the pretty fuck boy prince.

the plot was interesting enough to leave me guessing, and i love a good tournament. there's something about how schwab writes fight scenes that is soooo addicting. 

all in all, beautiful book, absolutely a 5 star read!

another masterpiece from schwab! truly, this is one of my favorite worlds to immerse myself in. i love everything about it, the way the magic is alive is so captivating and unique. the sharp contrast between the four London's, the glimmer of magic hiding, waiting to be rekindled. 

the plot was interesting enough to leave me guessing, and i love a good tournament. there's something about how schwab writes fight scenes that is soooo addicting. 

another masterpiece from schwab! truly, this is one of my favorite worlds to immerse myself in. i love everything about it, the way the magic is alive is so captivating and unique. the sharp contrast between the four London's, the glimmer of magic hiding, waiting to be rekindled. 

as for the characters, i initially disliked Lila, because the whole "i'm so strong i've done this and that and i'm not like other girls" spiel is quite annoying, but she grew on me towards the end of this book. the fact that she got to have her girly moment and didn't immediately turn away in disgust redeemed her pretty well in my eyes. i loved being able to see inside of Rhy's head as well, and get to know him as more than the pretty fuck boy prince.

the plot was interesting enough to leave me guessing, and i love a good tournament. there's something about how schwab writes fight scenes that is soooo addicting. 

all in all, beautiful book, absolutely a 5 star read!

omg this was everything i wsnted it to be LOVED IT AAAA I LOVE THEN ALM SO MUCH MY BABIESSS cant wait to start the third one

THIS WAS AN AMAZING BOOK!!!! I really liked how Schwab built up a plot to cover the next book and UNFORTUNATELY GIVE US THAT CLIFFHANGER! I also loved the development of characters and see Lila and Kell have their own lives and motives and such. I ALSO LOVED THE BLOSSOMING ROMANCE BETWEEN THEM!!! I also really like the romance between Alucard and Rhy and want to know more about what Alucard did to Rhy. Overall, everything was amazing.

ploral

2.5 stars

The book was okay, kind of like a filler which is how some series work and I really hate it when that happens. The end was when the real exciting stuff began but we didn't get to see it so that's fun.

Hanna Rybchynska

3.5 stars

Here we have the second adventure of Kell and Lila in Red London... The first part (personally) was a bit boring. The MC was just walking around the Red London and doing nothing! 

I liked Lila in the first book because she was badass and crazy! However, in this second book, it was too much! She acted just like crazy and childish. 
Why she entered the Tournament? Just because she can! 
Why is she using magic? Just because she can!
Why is she amazing? Just because she thinks so...

And Kell...oh well... I don't know what happened to him. He was just a winy and sad all the time. No action, nothing from him. He was totally boring here!

The best moments were when Holland appeared and did his schemes. But that, unfortunately, happened just at the last 50 pages of the book!

Overall, this book is no good. It didn't help the story and I hope that the last book will be better!

Nova

THIS BOOK ... WANTS ME DEAD SO BAD. 

the buildup was slower than adsom but surprisingly as captivating and entertaining. im so invested in the characters its unreal.

also WHAT KIND OF CLIFFHANGER

Riley Bell

envee

Zahra

4.5 stars

Simply brilliant. Now onto the excruciating pain of waiting for the release of A Conjuring of Light.

Mel 

Very slow for the first 300 pages. 

I don’t think these books live up to the hype that they get.

A Gathering of Shadows Collector's Edition

Ryan 

you know they're a good writer when they managed to give me the most filler content (ie. 2nd-book syndrome) and made you read 500 pages only to leave you at a cliffhanger 😐

i’m almost forgot how much i love this 

Julia <3

Tatiana

A Gathering of Shadows: 4.5/5


   “Everyone thinks I have a death wish, you know? But I don't want to die - dying is easy. No, I want to live, but getting close to death is the only way to feel alive. And once you do, it makes you realize that everything you were doing before wasn't living. It was just making do. Call me crazy, but I think we make the best living when the stakes are high.”

