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Review: A Gathering of Shadows



SERIES : Shades of Magic, #2
AUTHOR : V. E. Schwab
PUBLISHER : Tor
RELEASE DATE : FEBRUARY 23, 2016
GENRE : FANTASY, ADULT, ADVENTURE
PAGES : 512
OTHER BOOKS BY AUTHOR : Vicious





“Where was the bloodied boy who'd collapsed on her bedroom floor?

 Where was the tortured magician, veins turning black as he fought a talisman's pull?

 Where was the sad, lonely royal who'd stood on the docks and watched her walk away?"

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.  

 Sequels are always a bit of a letdown for me, especially when the first book is undeniably amazing.

A Gathering of Shadows was THE book I was waiting for most in 2016- the same book I read the very day it was released. I receieved an email in the middle of school from the library, saying I was first for the e-book, and I snuck in a hundred pages before the end of school, hoping the book would be worth it.

I was NOT dissapointed. A Darker Shade of Magic sort of starts off slow, mostly about worldbuilding (which is great, but the pace is sometimes dull), Londons, and Kell and his fabulous coat. On the contrary, A Gathering of Shadows picks up right where ADSOM leaves off, jumping right into Lila’s perspective, magic, privateers (or pirates), a bit more of Rhy, and Is Essen Tasch.

During the first few chapters or so, we return to Kell and Rhy, where the storytelling is so much more somber, even grey. In ADSOM, Rhy is portrayed as jubliant and just another random prince with duties. But now, Rhy is overcome with guilt and Kell is not the same as he used to be. This makes the characters have depth, and it’s nice to know that Rhy is more like an actual person, you know?

The Essen Tasch is a tournament introduced in the novel: The Element Games, when the strongest of the magicians are selected to compete against each other. THIS WAS THE BEST PART. The magicians and their descriptions (AND LILA! AHHHH!) were amazing- V.E. Schwab even showed pictures of trading cards featuring the magicians! They are GORGEOUS. Even if it makes Kell seem perfect and all-powerful, I just wish Kell had more power during the tournament and that the tasks were different, not just removing armour, although that is still creative.




...Anyone notice 'Alucard' is 'Dracula' backwards?

V. E. Schwab is an incredible storyteller. Her novels get you hooked right away, the descriptions are spot on, and when you get to the climax, you just want to read, read, and read- the scenery and magic truly makes you feel as if you were living in the world. Pacing was the only problem- it was really good, but the beginning was slower and duller, while the ending was spectacular. Overall, A Gathering of Shadows was reallllyyyyy good, even surpasing Lord of the Rings as my favourite book (gasp!). 

The cliffhanger! And Lila! And magic! And Antari! The cliffhanger again!
Next book I hope to see more of Holland, Lila and Kell, and I hope we get to see Stasion as well. 
And that gorgeous cover! (Ahhhh!)

Review: Captured



Series : Divided Realms, #1
Author : Maggie L. Wood
Publisher : Lobster Press
Release Date : October 7, 2015
Genre : Fantasy, YA, Adventure, Romance
Pages : 284
Other Books By Author : The Darkening

“Reality washed over her. This wasn't a game. It was deadly real."



Fifteen-year-old Willow Kingswell has been listening to her Nana's tales of faeries and enchanted kingdoms for as long as she can remember. But when she is magically transported to the realm of Mistolear, she is stunned to learn that the stories were true, and that she is actually a princess. Suddenly, Willow has to fit into a royal family she didn't know she had, deal with customs she doesn't understand and sort out her feelings for Brand, the handsome knight who has sworn to protect her.

On top of everything, she may also be the key to saving Mistolear from a terrifying spell. The nefarious faerie prince Nezeral has pitted two kingdoms against each other in a life-or-death chess match, in which people are the game pieces. As a pawn, Willow now glows with the light of the game and must find the courage and cleverness to battle Nezeral before her loved ones fall. Could a meager pawn really be the most powerful piece on the board? "Captured" is the first book in the thrilling Divided Realms series.
Like Anna, I usually judge books by their cover style, and quite frankly this didn't look like a very good story. It's drab and grey; I thought the girl and white chess pawn in the middle were completely random compared to the atmosphere of the rest of the picture. However, as I read the book I realized that the cover totally makes sense and I shouldn't have even questioned the book's quality in the first place. Honestly, it was better than I thought it would be... yet unfortunately not quite 5 stars. 

I immediately liked the book because the story didn't take a long time to develop at all. While the first few pages set the scene for the characters, I learned about the whole plot of the story in pretty much the first 3 chapters. Sometimes I felt that the information was coming too fast though; there was a lot to process and the author could have taken more time to explain things rather than rush along unnecessarily. As for actual content? This book must have been covered in super-glue because I just couldn't put it down. The fast paced storyline made me want to read it all in one sitting (which I almost did but there's something called sleep). The descriptions were really astonishing and they helped me get clear visualizations of characters, settings, and objects. Maggie L. Wood did a great job on keeping them brief! Although the descriptions were short they had just enough detail that I didn't get bored with endless flowing paragraphs of adjectives:
"The upper stories leaned together like bookends while the lower levels shouldered the streets like cliff sides. The long narrow streets and squeezed-together houses choked out warmth and daylight."

