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

3 stars for the first half of the book and 4 stars for the second, but despite that averaging out to 3.5 stars, I'm going to give this book an overall 4 stars because of how ramped up it got in the second half and how much better it was. Once it found its groove, it really got 100% better.

It took me two tries to read this book. The first time, I gave up like halfway through and the second time, I got stalled for months around the same point. The problem is that the first half builds towards the second half, which is great and all but it leaves the first part unable to really stand on its own. It wasn't boring exactly, but it wasn't compelling either.

The second part of the book was where the story really jumped out of the page at you. Descriptions of the competition (which admittedly seemed like very Avatar/Legend of Korra, but tbh how many ways are there to have elementals go up against each other?) were so exciting and the relationships between all the characters really drove the book. It was a bit of a bummer that Kell and Lila didn't meet up again for such a long time until almost the end, which may have contributed to the first part dragging. They just play off each other so well that the book seems like it's missing something when the two of them aren't working together.

But we got loads of great character stuff with Kell, and Kell and Rhys, and Alucard and Lila, and so many other great character interactions that I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on. I'm definitely excited to see more Alucard and Rhys and seeing how the group works together to defeat the new evil, and how Holland ends up at the end of all this. And of course, more Kell and Lila now that they are finally (kind of) together.

I think I'm going to read some other stuff first before diving back into this world, but it's nice to know that I have some more great storytelling and world building to look forward to!

**4.5⭐️** I’m glad Lila got her own storyline in this book, but she can be a really terrible person. It’s hard to fault her because of her life up until this point, but she is constantly dragging others down with her. She’s selfish and impulsive and I hope to see growth in the final book. I absolutely adore Alucard Emery, and he makes a great match with Rhy. No wonder Kell hates him so much. I loved the action of the Essan Tasche and getting to meet all the other magicians. The best part of these books are the fight scenes. V.E. Schwab does these scenes so well, you can vividly pictures them in your mind.

This book was extremely bloated. The story would have been interesting if it had been much shorter.

The first half is just Lila moping around on a pirate ship for no particular reason and Kell moping around London because his life is boring and careful because it’s tied to Rhy’s life.

The second half could have been a more interesting magical competition but it is still bloated with a ton of filler.

Four years after reading the first of the series I dived right back in. It’s a completely different world of four realms each with a different relationship with magic. I needed a bit of an escape and this provided exactly that. I think it’s essentially young adult fiction so take that as you will but gosh it’s evocative, easy to read and just fun.

I love Lila, the sassy strong absolute badass female lead. The two mysterious male counterparts make it more of a page turner and then yes of course magic. Great read and will go straight onto the third of the series now

Romatic with a hint of spicy