A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3)
By V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended For: Ages 17+ and people who like fantasies with strong characters and a twist of darkness

****MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES******

 

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.

 

The Gist:
In the thrilling finale of the Shades of Magic series, we see Lila and Kell fighting not only for their lives, but the lives of the entirety of Red London when they face off against Osaron and the dark threat he posses. The beauty of this trilogy is that it succeeded in continuing to increase the tension and intensity in the plot. Each book, this one especially makes you more and more nervous about the characters (in a good way) and curious about what will happen.

 

What I Liked:
In this book, we get a more in-depth look into Holland and his character. We learn bits and pieces about his past and what motivated him. This really created that villain-hero internal struggle that I love and makes characters so much more real to me. Watching him grow and learning more about him truly was a treat. The book also features more of Alucard’s point of view and he quickly became one of my favorite characters.

Color me a darker shade of impressed by the way Schwab continued to portray and weave magic into the story. I was intrigued by the different consequences magic had on the characters and the different ways they viewed it. It gave magic a more well-round, diverse representation than I’m used to seeing in fantasy books.

If you finished book two wishing you knew more about the Rhy-Alucard dynamic, your wishes will come true in book three. A Conjuring of Light delves deep into the past of the prince and pirate, which only leaves you rooting louder for them in the end.

 

What I Didn’t Like:
I was hoping for more character development by the time the third book wrapped. There was some, yes, but I really didn’t see as much as I wanted to is Lila. It seemed to me like someone who went through what Lila did would come out a little bit changed.

Osaron as the villain fell flat for me. He was one dimensional and I had a hard time figuring out what his motivation was for being so evil other than he simply wanted more power, which isn’t a very enticing motivation in my personal opinion.

Some random characters got their own viewpoints, but they didn’t add much to the story for me. The characters felt small in the importance of the story and their viewpoints were infrequent enough that I never really connected with them. Those scenes became more of a distraction and annoyance than anything else.

It also seemed like the flashback scenes were getting a tad excessive, especially for a last book. While I enjoyed what they revealed to us about the characters, their placement in the middle of intense action sometimes deflated the pace for me.

 

LunasLuckyRating: 3.5/5 Lunas