A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC 🔸⚫⬜- REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- My review of A Darker shade of magic. The first book in the Shades of Magic series by V. E. Schwab.
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I am really hopeful this series will improve from here!
First Book available here: amzn.to/2LZTfx8
I've heard that it's a lot like mistborn is it? Just curious to see your opinion
I 100% agree with your analysis. I was underwhelmed with it also except I'd not go as high as a 6. I don't quite get the hype even with the amazing world building.
Glad I'm not alone. I read the first one. I wanted to love it. But I didn't get it at all. I don't understand the hype.
Perhaps you might like the second amd third books more... But I sure did not; IMO the first is the best... All three of these do follow tried and true story lines, and while there is some more world building it is not as much as one would like... There is however the comics which expand on the king's youth... so who knows?
@@mecahhannah I personally think there are only a couple surface level similarities. Namely: one character's name, and the appearance of another. If you read one after the other it's hard to ignore the similarities, but imo they're completely different stories with completely different worlds and characters.
“I don’t think I’ve actually looked at the map yet”
Who are you and what have you done with our Daniel Greene?
Hard agree on this review. I didn't continue with this series but I've tried a few of her series and find that when I like her foundation I don't tend to love where she goes with them. I'll be excited to see your thoughts as you continue.
I am so happy someone felt the same way. I really wanted to love this book, since everyone seems to rave about it. I barely made it half way before my brain started to wander. I felt like I had read the story several times before. I will wait to see your (I am a fan) or Daniel's review before trying the rest of the series.
The books only get worse in this series as characters find no development & worlds are left wholly unexplored. Book 3 put me into a slump for 2 months because I couldn't even drag myself through it!
omg me too. I'm so used to get disappointed on her sequels that when Vicious get a sequels--which is still one of the best fantasy superhero novel I read--I was so apprehensive about whether I should read it. V.E. Schwab need to just stick to one book thingy, I think.
omg I love your videos!
@@nLTwiGGy that's how I felt when I read The Dark Tower series. The first 3 or 4 books were good not amazing but good. However, when I got to the last couple of books it took me so long to get through. They just slogged along. I think King is an amazing writer and has a wonderful imagination but his writing often times (for me) is extremely boring and totally unnecessary for the plot, character development or even world building.
That’s the biggest gripe I have with Schwab: her premise and concept is always top tier, but she has a tough time delivering the goods. The books are always suuuuuper close but no cigar.
I completely agree! The concepts just aren't developed well enough for me.
Her books are the trashiest lovable books I've ever read before. I just started reading a darker shade of magic, first book of hers, and it gave me such a big reading slump at the middle I'm having a hard time finishing it. I'm curious to finish cause I want to see the ending, but her writing and prosecution is so awful and cringy and cliche. She tries TOO HARD to make the characters seem badass or intelligent or evil. I don't need u to tell me that the twins are evil, I need u to show me. And u don't need to go as far as show them do smth so awful from the beginning, keep it a bit mysterious. I hated that she just gave all the clues from the beginning. I'd have liked it more if they didn't tell from the beginning where the hell the black stone came from. And omfg the forced romance???? What were those scenes about??? I LOVED the world building, which I'm usually not that into, but the prosecution is so awful to me 😭😭😭😭
@@sin3358 do you mean execution and not prosecution? However, I agree with ur comment
I love darker shades. Love it. That said Delilah bard is awful. An awful awful awful character. Idc if you say your not like other girls.... Prove it! That said book 2 gives you the risks you mentioned it lacked, in my opinion anyway.
Kasterwill 1023 I would heart this if I could ❤️
Honestly, while the "not like other girls" idea/concept is generally a very, very bad cliche, in this case it's a, possibly somewhat clumsy, handling of a genderfluid/possibly nonbinary character. That is, she isn't like "other" girls because she's not/not always a girl/woman and while I think it could have been made more obvious that it's the "not a woman" kind I do think that if you have concepts like that on your mind already or personal experience with being some flavour of trans it's definitely noticeable.
