Madeline
This is the second book I have read of V.E. Schwab’s series, Shades of Magic books, and I am still very impressed by her imagination and her writing to put her thoughts into play. The worlds she creates and the characters in them are unlike anything I have read before. I am not typically a fan of books with a lot of magic, The Song of Achilles for one, but the stories V.E. Schwab writes are badass and she is a badass.
Premise of A Gathering of Shadows
It had been a few years since I picked up the first book in the series, so when I picked up the second book in the series, Shades of Magic, I was worried I would have no clue what was going on. But this was not the case. I picked right up with Lila getting the attention of the crew of a boat by nearly drowning herself and having them rescue her. But it was all an elaborate plan of her’s and she becomes the hero thief I remembered from the first book.
A Gathering of Shadows is formed mostly around the estantosh, the competition where magicians prove that they are more powerful than any other magician in other countries in the world of Red London. Two of the competitors are the heroes we met in the first book in the series, Kell and Lila. These are our protaginists and who the reader is cheering on to win. Both are competing secretly without the other knowing and both have their own reasons for doing so. There is also the competitor who plays an important role in both Lila and Kell’s lives. He is Lila’s boss and Kell’s brother’s lover.
What comes out of the first rounds of the competition is only the beginning of the story. As the competition gets going, a power comes over the city that can only be defeated by the strongest people with magic in Red London. Since they all happen to be in one place, the competitors the need to band together to defeat this power. This is then where the second book ends and the third book begins. And the story is to be continued.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned, V.E. Schab is brilliant. She can do no wrong in my book. Okay, she can do a little wrong. With her vivid imagination, it can sometimes be difficult to visualize what she is spelling out; however, I do not find this lack of imagination I have to dissuade me in enjoying her books. I have already started the third book in the series and I look forward to reading more about our heros, Kell and Lila, be triumphant again!
