Genre: Fantasy Age Range: Adult Star Rating: 4.5 stars Series: Yes - final book of trilogy
*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC and A GATHERING OF SHADOWS*
Synopsis:
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.
Kell – once assumed to be the last surviving Antari – begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace – but never common – thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.
Synopsis taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Thoughts:
A CONJURING OF LIGHT is a fully addictive and wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. It starts off exactly where the previous ends, concluding that cliffhanger and raising the stakes higher.
The relationships – namely Rhy/Kell, Rhy/Alucard, and Kell/Lila – are the highlight. Rhy and Kell remains my favourite, and I love the way the book ends around them. It’s both sad and so necessary for both of them to grow. I find myself loving Rhy and Alucard more and more with every read.
I loved that this book allowed us to explore more of the world – like Lila’s chapters aboard the Night Spire did in A GATHERING OF SHADOWS. Schwab’s created a world that feels like we’re only seeing a tiny sliver of (particularly when characters like Cora or Sol-in-Air are around).
A CONJURING OF LIGHT is longer than the other books. That isn’t apparent most of the book, as the pacing is generally fabulous. However, Holland has a lot of backstory. While these helped me understand him better and made him an even more sympathetic character, I sometimes wondered if the information could have been woven in differently. I started to switch off a little when I saw several pages of italics. Other characters also have backstory, but not in the same volume.
Part of this is because there are far more POVs. A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC had Kell and Lila with a few scattered here and there from others to show the chaos Vitari was causing. A GATHERING OF SHADOWS had Kell, Lila and Rhy as main POV, again with the odd scattered POV to show what Holland was up to. A CONJURING OF LIGHT has: Kell, Lila, Rhy, Alucard, Lenos, Maxim, Emira, Orison and then a few others. I’m not sure what Emira’s added, or Lenos (etc).
Unlike some books, this influx of POV wasn’t distracting and jerking me from the story. It simply meant there was more backstory to flesh these characters out that felt necessary.
I am very glad that we’ll have a chance to return to this world in the next few years when the Threads of Power trilogy is released.
Read my reviews of other books by V. E./Victoria Schwab:
Adult:
Shades of Magic (this series):
Villains:
Standalones:
Young Adult:
The Archived:
- THE ARCHIVED (#1)
- THE UNBOUND (#2)
Standalones:
Middle Grade:
Cassidy Blake:
- CITY OF GHOSTS (#1)
- TUNNEL OF BONES (#2)
- BRIDGE OF SOULS (#3)
Everyday Angel:
- NEW BEGINNINGS (#1)
- SECOND CHANCES (#2)
- LAST WISHES (#3)
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 