A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2): V. E. Schwab

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Anyway, another stereotype on two legs the captain of her ship says, for no goddamn reason except, I presume, his own terribleness: “Most girls covet dresses. I guess we'll have to wait for February to find out, but trust me when I say I did not want this sample to end. Now that Kell has been expressly forbidden from any unnecessary travel between Londons and Lilah is who-knows-where - for the first time, Red London looks grey to him. Royals from other countries begin arriving for the magic tournament, and Kell is constantly being put on display. 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.

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab | Waterstones

To be fair, I guessed one of the major twists, but I had been spoiled about an aspect of it, so that's not the books' fault at all. Darker Shade Of Magic resolves its plot thoroughly, but still feels like it could be the seed of a lengthy series. 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.Lila latches onto that and uses it as her justification for making a metric sh*t ton of bad decisions that could have extraordinarily negative impacts on her, her loved ones, and the entire goddamn world(s).

A Gathering of Shadows: A Novel (Shades of Magic, 2) A Gathering of Shadows: A Novel (Shades of Magic, 2)

Kell says no even though he fears Rhy is dying back in Red London since the magic binding them together is diminishing. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift--back into Black London. He told him to either leave and never come back, or properly make his intentions known to the king and queen in the morning. Not spending time brooding, doing insta-love, random making out and obsessing over Delilah fucking Bard, which I’ll get into in a moment.

It was so much fun to read about the weird, whimsical world of Red London - the different countries and cultures were vibrant and extremely well-done.

A Gathering of Shadows: A Novel by Victoria Schwab (2016-02

I enjoyed Kell's new experiences, as he comes to term with the lasting effects of what happened in the last book. Lila and Kell decide that they want to participate, so they pretend to be other contestants so they can infiltrate the tournament. His and Rhy’s matching scars, the result of forbidden and irreversible magic that brought Rye back to life tethers the two of them together. What’s the point of creating 4 London if the story is going to take place almost all the time in Red London?He threw her over his shoulder, and it took every ounce of her control—which had never been plentiful—not to bury a knife in his back, especially when his hands began to wander up her skirt. Alucard sees her doing this and reluctantly helps her though he says he wants no part in this deception and tells her that her time on the Night Spire is over. Prior to the publication of A Darker Shade of Magic, Schwab shared a few snippets from some of her multiple WIPs. E. Schwab's beloved Shades of Magic trilogy—a dazzling world of parallel Londons where the balance of power is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another must die.