Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: NA Fantasy
Pages: 624
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Synopsis:
“THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED…
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.
WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
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?
WHO WILL RISE?
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.
WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.”
I’m so mad at myself for waiting so long to finally pick this book up! IT WAS PERFECTION…. well almost. I will say that I am absolutely destroyed after finishing this book and my feels are a tangled mess. I read this 600+ page monster in almost two days which is saying so much! I don’t have time for that! I would have given this book a perfect 5/5 stars had I not been disappointed in one of the biggest most spoilery moments of it WHICH I will talk about again later with more spoiler warnings because I’m not a monster.
My absolute favorite part of this book is that I finally felt like I really got to know the characters ( okay, and the stabby magic was pretty nice too). For whatever reason I’ve always felt an odd disconnection from Holland, Rhy and Alucard but I can happily say I now love them so much my heart hurts. They all got so much more story time during this book and I loved loved LOVED seeing them get developed fully and also glimpsing into their pasts.
Speaking of characters… LILA AND KELL. Oh my gosh. I’ve always loved these two to a ridiculous extent but I think I may love them even more now after seeing their character arcs. Both of them grew a lot individually and together and above all they just kept hitting me in the feels! Lila and Kell are written so masterfully that I solely believe V.E. Schwab is the only author who could bring characters like them together successfully.
The way the plot in this book was written destroyed me. I mean, my feels were practically scooped into the garbage after finishing this book. The darker plot, tension, and constant looming life ending doom was freaking me out so much that I couldn’t stop turning the pages. It was a dark bloody masterpiece that reminds me for the hundredth time why I love fantasy books so much. All of the new magical elements added so much to the story and everything, even in the little details, were written so flawlessly. I would go explore Red London myself if it wasn’t so deadly and well… fictional.
SPOILERS AHEAD
If you haven’t read this book DO NOT READ ON. I’m serious, turn away now or my book dragon will burn your computer so you don’t spoil an amazing trilogy for yourself. Anyways…
There were quiet a few REALLY spoily things I was super dissatisfied with. I felt like some of the deaths came very abruptly and for the most part they left me dissatisfied. I was so upset that Holland died, but I also wanted to scream at the pages that after this whole dangerous trilogy that’s how he dies? His death felt a little sudden and dull and just didn’t make sense to the story. ALSO there wasn’t a way to get back to Gray London if Kell gave up his Gray London coin earlier in the book… so hmmm.
The other thing that really bothered me is that we never find out the truth about Kell’s past!! There were constant hints about it and the whole. entire. book. I was looking forward to getting into his origins yet I never got to find out. UGH. It was frustrating! I was really looking forward to finding out more about him.
SPOILERS OVER
All in all, I did love this book to pieces. It destroyed me, to the point that my feels are left in a tangle in the corner. I can’t put into words how much I loved this trilogy and how good it is! Drop whatever you’re doing and just go read it
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