Tag: v.e. schwab

Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: February 24th, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab, return to the beginning of the phenomenal Shades of Magic series with A Darker Shade of Magic, now in a brand new trade paperback edition

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

WHAT A GEM.

This is a reread review.

I haven’t picked this up since 2017 and thought, why the heck not with book four on the horizon. And I actually remembered a lot?? Which is amazing and shows how much this book holds up. I think it’s an incredible series starter and that the magic system and world building is flat out COOL. I love the whole concept and set-up.

Not to mention, the CHARACTERS. Kell, Lila and Rhy are well built and I am immediately drawn in and connected to their story. I love a complicated villain like Holland and the way interactions between everyone is just spot on.

Plot wise things drag a little here and there, but I already know where the set-up is going so it was fun to revisit the beginning.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: flirting
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: slavery, attempted rape, self harm for magic, blood/gore depiction, torture, weapons violence

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Book Review: The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power #1) by V.E. Schwab

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Adult Fantasy
Length: 648 pages
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and set in the world of A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E. Schwab opens a new door into perilous adventure and tangled schemes with The Fragile Threads of Power.

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power, and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast, and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory―Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.

But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years―and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland’s absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own―but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown them instead.

And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.

Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

Her name is Tes, and she’s the only one who can bring them together―or unravel it all.

THIS WAS INCREDIBLE.

I had no idea what I was going to get when I started this and within an hour of starting the audiobook I was already obsessed. YESSSSS.

**A note: While I don’t think NECESSARY, I would recommend reading A Darker Shade of Magic series previously.**

I absolutely LOVED seeing all of my favorite characters again, I loved that this was multiple POV and seeing all of the London’s and the magic system and gahhhh every little thing. This book had incredible pacing. I never for not one second thought this was slow. The ups and downs with the soft and loud moments. All the things. I’m still in love with every aspect of this world. I loved seeing how the other London’s are fairing, who’s in charge, and what the rebellion is up too. This opened up a whole new series and I am intrigued by the new characters and what chaos they will cause too.

I’m really a flailing mess over how much I loved this one. ALL THE STARS.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical/magical altercations, loss of life, weapons violence

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Book Review: Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Paranormal Mystery
Length: 352 pages
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: March 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

DULL.

I kept waiting for this book to get better, a second half save so to speak, but alas, it did get better, but I’m still not convinced of what the plot truly was for this story.

The spooky atmosphere was great. I liked the ghouls and a house with a curse. All of that were the tidbits that kept me going (and the fact it’s a super quick audiobook). And also the audiobook was great narration too! Some of the story aspects were interesting. I liked the reveals towards the end, even if by then I was over the book.

Everything just seemed somewhat scattered. Olivia doing things over here, trying to find her parents over there, sleuthing out a supposed curse on her new home and meeting family members she didn’t know she had. There’s plenty of potential here, I felt that things never fully came together though in the end.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Paranormal/Mystery
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: light
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, near death experiences, loss of parents

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Book Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Romance
Length: 489 pages
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 6th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

WORTH THE HYPE.

Without a doubt. If you’ve been on the fence about reading this one (like I was), give it a try.

I feel like this review will be hard to put into words because there’s so much here!! Holy cow, I wanted to highlight every other paragraph in this book. I loved the internal conflict and resolutions, the characters, the story and drama, how the further I went the more enamored and unable to put it down it became.

It does start off a little slow yes, but I found the more I read it settled in. This is a journey, more than the story itself, of Addie, Henry and Luc. Goodness, I can’t help it, I LOVED Luc. I really wish there was more to his background. What a complex character from the get-go. Henry was fantastic as well. He and Addie fit together like puzzle pieces and it was hard not to fall to pieces by the end. I adored Addie too. The resilience to go 300 years with the deal she made was unbelievable. These three working together and apart brought it home. This is a heavily character driven story. The wider plot isn’t as much there as it is about what these characters mean to each other.

Addie had absolutely beautiful writing. It draws you in immediately. Filled with so many moments that will pull at every heart string. I was feeling every little thing by the time those last few chapters rolled around. It’s an interesting conclusion that left me with some questions, but also satisfied. I closed the book knowing just how magnificent of a story I’d finished.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Romance
  • Language: a little throughout
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; a few closed door & a few little detailed open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: attempted assault, abuse, loss of a loved one, substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide

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