Tag: V. E. Schwab

This Chick Read: A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) by V. E. Schwab

I was excited to finally get to A Gathering of Shadows, the second book in V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series. I was fascinated by these worlds she has created with a series of London’s that went from no magic to full magic, colorless and colorful. There were moments of brilliance, but  those moments were overshadowed by a dullness, my feelings mirroring her London’s spectrum of colors.

I still really liked the characters. Delilah is a fascinating mix of distrust and curious cat. In A Gathering of Shadows she expands her knowledge of the magic she holds by serving as a pirate and tutoring under the captain Alucard. Alucard was probably my favorite new character in this book, his roguishness was charming and I couldn’t quite figure him out, which held my interest. Kell, stuck in London, held captive by his own spell tying he and his brother Rhy’s lives together, a tether that was necessary but now binds his adventurous soul. Maybe it was because of that tether thet the first half of the book was really slow moving and dare I say boring? Part of the fun of the first novel were his journeys, and there were only a couple of those in A Gathering of Shadows. Kell and Lila apart also made the story lack fire, noticeably, because when her ship finally docked in Maresh even the thought of the two of them spotting each other made me sit up in my seat scanning the pages for that moment. That moment did not disappoint.

The latter half of the book made up for my lackluster feelings for the first. It was vibrant, exciting, and passionate! However, I can’t forget my struggle to keep slogging through the first half so I am giving this one only ❤️❤️❤️.

Do you agree? What kept you reading this book? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Click the link to purchase! A Gathering of Shadows: A Novel (Shades of Magic)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

This Chick Read: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic has a really interesting concept. There are four London’s in alternate universes. The darkest, black London was given up as lost long ago because magic took it over. The danger was so great that the next London, Grey, (I hope I get these in the right order!) shuts itself off and loses all of its magic. The third London, white, has strong magic, and its citizens view that the more you have the higher in hierarchy you are in society. The strongest citizens rule. Last is red London. Red also has magic, but is ruled by peaceful people, and its citizens are happy and pretty normal.  Kell, an Antari, can travel between all of the London’s, and he does, delivering messages to all of its rulers (except black as it is shut off.) Until one day, the rulers of white London try to rule them all. Continue reading “This Chick Read: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab” →

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

This Chick Read: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

Kate Harker wants to be the daughter she thinks her father has always wanted. The problem is that her father is essentially a mob boss, ruling one half of Verity whose citizens pay tribute for his protection. Kate has only ever wanted her father to “see” her, and she thinks the only way to make that happen is if she becomes like him. August Flynn lives on the other side of the wall in Verity, where his family rules. His family keeps the citizens on their side safe by getting rid of the bad guys. Needless to say, these two families are at cross purposes and may be coming closer to a war to take control of the entire city.

Victoria Schwab creates a really unique world where monsters are the outcome of violence. August is a creation made out of violence. He becomes alive during the violent chaos of a school shooting, and has lived for the past few years fighting against his nature. He is one of the monsters, but only wants to be a normal human being. Kate is a normal human being who is trying to catch her fathers attention by becoming a monster. Their meeting is strife with conflict. Will Kate use August to become what she thinks her father wants? Will August use Kate to become more of the monster he’s trying to avoid becoming?

Once I got into this new world the pace of the book flowed really well.  I will admit that the first few chapters were kind of confusing and I put this book down several times before reading another review where it was given five stars. I picked it up again and decided to give it one last shot. It only took me about 10 more pages to get immersed in the story line, overcoming any confusion I’d had. Maybe I was in the right frame of mind to understand monsters?

This Savage Song is a different take on the classic Romeo and Juliet theme. Boy and girl from opposing families, meet and end up being able to rely on only each other. How does this change their families dynamics? Well, I won’t tell you! You’re going to have to read this one to find out. I will say that it took a surprising direction and I didn’t expect the outcome. ❤❤❤❤

This Savage Song

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Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe A Chick Who Reads All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads