A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Hey Guys,

I am finally back with another review, I know, it's been a while. I have been in the worst slump for a long time. I pushed through with Lady Midnight and then fell again, however I finally pulled my ass back up and finished A Gathering of Shadows. At the moment I'm toying between contemporaries, so I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me your favourite contemporary book down below. On with the review...

All the feels, I can't put into words how shocked I was come the end of the book. This is the sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic, and it was fabulous. It's been a while since I read ADSOM so it took me a while to learn the world and familiarize myself with the characters and the previous story; though once I did it was incredible.

Victoria has a unique way of writing that you might not pick up on, I feel like she focuses on the smaller things to make the bigger things feel more ominous and present in the book.
A Darker Shade of Magic centres around the idea that Kell, our main character, is one of the last Antari. An Antari is someone who can travel between the parallel universes dubbed as: Red London, White London, Black London and Grey London. That's all I'm going to say, though I recommend you read it.

So there we go, I hope you enjoyed this non-spoiler section, you can continue forth to read my thoughts on more specific parts of the book. Apologies for everything going on with the March collab review I promise it will be up soon. You can also pick up our book for April which is Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews.

HAMILTON!!

Hey guys,

So back at the beginning of March I wrote a post called 'The Colleen Hoover Book Tag' (linked at the bottom) in which I gave a brief mention to the musical Hamilton, well it's soundtrack. Since then I have become so wholly obsessed with the music. I recommend you listen to it if you haven't. Anyway, I've been meaning to do the Hamilton Book tag for weeks and just haven't gotten around to it, so here it is.
A part of the tag is miming along to the songs, as that is semi impossible in writing, I will just quote the song.

Finally for the intro, I would just like to say that the Lady Midnight 'collab review' will be going up today or tomorrow, we are sorry for the delay. Now on to the tag...

"I guess I'm gonna finally have to listen to you; talk less, smile more. Do whatever it takes to get my plan on the congress floor" - The Room Where it Happens
What book world would you put yourself into?
To avoid being generic and saying Harry Potter, I am going to go with Perculiardom from Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. This is just a really cool world where anything is possible and I'd like to experience it first hand.

"Take Phillip Skylar, the man loaded. uh oh but little does he know that his daughters Peggy, Angelica, Eliza sneak into the city just to watch all the guys" - The Schuyler Sisters
Which female character do you feel is underrated?
For this I am going to say Emilia from Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, this was our AIP book for February. I feel although many people love her, her efforts and intelligence are over looked. She did a lot for all the other characters as well as herself.

"So let me spell out my name, I am the A L, E X, A N D, E R we are meant to be a colony that runs independently" - My Shot
Name a character who goes after what they want?
For this I'm going to go with a TV character because I feel like I don't talk about TV enough. So, from Vampire Diaries I choose Katherine, I feel like she just won't give up. She's after the prize and nothings going to get in her way.

*Spoilers* (for All the Bright Places)

"Every one attack! Retreat! Attack! Retreat! What are you doing Lee? Get back on your feet. There are so many of them. I'm sorry, is this not your speed? Hamilton? Ready sir. Have Lafayette take the lead. Yes sir!" - Stay Alive
Again to avoid genricism (new word of the day) I am going to avoid the obvious (*cough* Half Blood Prince) and say Finch from All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I was quietly sad about this, but it slowly set in until I was in hysterics.

"Your words flooded my senses, your sentences left me defenceless. You built me palaces out of paragraphs, you built cathedrals" - Burn
The most devastating end to a relationship?
I have to incorporate Throne of Glass somewhere. Celaena and Chaol, even though I don't ship it, the events that went down surrounding there relationship were insane. Crazy, if you haven't read Throne of Glass reassess your life and go read it.

"You'll be back, like before. I will fight the fight, and win the war, for your love, for you praise and I'll love you 'til my dying days" - You'll Be Back
The sassiest of villains?
For this I'm going to say Holland from A Darker Shade of Magic. Even though he wasn't the sole villain, he was still pretty antagonistic (new word?) and the sass levels on that bitch. Jeez...

"Angelica, thank god! Someone who understands what I'm struggling here to do. I'm not here for you, I know my sister like I know my own mind, you will never find anyone as trusting or as kind" - The Reynolds Pamphlet
A book twist you didn't see coming?
For this I'm going to have to go with the betrayal at the end of Red Queen. This took me by complete surprise and I can imagine that I looked like a fish while trying to absorb it.

"Gentlemen of the jury I'm curious, bare with me, are you aware that we're making history? This is the first murder trial of our brand new nation, the liberty behind deliberation" - Non-Stop
A series you marathoned?
I think the most recent full series I've marathoned was Percy Jackson and The Olympians I read all five of these books in a week during the summer with my friend. I recommend them, they're really fun and super quick to get through.

"I remember that night I just might regret that night for the rest of my days, I remember those soldier boys tripping over themselves to win our praise" - Satisfied
Your favourite book with multiple points of view?
For this I'm going to say Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The level of enjoyment I got from this book (weird wording) surprised me to no end. I love all the characters individualy, to their own lengths. Plus Kaz is a total bae.

"Let me tell what I wish I'd known, when I was young and dreamed of glory" - Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?
A book that will go down in history?
This is what I was saving Harry Potter for. Harry Potter will be forever loved by all ages, anyone can read it, and anyone who does will fall in love with the wizarding world. So if you haven't read it, what are you doing on the internet? Go and read it

So there we go, I hope you enjoyed this. Please comment your answers to the questions if it pleases you. Before I go, I just wanted to add two to my 'Favourites' list: Stay Alive and Dear Theodosia. Once again I recommend you listen to the soundtrack, it's all over youtube.

- A

[Colleen Hoover book tag]