Unfortunately it's one of those things where it currently may well be impossible to walk the line between being realistically period-appropriate in terms of portrayal and being obvious enough to your average cis person, especially since we do have the "not like other girls" cliche. It's either endangering suspension of disbelief to some extent or running into cliches/being too subtle.
Love the trilogy, but the first book wasn't the strongest. My fave was the 2nd one, Gathering of shadows
I am glad to hear that!
Yeah me too.
Oh, i've just finished the second one.. I didnt liked it as much :P
But the third one is doing great so far
@@filipegaahl I liked the third one alot too, but I think the Essen tach is what made the 2nd book my favourite. So much going on in the 3rd though, both good books
The second book was my least favourite. But I love the third.
I have the same problem with most of her books... Her concepts are so amazing, but when I actually get to read them it just feels flat. And most people will say it gets better in the next books, but I just don't see it. Sure book 2 was a bit better (still not anything mind-blowing) but I swear book 3 was the worst. Her villains series is the only one I really enjoyed.
Her villians series imo was top tier not so much the second book but the first was amazing. A darker shade of magic wasn’t too bad imo the whole series would probably get a 3/5 from me because I enjoyed the ending to the first and enjoyed the third book and thought the overall concept is really cool but I very much hated the second book and especially Lila bard. This series is one of the only fantasy series ofc excluding Harry Potter so I liked it I’m not a fantasy expert so don’t come after my opinion lol
I think I'm the only person I know who doesn't like Delilah Bard at all. She seemed so tell-not-show for me. She keeps SAYING she's "one of a damn kind" but I don't see that. The mistakes she makes (without spoilers) are really childish ones to me. Her background is good, but she's really unlikable in my opinion, and everyone in the book treats her like she's special, just because later in the series she's gonna need to do cool stuff. Can't get behind her :/
Meleeneh Hairapetian Nope, don’t worry lots of people don’t like her, me included.
👏👏👏
She gave me a slight "im not like the other girls" vibe and she just annoyed me a little bit. Like every time she was the focus of the chapter I was like "ok cool can we get back to kell already, the more interesting character yknow?"
@@3nu570 same lol
Meleeneh Hairapetian I didn’t like her too much either but I loved Rhy and Kell so it was easy for me to ignore Lila lol
I will say one thing: The cover art for this series, especially the hard cover, is some of the most beautiful work I've seen in many years. It's a shame the story didn't justify it. That, and the general concept behind the world(s), is what got me to buy it. The first book had such potential, but was just okay in the end. The second in the series was horrible and made me despite Delilah Bard deeply. She's basically a psychopath and we're guided by the narrative voice to admire her. It reminds me a bit of Richard Rahl, just as a female.
I've read her Vicious and this seems to be Schwab's problem in general. Great concepts and first half but reads like a movie script.
I heard the book drop and knew there was a new upload
I'll read them because I bought all 3 books as a present to myself when I started my new job. That said.. as a fantasy reader for over 40 years.... all your comments resonate greatly with me. Love your channel. Glad I found it.
So many people are saying "the second book gets better" but as someone who has limited reading time I don't continue with a series unless I really enjoyed the first one.
You are the right person for this question then,
"Recommend me the ones which have your interest from starting only?"
Yeah no, if you didn't like the first one the second one isn't going to win you over. Reading the second one just gave me too much time to dwell on my issues with it, and ended up overshadowing what amount of enjoyment I have. Not to say the second book was worse, I thought it was about the same, I just spent too much time with it for how I felt about it.
The second one was easier to read because it built suspense, but in terms of quality it was worse for me lol
I read a darker shade of magic and enjoyed it, wasn't a new fave but I liked it enough to continue to the second book - which I did not like at all LOL tried the third out of hope it might get better and dnf'd it 100 pages in.
