A Conjuring of Light
Ratings313
Average rating4.2
this trilogy has made me a HUGE fan of Schwab's for sure! i loved what felt like the first half of the book, but towards the end some character decisions didn't really make sense...? why did Maxim essentially sacrifice himself when he knew 3 Antari were working on it? and then WHY did Rhy deliver himself to Osaron lol???
i also wish more was done with Alucard as he became a quick favorite of mine after the second book. his name is still ridiculous but he is delightful.
Lila is as badass and whip-smart as ever and i love the reveal of her as Antari. i just went back and read my review of the first book in the series and i absolutely appreciate Lila's closure with the clothing merchant and Barron and saying goodbye to Alucard. it's a bit of a shame that she had the least happening to her in this book, but i guess it was time for other characters to be fleshed out
I liked this one the least of the (currently) 4 books in the series, mainly because the first 1/2 felt like it dragged on quite a lot and I didn't love the arc of having Osaron show up at the beginning then basically do nothing for a while as the main characters set up their plan to defeat it. But overall it's still really good, with exciting action and interesting characters (Holland being the best).
Such a perfect ending! It was a such a great trilogy. Did I cry? Almost... I held it in. I would recommend this series to anyone and everyone. Even if you are the kind of person who is not into fantasy. It's not complicated and the story is heavily character driven. Super sad to be leaving these people but happy to be getting a new story in this universe this September.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! VICTORIA SCHWAB HOW DARE YOU?? I LITERALLY FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO CRY AS I TYPE THIS.
Everything I Need To Say:
- Lila is still my favorite little thief.
This is quite easily the best book series I've read in the last decade. It was perfect and the characters were perfect. I didn't want it to end. It did anyway. Anoshe.
A great end to the trilogy. Considerably different from the first two, which was a nice change from the normal progression of a trilogy.
4.5 Stars.
I really loved this series. It kept me hooked throughout the whole series. I enjoyed the characters - in book 2 I was a bit frustrated with Lila's charachter but she redeemed a bit more in this final book. Schwab did a great job of bringing nearly all the threads to a satisfying wrap up.
The thread for me that didn't quite do it for me was Alucard and Rhy, I reeeeeeeeallly wanted a public acknowledgement of their relationship. I was impressed with how Schwab wrote their relationship throughout the books, but just felt that at the end there, that final leap, without the need for hiding, pretense or excuse, I wished they could've been written in as publically together. That's where my final half star went!
Overall really recommend the series. I listened to the Audible audiobooks. I really enjoyed the narration, and although there was a jarring switch between from book 1 to book 2 & 3, I do love Kramer and Reading so it didn't take long getting used to.
Once again V.E. Schwab spins a magical adventure with her final volume in the Shades of Magic trilogy. Things get a bit darker and the stakes higher, but our characters continue to charm and surprise along the way. I enjoyed it and felt satisfied with the end, but again I'd say it didn't quite hit that emotional punch I look for to get a 5 star. Solid 4 stars for a good story, adventure and fun characters I was glad to follow till the end.
This series was absolutely amazing. It had everything I love in a book: an interesting and well-built magical world, characters with beautiful depth and variety of personalities, a plot that was often heartbreaking but always exactly what it needed to be, and prose that multiplied the emotions of the book tenfold.
And then the ending was just the right amount of happy and just the right amount of sad and entirely perfect.
I love these books.
I like the second book quite a bit but this felt like it was just going through the motions to finish the series. The Big Bad never felt ominous, the character deaths were very easy to see coming, the plot felt like a way around taking down an enemy they didn't actually have a good idea how to defeat. Several scenes had a lot of build up and no payoff. There was also a good bit of attempting to raise emotional stakes by constantly flashing back to scenes before the series, but that often falls flat for me. It's strange to have a tense scene and then “oh hey this would be better with some emotion, lets have a flashback” thrown in.
Oddly enough once the winding down scenes at the end of the book started I was interested again. Despite this being a let down I'm actually somewhat optimistic about the Fragile Threads of Power sequel series.
I've got tears in my eyes because of how perfect this ending was. Thanks, V.E. Schwab, for another masterpiece.