His father had died while he was away, and Berras—now family head—told the king and queen that Alucard wanted to sail. Lila dug her nails into her palms, and by the time the man finally set her down on the ship’s deck beside the waiting cask (“Heavier than she looks,” he muttered, “and only half as soft…”) she’d made eight small crescents in her skin.

A Gathering of Shadows | Shades of Magic Wiki | Fandom A Gathering of Shadows | Shades of Magic Wiki | Fandom

Grimy, sea stained and sun bleached, their skin darkened and their clothes faded, each and every one of them with a knife tattooed across his throat. If I knew what I’m getting into, I wouldn't had spend any money I worked hard for into this trilogy. As Red London prepares for the Element Games - an extravagant international competition of magic - a certain pirate ship draws closer.

The Winner's Kiss, Divergent, Siege and Storm, Throne of Glass, The 5th Wave, Passenger, Rebel Belle, Alice. A few of the other men said less pleasant things, and Lila tensed, glad that their accents were too full of mud and ocean spray for her to understand all the words, even if she gleaned their meaning. It began as nothing—a tendril of mist on the surface of the sea—but soon the fog drew itself into the phantom of a ship. It's like, they know Holland's every move was commanded by the White London's rulers and he was tortured continuously for years.

A Gathering of Shadows - SAMPLE by V.E. Schwab - Goodreads A Gathering of Shadows - SAMPLE by V.E. Schwab - Goodreads

There’s Lila, who took me a little bit of time to be won over by in ADSOM, but who has me utterly captivated in this installment. Bottom line: clichéd, sexist, teeming with some of the worst characters I’ve ever read, misleading, repetitive, occasionally illogical, and boring. Not spending time brooding, doing insta-love, random making out and obsessing over Delilah fucking Bard, which I’ll get into in a moment. You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!I loved A Darker Shade of Magic so much that I was nervous to see if the second book would hold up, but let me tell you, it absolutely did, and now I am both horrified and desperately in need of seeing how it all ends up. Of course, this review would be wholly incomplete without taking a moment to talk about the utterly fantastic addition to the cast: Alucard Emery, privateer, playboy, magical aficionado, and captain of the Night Spire crew.