A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)

by V.E. Schwab

• ISBN10: 1250891248
• ISBN13: 9781250891242
• Publish Date: 11 July 2023 (first published 21 February 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 640
• Language: English

Reviews

[maggiefan]

Alucard and Holland are tired of carrying this book on their backs

[herseriallife]

Review coming soon...

[Quirky Cat]

A Conjuring of Light is the third and final novel in V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic Series, and oh my goodness is that a series worth reading! I kind of hate myself for taking so long to get around to reading it.

Once again Red London is in peril. Only, this time it is likely that the whole world, and perhaps those next to it as well, will be devoured in the process. An ancient evil has risen once again, and it's up to a limited few to try and save the day.

Kell and Lila are two of those heroes on the front lines. They're the last of their kind, and as such, they have power, and responsibility, for what is happening all around them. Alongside Captain Alucard Emery, they are on a race against time – and an evil like they've never seen before.

“Love and loss,” he said, “are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.”

Wow. A Conjuring of Light is, without a shadow of a doubt, the ending that this series deserved. It was intense, emotionally raw, thrilling, and full to the brim of magic, might, and action. In short, it was perfect, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I was lucky enough to have read A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light back to back. That means I didn't have to wait in a world of anxiety to see what happened next. Unfortunately, it does also mean that they do flow fairly seamlessly in my mind, so it's hard for me to be certain where one ended, and the other began.

All things considered, I will happily take that price. It's the price that many a book fan has taken in the past, and it is almost always worth it. Though when I re-read the series (and I will), I think I'll try to space them out a bit better, to help prevent that next time around.

“Scars are not shameful, not unless you let them be. If you do not wear them, they will wear you.”

I honestly think I loved every moment of this book. Kell and Lila's relationship, the subplot surrounding Alucard, the ship, the market, the prince, the politics, the battles, all of it. I loved watching Kell come to terms with his life, his family, and his divided obligations. Likewise, watching Lila come into power was inspiring.

The toll of the enemy, and of the battles, is not lost on me either. There is so much raw emotion and impact written into the pages. It made it impossible to avoid what was at stake, and just how much worse things could get.

All of which is proof that V.E. Schwab is a fantastic writer. She got me absolutely hooked on this series, the world, and the characters within. Honestly, I'm actually pretty sad to see the series conclude here (yes, I know there's a graphic novel series I can check out, but you know what I mean).

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[inlibrisveritas]

I finally finished it! I'm not really sure why I had such trouble with it before, but it flew by this time. Parts of this exceeded expectations and other parts were weaker than the previous two books, but it was still quite a ride. I'm not sure I love Lila as much as I did before, though I'm still in love with the idea of her. There is something fairly vague about her character but I'm not quite sure why, she just feels like more an impression than a full character.

I do think this was a good ending though, with plenty of open-ended areas for the companion series.

[Berls]

Whew - this trilogy was better with each book (and the first book was pretty great!). This one started off directly after the cliff book 2 left us on, thankfully. With no more world building to be done, we were immediately cast into the action and I feel like it never stopped. Oseron was positively, delightfully creeptastic as he invaded the city. Watching enemies find grudging alliances to defeat his evil was exciting. And there was the constant nervousness as you knew you were reading an Urban Fantasy - not a Romance where you are pretty much guaranteed your HEA. You'll have to read it yourself to see how it ended. I can only say, my first reaction at the end was "Wow." I'll definitely be reading more V.E. Schwab I think. And the narration was fantastic too - overall a complete treat.

This was the book I’ve been waiting for. The first two books were missing something, but this one delivered. It had high stakes, plot twists that made sense but were not to be expected, and the characters all had beautiful endings. There were sacrifices, I was heartbroken, and the additional scene of little Kell... poor baby

Now I understand the absolute love for this series.

[Kerka97]

Just Amazing ❤❤

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: FIVE, FIVE, FIVE, FIVE, FIVE
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just a warning that this kind of has spoilers a little? If you’re currently reading, or plan to, I kind of hint at some of the characters’ fates, so you may not want to read!

Okay. So. I was absolutely in love with this whole trilogy, and never been more frustrated to go on 3 vacations within 3 weeks

[abookishblether]

A Darker Shade of Magic ★★★★☆
A Gathering of Shadows ★★★☆☆
A Conjuring of Light ★★★★☆

Obviously as this is the third book in the series I won't be doing a full review with spoilers, but I have a lot of feelings to write out.

As much as it looks like I am disappointed by this series based on my ratings I adore Schwab's writing and would genuinely read thousands of pages about these characters. My main complaint about this series is that I feel short changed by the lack of plot. This book I personally feel delivered the most plot and really kept me more engaged than the second. I wish the series had been a duology and the plot relevant parts of the second had been moved to the first book.

I was ready to give this book five stars for a long period, but I found the conclusion to be weak and rather "neatly tied". That isn't a fair opinion if I was to be considering it objectively, but the sacrifices made and difficulties felt like the minimal that could be done to prevent a neat ending that had no consequences. I'm possibly just bitter about how hyped this series was and how much I felt let down.

[writehollydavis]

So I legit teared up at the end of this book. I think I'm going to suffer from a book hangover. This is the last book in this arc but not the end of the series, which is the only thing keeping me going because I think I'd be balling right now if this was the last I'd get to read of these characters. It'd hurt too much to know this adventure was over. Victoria Schwab is the queen of writing and I look up to her so much! So many beautifully crafted scenes and lines. She spends time on her novels, and it shows. Her writing hits you in the gut and finds a home in your heart, and you can't help but feel that crushing pressure in your chest like that sweet pain of nostalgia you can't describe or that rising feeling right before a rollercoaster drop. TwT This last book was everything a last book should be, wrapping up all the character's arcs, perfectly building up to that final showdown, the battles, the blood, the heartache, the love and loss, it was all so perfect. I literally can't even right now. Hands down my favorite series of all time behind Harry Potter. Like Lila Bard, I will ride this ship forever!!