Book Review: A Conjuring of Light

Title: A Conjuring of Light
Author: V. E. Schwab
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Series: Shades of Magic (Book 3)

Reread Count: 2

(Look it's a picture! Go me.)

This was the second time I've read this book, which means I know every plot twist, every character action and reveal, everything.

So why did I still cry? (I actually did cry. Granted, it was the tearless, sob/heave kind because there were people near me and I didn't want to have the whole conversation like yes, I cry when I read books, yes I do it all the time no, it doesn't happen that often, etc. But I was this close to bawling and I didn't so now I am proud.)

Anyway.

I'm just not sure how much I can say about this book that I haven't already said about the other two books! I can only find one thing that I don't like about this series, and it's that it ended! I want to know what happens! And it's going to be YEARS before we get any answers in the form of the Threads of Power series... Why...😭😭

 I just... I love this book. There's so much action, so much other stuff that I can't talk about here because I can't figure out how to do spoilers on this website...

So I'm just going to link you to Goodreads here for the spoiler review, and if you want a spoiler-free review/list/random thing (for this book, I mean there are spoilers for the previous books but...) that will be down there ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

• All of the characters just got like 10000x better. Like take Lila's best quality and Kell's best quality and Rhy's best quality and multiply them by 10000 and that's how awesome it was
• It made me cry, and not because I was bored to tears but because I get to emotionally attached to characters and when they hurt, I hurt...
• Kell & Alucard because Alucard is (still) one of my favorite characters but his relationship with Kell was just perfection and it made me laugh
• The whole parent issues thing
• I still like Holland. I will probably never stop liking Holland I get that he's supposed to be evil and all that but all he wanted was his world to be all pretty again 🌅 can you really blame him for that?
• The ending killed me. I want mooooorrrreeeeee.

So yeah that was my pathetic blob of feelings that did not turn out to be a review at all. I'm sorry but at the same time I'm too busy being a blubbering mess that I just can't function...

Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows

Title: A Gathering of Shadows
Author: V. E. Schwab
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Series: Shades of Magic (Book 2)

Reread Count: 3

This is, once again, one of the most perfect piles of magic and pirates and thieves and MAGIC that I have ever read. It's like Schwab took the best of the best and squished them together and called it the Shades of Magic series because I'm in LOVE. I didn't think it was possible to love a book this much on your third reread but I was wrooonnggg. And it's the second book of a series which is normally my least favorite but not this one because my heart.

Lilia has gotten more kick-ass, Rhy has gotten more wild, Kill has gotten more overprotective, and Alucard is like the best captain/boss/privateer (not pirate, mind you, privateer) ever because he's so sneaky and sly and just *insert flailing motions here*. Words cannot describe him. He's probably one of my favorite characters in this series, if not my favorite. And 10/10 would have picked the Night Spire too because those sails... ugh <3.

Probably one of my favorite things is that the Essen Tasch is like the Hunger Games but on steroids, with magic, and like a gazillion times better because magic. I also really liked the symbolism behind it, like on one hand it's this excuse to party (not that I'd party because... parties) and have a good time watching people whack each other with colored air and water and fire and jazz but on the other it's soooooo much a political power play/display thingamabob that it's just *boom* mind blown.

On an unrelated note, I've decided that the king and queen are inconsiderate little balls of [insert something you dislike here, I'm gonna go with broccoli because I hate broccoli] broccoli because if there is one lesson I've learned from books it's the harder you hold on to somebody the less likely it is that they will stay because boom deep life lessons from books but seriously you put all these rules into effect and are all icy and stuff and then you're like "why is he unhappy?" like there's a mirror go look in it. Seriously.

If you haven't read this book or this series or whatever just do it it's so totally worth it and it's just... *happy sigh*

See this review on Goodreads.

Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V. E. Schwab
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Series: Shades of Magic (Book 1)
Reread Count: 4

So, as you can tell by the fact that I have read this book four times and have given it 5 stars each time even though I normally lower the ratings of books that I reread, I LOVE this series. And this book. But especially this book. My cousin, who introduced me to the Red Queen series and the Lunar Chronicles, is actually the one who got me into this series as well. Basically, she is the reason why I have no money any more (jk but seriously books are expensive). But this book is just perfection in 400 pages. It makes my heart happy 💙

This is basically kingdoms mixed with magic mixed with beached pirates mixed with thieves and it is WONDERFUL. Rhy and Kell together just have this awesome brother relationship that I wished I had with my sibling who I am currently trying to butter up because he who holds the Tolkien books must be convinced to let me borrow them. Or I can just casually sneak in and take them I'm sure he won't notice. Anyway, I just loved their banter and the fact that they know (almost) everything about each other and can tell all their moods and complement each other and I just love reading about their interactions...

And Lilia. This cut-throat thief who is actually really sensitive but tries to hide it with all her spikes she's like a pineapple... She's also so impossibly stubborn which speaks to me because when everyone tells you to go right you go left, obviously. Also, she has single-handedly validated my theory that large books can be used as weapons which is good because if someone breaks into my house all I have are large hardcovers to defend myself with... I mean I have a puppy but he will just lick the intruder to death so now I just have to decide if Harry Potter or Lady Midnight would be the best weapon...

I know Holland is supposed to be this evil dude that you are meant to hate and I did hate him the first two times I read this book but honestly I'm starting to like him more because if you think about it the poor guy is forced to serve these creepy evil twins and cut himself so they can drink his blood and who can blame him for being all angry and frustrated and all that jazz. I certainly would be if some pysco siblings bound me to them for all of eternity to serve as their evil minion.

I'm not going to make a likes/dislikes chart for this book because it is just so awesome and I can't handle it. Plus there isn't anything for me to hate. I mean I'm sure I could think of something if I focused hard enough because I'm a grumpy, crabby individual but I don't want to because I'm going to hold on to that happiness.

Read this. Just do yourself a favor and read it.

See this review on Goodreads.