Reviews

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

emilysledge's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ouroboros_00's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

What a great second book for a triology! No second book slumps here in my opinion. Schwab was very, very clever to focus the plot on a magical tournament, which kept things moving forward, introduced us to the larger world beyond Red London and subsequent political machinations and how magic is operating in general.

Even the slower moving portions helped enrich our understanding of Lila, Kell and Rhy and see a lot more of Rhy and Kell's relationship. I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction of Alucard and the continued tension and magnetism between Lila and Kell. 

I was going to critique the largest plot thread for being somewhat predictable (and in some ways it still is) but the more I think about it, the more I'm actually impressed at how Schwab slightly subverts the outcomes just when you think it's going to be the most predictable. 

Bonus points for wanting to hit the teleport button immediately. However, minor deductions for no map... really, why is there no maps?

jaxstella's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5. First half or so felt slow. Kept losing interest after finishing a chapter because the alternating character storylines weren't tied together.

rthmchgs's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

hanna1455's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beginning was a bit slow, but after that I loved it so much!

emmaswimma's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

bangell's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars. It blew by - thought I was going to get more and then it just ended! Ah well, guess that means onto the final book in the trilogy …

For all my enjoyment, not a whole lot really *happened* in this book. Don’t expect the same level of action as we got in book 1.

samm394's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

roxymaybe's review against another edition

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4.0

Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb but, what, am I supposed to NOT love the hell out of magic Olympics? Sign me the fuck up suckers!!!!

stormsandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25