A Gathering of Shadows by V E Schwab

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)

by V.E. Schwab

Kell is one of the last magicians with the ability to travel between parallel universes, linked by the magical city of London. It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into his possession and he met Delilah Bard. Four months since the Dane twins of White London fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body back into Black London.Now Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. And as Red London prepares for the Element Games-an international competition of magic-a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life. The balance of magic is perilous, and for one city to flourish, another must fall...

Reviewed by Artemis on

4 of 5 stars

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The Artemis Reader

Schwab has done it again. I was so excited to pick up A Gathering of Shadows and jump back into the worlds of Red, White, Grey and Black London. A Gathering of Shadows takes place four months after the events of A Darker Shade of Magic. Lila is off living life for herself, exploring the world and seeing it all. Kell, still recovering from his experiences in the last book, feels trapped by his "family" now more than ever.

For me Lila actually developed some life into her. In my first review of this series, I found her so flat and uninteresting. In this installment she has a little more life and blood to her. Since the story is essentially split between Kell and Lila (until they reunite at the Essen Tasch), I was worried about getting bored with Lila's story. Instead I found myself looking forward to her chapters and very involved in her story. I also loved the additional characters - Alucard Emery (and Rhy!) and Ojka. Hopefully we will see more of them in the next book!

The story itself was slow building, but what annoyed me in the first book I definitely appreciated more in the second. The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the Essen Tasch. It almost felt like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where there is tremendous lead up to the Triwizard Tournament, and then some quick action and the book ends. I'm not sure what exactly I wanted from the Essen Tasch - just more.

Schwab spends a great deal building the London's further. I have to say I wanted more of Holland and White London/Black London. It was definitely enough development to pursue the (anticipated) angle for A Conjuring of Light but I wanted more. And that is probably be just being greedy. Fantasy is a genre that really needs readers to be patient while these worlds develop, and Schwab did a fantastic job in A Darker Shade of Magic and even better job in A Gathering of Shadows. I yearn for more of this world.

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  • Started reading
  • 2 June, 2016: Finished reading
  • 2 June, 2016: Reviewed