Tag: v.e. schwab

Book Review: Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Length: 478 pages
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: September 25th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Victor Vale and Eli Ever. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Great partnerships, now soured on the vine.

But Marcella Riggins needs no one. Flush from her brush with death, she’s finally gained the control she’s always sought—and will use her new-found power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. She’ll do whatever it takes, collecting her own sidekicks, and leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, against each other.

With Marcella’s rise, new enmities create opportunity–and the stage of Merit City will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.

A super-powered collision of extraordinary minds and vengeful intentions—#1 New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab returns with the thrilling follow-up to Vicious.

IT WAS TIME.

I’ve seen a little bit of marketing that the third (and final) book is finally coming out in 2026 so I figured it was time to see what the sequel was all about. I remember loving Vicious and the X-men vibes but make them all villains.

I don’t remember much from book one (I did not go reread it after 10 years), and I don’t think I really struggled with that fact. I was a little confused but the longer the book went on I did remember key pieces and that didn’t affect anything major. I’m grateful this book was pretty simple to fall into and the audiobook is fabulous.

The ever shifting POV is solid and makes the book flow well. There was less of Victor in this book than I was hoping and I think this lacked in some of the action I was expecting. The plot ramped up towards the end but was a slow starter in the beginning.

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the conclusion pans out.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy/Sci-fi
  • Language: mild-moderate
  • Romance: very brief scenes (but this is a not a romance!!!)
  • Violence: very high
  • Content warnings: loss of life, murder, attempted murder, weapons violence, physical violence, torture, lots of death and discussions surrounding it

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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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