I've seen many a People praise A Darker Shade of Magic highly. The concept seemed interesting and I respect V.E. Schwab as an author. So I went into this series with pretty High Expectations and I was really let down. My first complain is Lila Bard, I don't like her character. And I expected Waaay more action in the Kel vs Holland show-down which was also a disappointment for me. A lot of people say that it gets better from here but I didn't continue the series. And considering I'm currently reading Lord Of Chaos, book 6 of Wheel of Time, and I WILL finish it before starting anything else, I don't think I'll be able to get through Shades of Magic
I think most of the praise came from her YA fanbase. That on itself says a lot. If you really think about it the series reads as YA but with older characters.
I want to like this book so much, but I simply can't stand Lila. Most obnoxious character I've ever read. It turned me off from reading the rest of the series.
But a great review as always, Mr. Greene!
I liked the first book, but the next two really did it for me. I absolutely loved them and now this is one of my favorite trilogies of all time! Hope you continue and enjoy the next ones more.
I agree, the concept sounds very interesting. A bit disappointing that it apparently isn't very original otherwise.
I personally loved ADSoM, and while I agree with wanting a little more exploration of these worlds, I loved the idea of using a magician who can transverse these worlds to basically hold political relationships. But I also felt the story told in book 1 sort of tied everything up and for me personally books 2 and 3 felt forced, with book 3 being very disjointed and, sadly, disappointing.
This is my top-bias-favourite series and I admit the first book's not that strong. I'd say it gets much better as the series progresses, especially towards the end of the book 2. The first one seems more like a free trial for the rest of the series to me~ It reads best as a one 1500 pages book
Also, the second part of the series (books 4 - 6) are coming down the way in the next couple of years
WHAT YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT THERES A SECOND PART WHAT THE FLYING FUCK WHATWHATWHAT
Yeah, threads something....is it's name
@@redweather6315 yes there will be a secondary trilogy with a separate arc called Threads of Power
I've picked up every book by Schwab so far and I encounter the same problem every time: the concept is absolutely fascinating and I love the ideas, but the execution always fall flat for me. You'd think I'd stop checking out her books but nope...
I COMPLETELY agree. You put into words everything I felt about A Darker Shade of Magic. Super cool concept written into a non-original story. Love your videos man!
I enjoyed the second book but didn’t love it for the reasons you said. I bought the entire series (a mistake) so I tried to pick up the second book but MY GOSH Lila annoyed me soooo deeply I couldn’t get through the book. The most infuriating character I’ve ever read
It is probably onw my favourite fantasy series of all time. I had began reading them the year it started to be published and, it just blew me away. No one recommend it to me. I found the first book at my local library and picked it up on a whim. After the first chapter, I was hooked. Im Sorry to hear it didn't hit as hard for you. Hopefully you can give the second book a chance sometime. The events of the first book really do shape the consequences as to how the other two play out. I thought it was brilliant. I think Schwab will definitely be exploring so much more with the sequel trilogy coming out soon. I think it's called The Threads of Power? So excited
Happy reading
I didn't like the book, the plot is so straightforward I thought at least one plot twist or something will happen at the end but nope, it was pretty much we go from point A to point C, we cross point B in the meantime and that was it. Also, the first book feels like the author had no intention of writing more of the series and just ended it. Don't get me started on the boring magic system - so we have no idea for a magic system let's add elemental magic oooh, kids these days love elemental magic. It's so underdeveloped and they do some pretty weird things with it that have no explanation.
For some reason this trilogy never convinced me. Now I’m sure I won’t buy it. When one has read so much, it’s harder to find original stories
VE Schwab has some of the coolest concepts in fantasy. This series is no different however, the plot and world-building could be better.
I loved the first book for all its flaws, and I was fine with the second one, barring a cliff, but the third book left me exhausted. Took me weeks to get through it, it was just so boring, despite being the supposed great finale.
I have been thinking about picking these books up for a while now. Love the cover art! I appreciate your take on these, and for helping to go into the series with curbed expectations.
I agree. It felt like a very limited story in a limitless concept. That said, I did enjoy the series more in the second and third books.
v e schwab comes up the most amazing concepts i've ever read about. adsom isnt my favorite of hers, that would be Vicious. it's amazing!!