"The costume clung to her skin, giving faint curves to her lean body. She slid delicate fingertips over the soft, ruby red folds. The colour deepened her hair to a shiny copper. She felt beautiful in it. Like a real princess." 

"She opened the dented lid and took out a necklace. Light flickered along the thick gold chain and the delicate white enamel swan that dangled from it." 

"The ripe smell of churned soil and farm manure drifted in with the cold air. A dog yelped and then she heard the indignant pig squeals. Children's raucous laughter echoed up to her."

 The idea behind this book was pretty unique: Have you ever read a story about a kingdom who's survival depends on a game of chess? Where all the pieces are actually real people, and the last hope is a lowly pawn? This intrigued me so much that I found myself reading the book non-stop just constantly wondering what would happen next. From a crucial chess game to unlikely alliances throughout the mystical kingdom, I didn't know what to expect at some points and that's what made the book so interesting. Something else I liked was the different array of characters, each with a distinct personality. It brought variety to the book without becoming too quirky and intentional. 

 Although the idea was great, parts of the book were cliché: mainly the romance between Willow and Brand because it distracted from the main idea of the book toooooo much. 

 Captured reminded me of some other books, like Wildwood and Dragon Moon because they all follow the adventures of an underdog set off on an impossible task. Surprisingly,  it's sort of similar to Lord of the Rings because Frodo has to travel through the land disguised, just like Willow does in this book (This was the only similarity between the two books though; LotR was long and descriptive while Captured was super fast-paced and quick).

 In conclusion, Captured by Maggie L. Wood was a good book that I'd totally read again, but it's not memorable and sometimes it was reaaaaally cliché which subtracted from the overall plot. It could have been better. Maybe the second book is more exciting?
Around 3 and a half stars. Read it if you like a good adventure mixed with some romance. 

Review: An Ember in the Ashes


Series : An Ember In The Ashes, #1
Author : Sabaa Tahir
Publisher : Razorbill
Release Date : April 28, 2015
Genre : Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Pages : 446
Other Books By Author : Debut


“The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.”
Laia is a slave.

Elias is a soldier.

Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

 There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier- and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined- and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.



I have to admit, I’m the kind of person who judges books by their cover (but doesn’t everyone do that subconsciously?) When I saw An Ember in the Ashes last year in May, it wasn’t something I immediately wanted to read- grey, stone walls, silhouettes of figures walking on sand. Later I had to pick a book for a school report, and man, this book was good. Really good.

Lesson learned- don’t judge a book by its cover.

You know how most books take time to start and really delve into the plot, like The Fellowship of the Ring or The Darkest Minds? This book started straight away- in the first chapter there’s already excitement and building suspense, and BAM, somebody important dies. This wasn’t just the beginning- the entire book was incredibly fast-paced, and I literally couldn’t put it down- I fell asleep waaay past midnight reading, I woke up with the book in my hands and finished it. Also, for a debut author, Sabaa Tahir is incredibly great at making epic quotes:


“The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.”

“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”

“In the night, your loneliness crushes you, as if the sky itself has swooped down to smother you in its cold arms.”

“Fight back, Laia. For Darin. For Izzi. For every Scholar this beast has abused. Fight. A scream bursts from me, and I claw at Marcus’s face, but a punch to my stomach takes the wind out of my lungs. I double over, retching, and his knee comer up into my forehead. The hallway spins, and I drop to my knees. Then I hear him laughing, a sadistic chuckle that stokes my defiance. 
Sluggishly, I throw myself at his legs. It won’t be like before, like during the raid when I let that Mask drag me about my own house like some dead thing. 
This time, I’ll fight. Tooth and nail, I’ll fight.”

An Ember in the Ashes was one of those rare books that actually sparked emotions in you- for example, in A Darker Shade of Magic Kell would die, and in The Wrath and the Dawn Shahrzad would be strangled, but if Laia or Elias failed in their mission they wouldn’t just be killed. The Commandant wouldn’t let it slide so easily, and they’d be tortured.

Reading this book made me scared for the characters, wondering what would happen next, devouring the story as soon as I could- and yet I didn’t skim a single paragraph. Every single book I’ve read, (even my favourites), I’ve skimmed a paragraph or a section, but this book was so well-written that skipping a page seemed like a crime. Even the more brutal parts kept me fixed to the book. Well done, Sabaa Tahir.

The characters were extremely well thought out- Helene’s feelings and magic, Elias’s conflict, the way Laia was fighting for her brother, the Commandant, and all those dilemmas between duty and love. Normally, I find love triangles a bore and just added to try to enhance the plot (note TRY), but An Ember in the Ashes worked perfect for me. And every bit of it, just added to the plot- all of a sudden the stakes were much higher than before.


Heck, this book was just SO good that I couldn’t even think of anything bad! 
The only thing is (and it’s a small thing), this novel was meant to be a standalone- would stretching it into a sequel be too much? (Pretty Little Liars, anyone?) But An Ember in the Ashes started off with such a strong, breathtaking start that this is one of the least of my worries. And it might be a movie too! Here's the book trailer:


 READ. THIS. BOOK. NOW.
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