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seastheday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
4.0
I wasn’t sure how Schwab was going to pull off reviving the Shades of Magic characters for a new series- but it worked spectacularly. I absolutely loved the plot and the way new characters were melded into the mix instead of just thrown in. Their world building is top tier & it’s unlike any other fantasy author I’ve read. The execution is flawless- easy to comprehend and digest. The book was enrapturing and I did not want to put it down. But alas, I do have children, so I was unable to devour it like I previous could in another life.
However, I did notice a few things that were inconsistent from SOM to FTOP. My main ones were that Rhy has fire magic in the first book. It’s not a ton, but it’s there. However, in this book he has absolutely none. But the inconsistent part that annoyed me the most was that, you can’t travel from boat to land/vice versa using Antari magic. But that rule was thrown out the window for FTOP.
However, I did notice a few things that were inconsistent from SOM to FTOP. My main ones were that Rhy has fire magic in the first book. It’s not a ton, but it’s there. However, in this book he has absolutely none. But the inconsistent part that annoyed me the most was that, you can’t travel from boat to land/vice versa using Antari magic. But that rule was thrown out the window for FTOP.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death
bessadams's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Torture, and Child abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
some_random_person_hi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Holland ilysm being in denial abt you dying in ACOL paid off 🥰
All around, felt like fanservice for ADSOM fans but I'm the fan that's getting served so I'm not complaining. Kosika chapters were kinda draggy at times (but also really engaging at other times!) From a pacing standpoint this book has so many problems. I also doubt that it can be understood well/easily/at all by someone who didn't read the ADSOM trilogy beforehand because of the sheer number of characters.
All around, felt like fanservice for ADSOM fans but I'm the fan that's getting served so I'm not complaining. Kosika chapters were kinda draggy at times (but also really engaging at other times!) From a pacing standpoint this book has so many problems. I also doubt that it can be understood well/easily/at all by someone who didn't read the ADSOM trilogy beforehand because of the sheer number of characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Torture, Death, and Ableism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Blood
Self harm is to get blood for magic.jackiepreston's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Unfortunately I didn't connect with the new characters as well as I did with the old ones. Hopefully the next book will make them more interesting and hopefully the White London storyline will start to connect more directly to everyone else
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Homophobia and Child abuse
artmuseam's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
currently at a loss for words right now after that ending. i genuinely believe ve schwab is one of the greatest writers of this entire universe and her books will never fail to leave me utterly speechless and yearning for more whenever i finish them! okay, first i will admit that the beginning was a bit slow and it took me a while to adjust having the new characters in the picture since i wanted to gatekeep the returners and always get a bit annoyed when new people take the spotlight (weird habit of mine, i know). BUT once things started kicking off, especially after 1/3 of the book, i was hooked. my love for the shades of magic world exponentially increased during this read and i found myself literally holding my breath in the last parts of the book. trust me, this book is something you do not want to miss!! time to distract myself with other books while i wait for the sequel to come out :,) 4.5/5 stars <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Torture, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing
quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Torture
maddiebusick's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Confinement
g_monaghan's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I adore the characters in the darker shades of magic trilogy however I was slightly disappointed with this book - I thought this novel was a final installment and not the beginning of a new series set in the same world. This is my own misunderstanding but I think the expectation ruined my reading experience slightly, despite this some interesting characters have been added to the mix and the storyline is now set up for a 2 or 3 book installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Ableism
Minor: Classism and Suicidal thoughts
martinatan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I am so so glad I got a hold of this at my library! What an electrifying return to one of my favorite series. I loved that we got the perspectives of known characters and new ones with a really interesting plot that delves further into this universe’s magic and politics. The writing style is just endlessly compelling and one of my favorite things about the fantasy genre crossed with these characters. They’re so dramatic and sharp-witted!
My favorite character coming out of this was Tes though I’m a long-time Lila stan. I really enjoyed her personality and the choices she made that felt true to her background. There were so many intriguing hooks for the next installment to build on and I am really interested to see where everyone ends up—hopefully coming together to overcomesome combination of The Hand + some more sinister eldritch magic power as alluded by Holland’s speech and the door to the space between worlds ? Or is that too cliche?
Some things I’d really like to see developed in the next book:What Holland’s actual physicality and presence is made of. How is his spirit and supposed ongoing life mission still intact and developing if he is … dead ??? How much is he just a part of Kosika’s head? Can he live on in her through his magic? I am sure this could be addressed if Tes and Kosika were to ever meet.
Also, something I was a little dissatisfied with at no real fault of the author is the “disabled guy gets healed” plot that played out with Kell’s arc this book. I am much more satisfied these days by stories that don’t post the potentially forever-injured hero as someone who needs to be cured. It felt wrong to see Kell sort of revert to his normal power at the end—even if he went through such undeserved and intense pain throughout the book. More to the point of what disability could look like in this amazing world Schwab has created, what does it look like for an Antari to never be quite physically recovered from a traumatic event? I hope we explore more of the consequences and changes to Kell’s outlook, since it would also feel wrong for him to not have learned anything about himself or how he thinks about magic from having lost his own powers.
That kind of leads me to one last thing I liked along the lines of disability/neurodivergence in this book: Tes! She really resonated with me as a character because of how neurodivergent-coded she was. It hit me so hard when I read one line about her devising techniques over the years to mask her own power—and then to have her suddenly recognized for that gift, albeit by very powerful and ambitious people who perhaps are reluctant to release or distribute their power (royalty kind of sucks that way). I am interested to see if Schwab picks up on any of these narrative themes that interest me because they hold so much space in my head in the real world. I don’t need to see a complete replication of all the power dynamics in my world in this one, but it is a really fun thought exercise for me to imagine how social justice and disability representation would play out.
Anyway great book! I love fantasy dawg
My favorite character coming out of this was Tes though I’m a long-time Lila stan. I really enjoyed her personality and the choices she made that felt true to her background. There were so many intriguing hooks for the next installment to build on and I am really interested to see where everyone ends up—hopefully coming together to overcome
Some things I’d really like to see developed in the next book:
Also, something I was a little dissatisfied with at no real fault of the author is the “disabled guy gets healed” plot that played out with Kell’s arc this book. I am much more satisfied these days by stories that don’t post the potentially forever-injured hero as someone who needs to be cured. It felt wrong to see Kell sort of revert to his normal power at the end—even if he went through such undeserved and intense pain throughout the book. More to the point of what disability could look like in this amazing world Schwab has created, what does it look like for an Antari to never be quite physically recovered from a traumatic event? I hope we explore more of the consequences and changes to Kell’s outlook, since it would also feel wrong for him to not have learned anything about himself or how he thinks about magic from having lost his own powers.
That kind of leads me to one last thing I liked along the lines of disability/neurodivergence in this book: Tes! She really resonated with me as a character because of how neurodivergent-coded she was. It hit me so hard when I read one line about her devising techniques over the years to mask her own power—and then to have her suddenly recognized for that gift, albeit by very powerful and ambitious people who perhaps are reluctant to release or distribute their power (royalty kind of sucks that way). I am interested to see if Schwab picks up on any of these narrative themes that interest me because they hold so much space in my head in the real world. I don’t need to see a complete replication of all the power dynamics in my world in this one, but it is a really fun thought exercise for me to imagine how social justice and disability representation would play out.
Anyway great book! I love fantasy dawg
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Medical content, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Grief, Biphobia, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent
guessgreenleaf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, and Kidnapping