Hey everyone! Today I’m reviewing the last book of the Shades of Magic series. It’s by far the longest book in the series and I’ve come a long way from book one. I don’t how to review this book without giving away the story, but I’ll try my best not to.
About the Book
Title: A Conjuring of Light • By: V E Schwab
Published on: 21 Feb 2017 • By: Titan Books
Pace: Medium • Pages: 717 • Age: 15 and up
Series: Shades of Magic #3 • Genre: Adult/ Dark Fantasy
Song: Love and War by Fleurie
Witness the fate of beloved heroes – and enemies.
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.
Rep: Brown (mc), Black (sc), M/M relationship, disability
• Life is chaos.Time is order
My only complaint with A Gathering of Shadows was that it wasn’t as bloody as ADSOM, but this one kept its promise. I was thrown right into a battle in the first 25% of the book and was wondering what was V E Schwab thinking by going all out in the first few chapters of the book.
There was bloodshed and death everywhere. And the new villain, Osaron, was proving to be an headache. The calm and serene Red London was lost and it was brimming with chaos and dark magic in this one.
Osaron was an ancient god, who didn’t sound menacing but his actions were. All he had to do was snap his fingers and voilà! People would die and kill for him. He was the ultimate puppet master and to sever the strings, it took more than sacrifices of kingdom to achieve it.
Osaron might have been unpleasant and evil, but I must give him brownie points for creativity. That guy wanted to conquer worlds and he wasn’t satisfied and wanted more. When people like him say ‘more’, it means destruction in massive scale. His greed was beyond control and it took thousands of innocent lives.
• Lost to the tide
I was honestly clueless after a point in the novel as to how Kell would save the city when they couldn’t even step outside the palace. They had do find a way out and those chapters slowed down the pace of the book for me. It wasn’t too drawn out, but it slowed up the plot a little.
I loved Maris and her ship. It was full of enchanted objects and magic. I’d have loved to see her, mostly the enchanted items though, in the book but she was just in one chapter alone. Since there’s another series coming up, set in this world, I’m expecting to meet her again there.
There’s a lot of traveling on waters in this book as well. I think I liked reading about their journey here than the previous one. Holland hated traveling on the ship. This book gave him the spotlight he deserved.
Reading about Holland’s past was devastating. From book 1, I wanted this guy to be free and be himself, but his past kept chasing him and he made the mistake of trusting the wrong people, so he had to pay for his mistakes. He had this sad aura around him and hardly saw him smile or be happy about anything. I’m so glad his story got told here. It was so cute to see him act as a buffer whenever Kell and Lila were having a heated conversation about who was more controlled; he’d act like an elder brother trying to get his siblings attention. Though he was seasick, he made sure to help everyone however he could.
• A Blessed Thread
Besides Kell and Rhy sharing a bond, there was an invisible thread tying Alucard, Rhy, Kell, Lila, and Holland together. At the end of the day, it wasn’t just Kell or Lila or Rhy who saved the empire from crumbling down, it was a group effort which prevented the impending catastrophe in the end. These five characters had put their lives on the line— along with the King, soldiers and the priests, Faroans— and made sure that they got their London back.
What I admired the most in this book was its perfect timed events. You’d find a thread linking all the events which culminated to give us the most satisfying ending.
• Anoshe (until another day)
A Conjuring of light is a befitting conclusion to this magical series.
This series is without any doubt my favorite one for this year and has made it’s place in my all-time-favorites list. I wasn’t happy how it turned out for Holland in the end, but other than that it was a clean ending. There’s another series coming out soon set in this world, and what can I say, I’m bloodthirsty and hungry for more adventure with Antari and pirates. I know I’ll be rereading this series soon, and I’d never want to part ways from it.
Everything had an order, a reason. Sometimes you were too close to see it, sometimes too far away, but it was there.
TW // Suicide, Regicide, Blood, Gore, Murder, Possession,Self Cutting images, Homophobia, Trauma
About the Author
Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the #1 NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and This Savage Song. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured by EW and The New York Times, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and Film. The Independent calls her the “natural successor to Diana Wynne Jones” and touts her “enviable, almost Gaimanesque ability to switch between styles, genres, and tones.”
Have you read this novel or is it on your TBR? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
“You and I knew strange corners of life.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald
paperbacktomes 
[…] ➼ A Conjuring of Light ★★★★.5 ❘ With the ultimate face-off between the old god and Antari, to save from destruction and greed, this book was phenomenal. Definitely gonna reread it. You can read my review here. […]
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