I have the exact opinion as yours, though I've been afraid to voice them because A LOT, AND I MEAN A LOT of readers liked the Shades of Magic trilogy, and some readers can be .... quiet fierce when it comes to someone criticizing their favorite books 😅😅😅
Could you do videos on H. P. Lovecraft's work, please?
I relate SO much to this review! I felt exactly that way while reading the first book. I loved the concept and couldn't wait to get to explore the different Londons. Unfortunately, as I read on, I did not feel like book 2 and 3 provided what I personally wanted in terms of exploring the worlds and the different Londons. It felt like the concept that I had fallen in love with was put aside and almost forgotten in the the sequels. It was well written so I still enjoyed the series, but I can't help but feel like I'm lacking something, because I didn't get to explore the worlds as much as I wanted.
I agree 100% with this review, great concept but the story didn’t grab me
Wow, I agree so much with this! Absolutely loved the premise and the first 100 pages but then, like you said, it became incredibly predictable and not very deep into the world! I'm excited to see what you think of the rest of the series if you read it, that way I can know if I should continue, since we had similar thoughts.
you should try to read Vicious by the same author!
I just read the Villain series by VE Schwab and it blew my mind. Truly. She explored the constant battle between good vs evil and blurred the lines.
Couldn't agree more I loved it I hope she does decide to do a third book
The second book is just so much weaker I hope she just doesn’t write another one and never even made it.
Agreed! Concept was fantastic, and I was hooked in the beginning. I wanted the different worlds and plot to be a bit more interesting. Whilst I finished the book, I haven’t continued with the series, as the plot was a little too predictable, and didn’t entice me enough
agreed... and then she did the magical tournament in book three ( or was it in the second one???)... very disappointed... and the main twist of the whole series was as predictable as it can get... when it was introduced as the twist, I was shocked... that at that point the author thought it was a revelation...
I've just found your channel and where has it been all my life. Fantasy news, well articulated reviews, and entertaining! I loved this review. I enjoyed this series but couldn't pinpoint why it wasn't resonating the way I wanted to. You captured my feelings!
Time to binge watch your videos.
i understood your metaphor i can't stand it when books do that it's a reason why i haven't found a fantasy series that i really want
Lord you actually made it through this? It was a painful time for me, I think I gave it 2 stars? Maybe 1.5, sheesh. Not even considering getting book two.
Lol you’re going to be disappointed it doesn't get much better. I pushed through to the end but overall want blown away.
you are such a great reviewer daniel!!!
Fully agree with the review, but try not to get your hopes too high because it doesn't really get better. Schwab tends to have amazing ideas but fails to deliver what was promised.
I'm with you on that one
Myself, I started Schwab with Monsters of Verity (which is YA) & loved it so much. Then went into ADSoM seeing how much love it gets and it felt mediocre to the point of me being afraid I grew out of liking Schwab (as I've read Shades more than a year after MoV)
But then I picked up Vicious. And let me tell you, it felt good to love a Schwab book again
Aye until you read vengeful and wonder why she does this us 😂 and im saying that as someone who puts schwarb pretty high on his authors list
@@Kasterwill Yeah, I've heard of the rather... mixed response to Vengeful
But then Schwab announced a 3rd book and people were saying they're willing to accept Vengeful more for a middle book, so I'm waiting for the final conclusion to come out before reading book 2
I really like the story, but I also very much agree with your critic. I don't have the fantasy baggage as you have, so I don't really mind how predictable the story, but I get your point considering other stories/tropes. I don't agree much about not being able to dive in, I just immersed in the story so fast that I was basically drowning, not only that, but I love how she describes each London, so I can imagine each character very well. Like, I really love how she describes smells with Kell or Holland's appearance being constantly pale and washed-out. But nonetheless, I get and agree with your opinion about it.
I like them concept of the series, but after book one I started liking it less and less until l struggled to finish book three.
Yeah, the multiple London's thing is cool. The political relationships between them and the ability to go between them is well handled.
But, why are there only four? I don't recall that being answered and it's a legit question. Because, when talking dimensions then you are typically talking one or infinite. Or, you switch it to something like planes and tie them to elements, something like that, to give a determined number. You don't just say there are four and then cya. That's weird.