Premise:
Taking place four months after the events of A Darker Shade of Magic, Red London is preparing for the Elemental Games, an international competition of elemental magic meant to entertain. This draws many people back to the city, including Delilah Bard. Not all is fun and games, as another London is slowly coming back to life and will take another in its wake. 

Writing & Plot:
Unsure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I liked this book more than the first. Since we're familiar with the world, we jump right into the story and are immediately met with our favorite characters. This series is easy to fall back into, and reading about these characters again was like meeting an old friend. The writing flows so effortlessly as always. I can't get enough of V.E. Schwab.

I thought the plot was intriguing, and I enjoyed reading about the Elemental Games so much. The games reminded me of Avatar the Last Air Bender, and I am so here for it! I also enjoyed the slow buildup of tension and the almost-reunions of Lilah and Kell. It made the ending all the more satisfying and heartbreaking.GOSH, THAT END!! How am I going to wait to read the last one? IDK.


  “Whatever I am, let it be enough”

Characters:
I cannot get enough of Kell and Lilah. I can't pinpoint what it is about them that I enjoy so much, but they are fascinating. These books DO IT for me. Lilah Bard continues to hold her title as one of my favorite literary characters of all time. She speaks to my SOUL! 

Not only do we get fantastic Kell and Lilah content, but we meet a bunch of new side characters and reunite with some old ones as well. V.E. Schwab's ability to breathe life into a page will never cease to amaze me. I never get confused about her characters because every single one has a purpose and a direction. I love it.

Conclusion:
A Darker Shade of Magic is slowly rising to be one of my favorite series of all time. While different from its predecessor, A Gathering of Shadows is still wildly entertaining, full of political intrigue, action, tension, and a bit of romance. Overall, I did enjoy this book more than the first, and I cannot wait to read the third.

The cliff hanger that this was left on. Thank god I already have the third book because I have so many questions now. The first little bit of this book was slow so it was hard to get through, but this last bit really picked up and was a page turner!!

Lauren Dale

nuélle

[ 5/5 ]
NO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS I WILL KMS IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ANY OF THEM

Daymaris Arca

I turned the page…and it ended. What a cliffhanger. HFUIKNCDEIPP so scared for everyone rn…

Denaiir

I was quite happy to follow the characters again, Lila is definitely growing on me (Rhy and Kell are boring, but the character from White London was interesting!). However, my new favorite by far is Alucard, loved him!
But, the plot! This was not very useful for the story to advance. Those games were the central piece of the book, so it completely felt like a filler. I wish the plot had progressed but it was really only a few pages here and there, it felt like an introduction again. When is the action going to start? When will stakes become bigger?? 
And this was not action-focused at all, the games were the central piece but there was more about the balls than the face-offs! 2 pages here and there about the action but it was generally over with in a few lines. I was really disappointed.

Kell and Lila♥️ Rhy and Alucard❤️

Lydia Enge

Emily Klo

Bilge Ince

If anyone could make the strange seem ordinary the impossible look easy it was Delilah Bard 

Delilah Bard is my favorite character with her right and wrong in this series. Schwab continues to surprise me as the author who breaks my prejudice against the new authors and ties me to herself. She manage to integrate criticizing about our daily life problems, politics and even religions. Besides of all, She teaches how each character in a novel can be the main character. I love all the characters for different reasons; each one is attractive for a different reason. And this second book is much more attractive than the first one. 

 But she was restless
 but she wanted the thrill
 but it would be a challenge. 

In this novel, there is a tournament that is reminiscent of the Three Wizard tournaments in Harry Potter, and it is incredibly exciting and of course Kell, Rhy and Lila are integral parts of this tournament. And all the story runs around the tournament. While Lila discovers herself, Kell and Rhy are trying to find a harmony to live together.

A Gathering of Shadows

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