A conjuring of light - VE Schwab

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.

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?

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.

And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay. 

Paperback, 666 pages
Published February 21st 2017 by Titan Books Ltd
Shades of Magic #3
Fantasy
Own

My thoughts

I started this the day baby S was born, I did manage 100 pages and then there was a a looong break until now, almost 6 months later. I mean I read other books but could just not get back to this one. 

But then I did, and I am glad to finally have finished this series.

I still do not like Lila, I just do not know. Lila, nope I just never fell for her. She is so perfect.

Kell, oh him I like, I mean I still want him and Lila to end up together even if I never did like her ;)

Rhys and Alucard, poor Rhys.

So the big bad is in Red London. And it is closing in. Off to the rescue. There is magic, danger and then it ends and, damn, I want more. 

Conclusion:

Good series. Watching tv...can not write more, this Picklerick ep is awesome.

Our dark duet - Victoria Schwab

Kate Harker is a girl who isn’t afraid of the dark. She’s a girl who hunts monsters. And she’s good at it. August Flynn is a monster who can never be human, no matter how much he once yearned for it. He’s a monster with a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.

Nearly six months after Kate and August were first thrown together, the war between the monsters and the humans is terrifying reality. In Verity, August has become the leader he never wished to be, and in Prosperity, Kate has become the ruthless hunter she knew she could be. When a new monster emerges from the shadows—one who feeds on chaos and brings out its victim’s inner demons—it lures Kate home, where she finds more than she bargained for. She’ll face a monster she thought she killed, a boy she thought she knew, and a demon all her own. 

My thoughts:

Omg that ending. I tried to look at her webpage of there are more books in the series, but the page was down. Woe is me! If not, well I mean in a way it was a perfect ending. It fits. In another way, I so need more from this world! This can not be the end. I do not want to leave yet.

The last book ended with a bang. Kate is hunting monsters in another city. August has embraced his inner monster and is keeping the city of Verity safe from monsters (well half the city, read book 1 to get that. Srsly, read book 1. Do not jump right in.)

Kate was still Kate, but August. He had just wanted to be human, and now, after his brother passed he had to step up. I felt his change and it saddened me. But this is a dark world.

I really can not even explain the world. Monsters that are burn when people die and they hunt people in different ways. A city torn apart by warring families. Everyone just trying to get by. A dark world that is not black and white. It is grey, very grey.

And now there is a new monster hunting, and it was a new scary one. And an enemy from book 1 is back too.

Conclusion:
I enjoyed this book. I read it fast too because I raced to the end. I needed to know. SO read it, but start with book 1.

Cover
Growing on me

Paperback, 470 pages
Published June 13th 2017 by Titan Books
Monsters of Verity #2
Paranormal / YA / Fantasy /Dystopia / UF
For review

Vicious - V.E.Schwab

A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers. Victor and Eli started out as college roommates?brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find?aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge?but who will be left alive at the end? 

My thoughts:

I have been avoiding writing this review cos I have nothing to say.

The characters had no personality, I could not have cared less if they all had died.

I stuck to it but started to skim after half the book cos omg sooooo dull.

10 years ago...last night....one week ago..blah blah, omg enough with the time jumps, I do not give a f about them. Or Victor or Eli.

I was very very disappointed since I like her other books. But this one, blergh. Dull.

• Paperback, 340 pages
• Published January 10th 2014 by Titan Books (first published September 24th 2013)
• Vicious #1
• Superhero paranormal whatevs
• Own

This Savage Song - VE Schwab

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives. 

My thoughts:

This book was so good, I could not put it down. I read 200 pages in a flash, and then the other 200 pages in another flash. It sure was one of those books where the pages just flew by. That is so cliche to say, but it happened.

Kate, eh, she was too full of herself, she needed to be put down a peg or two. But she was a product of her environment. 

August, oh he was lovely. Shy, wanting more, loved music...and he was a monster. A monster that will suck out your soul with music. Oh did I forget to say that this is a futuristic society where monsters are born and pray on those who can not pay for protection from Kate's father. Or as in August's part of town where the monsters and sinners are hunted down.

There be monsters. The messy ones, the bloody ones and those who take your life force. And I really liked this world, I did want more info, but then all people are stuck in that city and do not know much. That is if you do not have money to get out.

These two will meet. The city is crumbling around them. And I could not put the book down.

Conclusion:

I really like how Schwab writes, and I certainly look forward to more in this series. She creates fascinating worlds. 

It ends without any major cliffies, but I crave more. The darkness of it all. ...

Cover

I kind of like it

Paperback, 400 pages
Published June 7th 2016 by Titan Books Ltd
Monsters of Verity #1
YA, Dystopia
For review

A gathering of shadows - V.E.Schwab

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall. 

My thoughts:

Well that was evil

*looks for news about book 3*

*no news to be had*

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Oh yes the ending, it was the ending that did me in. I will get back to that.

Kell is, well honestly events in book 1 really messed him up, and Rhy...obviously. They are both having a hard time with that, but then who wouldn't. The town people are avoiding him and the king and queen too for that matter. He is not having the best of times. And I love him, yes I love him.

Lila, well I do not love her. She is reckless (not in a good way), she is arrogant (not in a good way). I kind of just want to hit her..in the face and see her drop and wipe that smug grin of her face. Oh oh I am having Lila issues. She is just soooo arrogant. She needs to be taken down a peg or two, or do something nice for once. In this book at least.

Kell is having issues at home

Lila meets a pirate and sees the world.

Magic Games in Red London!

White London is not happy.

Grey London is not happy.

Black London is still dead

And then, then, the end. Omg, cruel. So very cruel. I was all, ok not many pages left and then BOOM! And then one page left and cruel cruel you. Duh, of course there was a cliffie. Did you not notice my despair?

I need book 3 asap. And hear hear, book 2 was even better than book 1. I love when that happen.

But the despair! I neeeed book 3. Like yesterday.

My last words then. Interesting fantasy tale that takes place in 4 parallel universes, places that all anchors in London.

Conclusion:

Just go read it! 

Paperback, 508 pages
Published February 23rd 2016 by Titan Books
Shades of Magic #2
Fantasy
For review

A darker shade of magic - V.E.Schwab

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit. 

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped. 

My thoughts:

Now this was an interesting world. There are 4 worlds and people can travel between them...well they could, now only a few can.

All those worlds are different from each other but there is one fixed thing. 4 cities, all named London, all in the same place. Though the country they are in change; smaller, bigger, called other things. But London on the Thames is there and a capital.

The main character, Kell can travel between worlds because of what he is. He has named the worlds too. They all have their faults and their good points. I could not say which London I'd like the best. Maybe red, or ours (even if ours was the boring magicless one).

So yes the world was obviously great. I really liked it and I would love to explore it more, but then more books are coming so yay for that.

I liked Kell too, the girl he meets...eh, I mean yes she was nice to read about just, she was not nice ;)

I just checked on the next book, 2016, that is ages away! Sad panda.

I realised I have said nothing about the actual story..right, so he gets in trouble, he helps a girl, let the adventure begin.

Conclusion:

Interesting world, interesting characters, a good adventure. I look forward to more of this world.

Cover

ok

Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: February 27th 2015 by Titan Books
A Darker Shade of Magic #1
Fantasy
Own