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A few years since I read these though, my recollection is that the female lead was just unreasonably powerful. She was very Mary Sue -esque.
Kel, the male lead, is also very powerful but it's always possible that he might fail; heck, iirc he does fail multiple times, both in plan and combat.
I never once got the impression that Del could fail.
100% agree. plus lila’s arrogance just made her mary sue qualities all the more infuriating
It never bothered me that there were only 4! I liked it, it was simple!
I've read the trilogy and it took me awhile after the first book to pick up the second, but I was really glad I did.
This novel got me back into fantasy as an adult (29 cough) but i never finished the trilogy, so i am going to start with one again. Ty for the review!
This is one of the most "anime" books I've ever read.
Damn I almost forgot. I felt the same way! Suddenly the scenes played out in anime style in my head, something that has never happened to me before.
NOO I can't unsee it!
Exactly 😂
Is it the "protagonists fight in a high stakes tournament" part? I'm not an anime person, so I'm not steeped in their tropes, but I had just got fantasy vibes from the whole thing...
@@nymphrodellsalavin I think it's that part and some artistic choices the author makes such as the strange hair and especially eye colors in this book that would normally be seen in an anime. Also personally I thought the personality of Lila and some of the monologues where they explain their plans were a little "anime"
For me, what brought this book from a 3.5 to a 5, was the absolute tension I felt when the mcguffin started doing The Bad. I was so invested in the world that was built and the concept of the status quo being unquoed filled that inciting incident with so much tension that I haven't been able to stop reading since
READ VICIOUS BY THE SAME ITS SOOOOO GOOOD.
i love love love the setup and ideas. they’re incredible! however i agree that the plot wasn’t so great. it was fine and i finished the story because i loved the concept so much. the only thing i actually disliked was the character lila. she was just so annoying
I was pretty disappointed in this book. The concept was so good and I was so excited, plus it is my friend's favorite book. I was expecting... more? I just didn't get enough world building and I didn't really feel a connection to the characters backstories. This being said, I also really didn't like Lila. She felt very 'not like other girls' and her personality seemed to shift between chapters. I couldn't get any kind of connection to her because right as I was starting to like her she would go and do something rash and selfish or say something rude and unfounded. However, I really liked the character of Kell and I think there is huge potential for him in the later books which I may or may not read. 3.5/5 stars.
Daniel, if you felt underwhelmed by this first book, you're probably gonna dislike the second book. I think the best way to describe a gathering of shadows is 2/3 of unnecessary and uninteresting fluff with only about two hundred pages of actual plot progressing content. The fluff wouldn't even be that bad if it weren't for the characters you follow.
Her Villains duology was definitely my favourite
My biggest qualm with the first book is that after the point Delilah and Kell meet, the entire takes place in one afternoon.
I really enjoyed the first and second books, but I'm LOVING the 3rd one so much more. About 50 percent through.
I know you plan on reviewing The Expanse tv show, but I would love to see you review the books.
Vicious is imo her best book. It's brilliant, I recommend you look it up.
I think the biggest reason I loved the book was it wasn't drowned in romance. There was no longing stares, fast beating hearts, gushy romantic dialog. I hate when fantasy authors push a romance in the first book so much that the actual story gets lost. I also don't like books that make me feel like I'm doing research for a college paper on a imaginary fictional world or magic system with a massive amount of work building and magic descriptions in a first book. Basic and to the point goes better for me (although I do love Brandon Sanderson's approach). Lila Bard was a great character to me, because although I'm sure for some she falls into the "Not like other girls" trope, for me it was more of she's a nonbinary figure that actually doesn't fit into a female mold. She also doesn't turn into a useless whimpering twit whenever a man is around, which is a nice change.
I agree with you. I read the trilogy. I liked the plot, the concept and the characters. I liked the first book as an intro, I liked the competition in the second book. but I am already forgetting what happened in the third book, and that means a lot considering that I just read it like two months ago. The thing is that, I liked the books, but I didn't find them that awesome to make me feel I want to re read them again in the future. I agree that the concept of the different worlds could have been developed more in a deeper way.
I'm about 245 pages in I'm liking Kell the magic lore is pretty incredible I like the world building the characterization is developed well
Schwab is kinda known for having great ideas but not always having the execution. I felt similarly about A Darker Shade. But one of her other books Vicious really nails the execution. Highly recommend
I remember reading Vicious because I loved the idea of superheroes not being super heroic, but I had a lot of problems with plot holes, predictability and plot armor. Her idea was great, but the way it was executed was pretty mediocre.
I was planning on giving her another chance with A Darker Shade of Magic, if I had money I could burn, but this video convinced me that VE Schwab just has a problem with execution in general. (I like her writing style though so I’d like to like a book of her’s.)
0:52 "I burned through the first third of it, I was very interested, and then unfortunately around there hit a wall with this series."
This
This perfectly describes every single experience I've had whenever I decide to give an acclaimed YA fantasy book a shot. I just think to myself "I could be reading anything else right now, why am I wasting my time with something I can't bring myself to enjoy." So from now on I just avoid YA like the plague no matter how much people say it's "more mature than other YA".
So what are some non YA books you have enjoyed?
that seems sad to me...there really ARE some great ones out there, you know, you just have to look, and be patient....
So not reading YA is considered a bad thing now?
I think people should just read what they enjoy and not force themselves to enjoy something because "everyone else does"
Reading is not meant to be a chore, if you don't find yourself enjoying the book even though you're halfway through already then read something else that you know you'd enjoy. I hate the whole "oh it's popular so its must be good" mentality of a lot of readers, you're reading for yourself not for others.
I've read it all, but the feeling you so creatively tried to illustrate with denied access to desired bodies of water permeated the entire series for me. I felt like there was so much potential there, but by the end all I could think of was "let's get this over with so I can find a GOOD book".
I think the first one was quite good. I then started the second one and put it away after 30 pages. Wasn't engaged anymore.
:(
I agree with your review. I enjoyed the second book a lot more, and it made the series for me. But it kind of continues the predictability theme in a few areas. My main issue with the series was it had a lot of “because magic” to get the protagonists out of situations or to move the plot. The second and third books are narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer which is fantastic.
I didn’t even get to the part they meet because I just couldn’t with Layla or Lila (sorry, not trying to be mean). I thought the same: her ideas are soooo fascinating but the depth stays puddle deep :/. I believe that the timing was with on her side. When these came out there wasn’t much of this fantasy or at least not a lot of it was being marketing so much like this one. Maybe if I read back then...
I agree. I read this before I got into high fantasy and I do prefer to spend more time getting to know the world's and how they'll work. I do however still like the trilogy very much.
i gave adsom a two stars,,, it started off so strong but quickly became a very drawn out overly descriptive book with, as u said, very minute risks. the fight scenes werent as high stakes so i wasnt as engaged with them. a lot of amusing dialogue and writing which served me well but as a first book in a trilogy it wasnt as gripping as i thought itd be. maaaan i have the whole trilogy but i dont feel like ill visit the 2nd or 3rd books with any excitement which is gutting because its such a cool concept
I agree with everything. It had so much potential. The world and magic was amazing. I couldn't get into the actual characters and it the ending felt kind of cheap.
Couldn't have said it better myself Daniel sir!
I really enjoy your reviews, it gives me a good idea of what I am walking into. Whether I agree or not, it is always helpful to get the brain waves of a fantasy lover
Next up in the series, A Whiter Shade Of Pale (music for the Netflix show provided by Procol Harum)
Thank you for the review. Based on what you said, I think I would still enjoy it, so I will give it a try.
Honestly I was pretty disappointed by the time I reached the end of the trilogy. I ended up giving the series as a whole 4 stars from an objective standpoint, but I think now I would recant that and give it 3 or 3.5. Perhaps it was my own expectations that let me down, but the story just didn't go the way I was hoping it might, and the characters really frustrated me all the way through (save for that first 1/3 of the first book, I'm with you there on how well they're set up). That being said, Schwab really does have excellent ideas and writes very well-I'm disappointed that I haven't enjoyed her more so far, but I've only read this trilogy and hope to maybe try out some of her other works someday.
I would love to see a "Licanius trilogy"/"the shadow of what was lost" (the first book in said trilogy) review! Or a "Song of the shattered sands" series (first book is titled "Twelve Kings In Sharakhai")
Talon George Same! These are both series on my radar that look really good, but I haven’t heard much about either of them.
i really liked the first book. But starting the second and the third, Delilah bard becomes one of the biggest mary sues on fantasy , you see kell struggling his whole life to get to a certain point and the girl wakes up one day and she is the most bad ass person in the world. Not even the ta'veren boys get that good that fast
For a more modern take on magic and it's rituals check out a film called "A Dark Song". It's not fantasy. It's more horror, but it's an odd strand of horror. I would suggest though that the way the magic rituals are carried out is more realistic than any you have seen before. Not that I believe in magic. If I was going to cast a spell I would imagine doing it this way.
I was literally on my break at work and was really struggling to pick a book and I got your notification for this video so I went and picked this up, took it as a sign so thanks for that 😂
The direction of the series isn't that complex or unpredictable and I agree that the first 2 books in the trilogy were enjoyable but they didn't blow me away. But the last book is great. The main thing that is great is the development of the relationships between the characters and thats done best in the last one. This book is a great entry point into fantasy
Totally agree! Just finished the book. I haven't read fantasy in a while but I felt like it was like... A well written fantasy TV episode.
I enjoyed it as an audiobook because it's a nice story to follow while cleaning etc. But I will have forgotten it in a few days.
I am waiting for your Vicious review...❤️👍👍❤️
I have seen a dozens of your videos, and i agree with most of your opinions. I usually watch books review after finishing book. Then i some oppenions and wants to know others. But this is an exception and now i know what to expect if ever i will start it.
At last, Daniel Greene puts a numerical rating scale on screen. Been waiting for it for a long time.
I think the issues Daniel has is one reason it is sold in the YA section of the bookstore. It would probably be a great entry level fantasy series.
The Shades of Magic series is one of my favourites of all time. I thought the plot was interesting and the world (or worlds i guess) was such a cool idea but it was mainly the characters that made me love it so much. I get what you're saying about the plot being done before though. This was the first fantasy I ever read after Harry Potter, and have since noticed similar plots in many other fantasies.
I completely agree with you... I love V E Schwab and her writing style... I just finished the second book of this series.... I'd say it was better than the first one .... the scenes are very vivid and cenamatic but not to discourage anyone the magic system is very similar to a well known series...looking forward to read the third book and hope it has the uniqueness of Schwab
Ok, we are gonna need a "this is a block of concrete" type analogy for every review now.
Read the Daevabad trilogy it has a flawless world building and strong characters....it is a high fantasy with the historical fiction based on Muslim background and if you're ok with it go and give it a try !
I agree so much. Loved the idea, but wanted so much more from this series. I've read the second book but it was very boring for me 😔 Couldn't finish the last one.
I agree with you on this book. It's not bad, the idea is really intriguing, it introduced the characters and all wonderfully.
But I didn't like how the series continued. The first one was entertaining and all, but the others were not my cup of tea.
I had some issues with the multiple perspectives. There was one instance in this book and a few in the others, were I felt like the use of multiple perspectives explained to much. But I'm a bit particular when it comes both to explaining to much in general and what I want to gain from the use of multiple perspectives.
Joining the ranks of those who put A Gathering of Shadows higher than A Darker Shade of Magic.
I did enjoy the concepts, system of magic, and characters, but I genuinely don't remember the plot from this book.
Can't wait to see further reviews because I have Thoughts about the later books.
Completely agree! I read the first two and the second didn't get better for me so I gave up after the second book. Great review
Unfortunately that's how I feel about the entire series. We don't get to explore all the Londons in depth. However, the series is very solid and worth reading.