It's been a few years since I've last been in this world and I hadn't ever expected to be able to return to these characters after the end of The Gathering of Shadows.

I think straight off the bat the time jump from the end of the first trilogy to the start of The Fragile Threads of Power felt unnecessary as it didn't feel like any of the characters we already knew had grown or changed much other than I felt Kell as a whole was a much quieter reserved character in order to bring Lila more to the front and as I discovered in this book , she's not particulary a character I love.

This all sounds negative so far but I highly enjoyed all of the new characters and the shifts in perspectives and Londons and felt it was a lot fresher and fleshed out than going back to the original story . I think this very much felt like an opening and while things did wrap up there is definitely room for more and I do think I'll continue on with this series but I am hoping it feels a little more cohesive than this did overall for me .

I will preface this review by saying that I am an unashamedly huge fan of the original Shades of Magic series and thus went into The Fragile Threads of Power with a perfect blend of excitement and trepidation. I'm delighted to say that this book captures exactly the same energy of the original series while bringing in new threats and characters for readers to enjoy (or to dislike but in a 'will they be redeemed' kind of way - we all remember Holland).
I was surprised that VE Schwab decided to continue on with Rhy, Kel, Lila, and Alucard as POV characters around a decade or less after the end of the previous trilogy. I will confess it did take a moment to adjust to where they were at this point, I think because, after the ending of the last book, I had confidently head cannoned that everything would be fine for everyone and now I was forced to confront that it *really* wasn't and there was still work to do. I swiftly got on board with that idea, however, and it was just nice to be back with these characters.
In terms of our new perspectives, I am utterly intrigued by Kosika and I'm so excited to see where her story goes since it felt so separate from the main narrative. As for Tess - I am obsessed. I love a tinkerer and a scrappy young lady and Tess fits the bill perfectly. She even has a dead owl companion?! It's like she was written with me in mind.
In terms of plot I was engaged throughout, finding it great to see new threats to our characters. I will say that this definitely has the feel of the first book in a new arc and I am utterly certain that we haven't yet really met our big bad. But much like the original series VE Schwab gives us a satisfying arc while leaving threads trailing off into future stories - very appropriate metaphor there.
For those wanting to read this book I would only start if you have already read the original trilogy as there will be spoilers otherwise, but once you've got that done you'll have no problem leaping into this action-packed emotional story. I cannot wait for part two. No really who do I need to bribe?
I receieved a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

The Fragile Threads of Power is V.E. Schwab’s glorious return to the Shades of Magic series and the four Londons!

Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard, return as key protagonists in Red London and are joined by new and intriguing characters including Tes and her little friend, Vares. Other new characters in pude the new queen of Red London, a new priest and confidant for the king, Rhy, and the adorable Ren, who will enchant you.

In White London there is a new child queen, Kosika, who has taken the throne after the demise of Holland. She rules in his shadow, earnestly trying to restore White London to its previous glory.

Whilst the four Londons are still present in similar forms to how they were when we previously visited, the characters have changed. It has been seven years, during which time they have been living with the consequences of their actions and choices, with some making more progress than others.

Of course this new instalment brings new adventures and challenges for these beloved characters, including a dire threat to the royal family of Red London, and some significant changes to magic in the Shades of Magic world.

I was totally drawn straight back into Schwab’s world and found the multiple POVs to be a wonderful way to bring the worlds to life, particularly from the characters’ retrospective views of past events.

Can I have the next book now please?

Enormous thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc of The Threads of Magic by V.E. Schwab in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Overall I enjoyed “The Fragile Threads of Power”. I think it is a great sequel to the original series, and definitely worth reading if you at all liked “A Darker Shade of Magic”. The four Londons and the magic system haven’t lost their charm, and like ADSOM this fantasy book is a perfect blend of action, humour, great characters, and gripping plot.
However, I had a big problem with the pacing and I would say “layout” of the chapters and narratives. We switch between many different POVs throughout the book, some familiar like Kell, Lila, Alucard, and Rhy, some new characters like Tes and Kosika, as well as other periphery characters for a chapter or two. The problem with so many different POVs is that you will always prefer some to others. I loved Tes, a girl with a unique gift who has run away to Red London, but found myself totally bored with Kosika’s chapters, which were much more slow-paced. While I expected to enjoy Kell’s and Lila’s, I found myself frustrated with the constant flashbacks to fill in the blanks between this book and the last. Moreover, given that there hasn’t been any major changes to their relationship dynamic, nothing felt particularly fresh or new to their chapters. I would have preferred if the whole book was told in a much more linear fashion, rather than the constant jumping back and forth between different times and characters. With the title, I actually expected Alucard to be the main focus, alongside Tes, which I definitely would have preferred. Given that this is the start of a new trilogy it just felt like too many people were being crammed into one book!
So while the first half, or maybe even two thirds of this book is very slow (we are setting up the narratives of literally a dozen characters) the pay-off at the end is extremely worth it. I couldn’t read the last 150 pages fast enough as all the action came to a head. The book ends at a perfect point leaving you satisfied but also dying for the next instalment. I just hope there won’t be as many flashbacks in the next one!

thank you netgalley and titan books for a review copy!
This has to be my most anticipated release of 2023 and it did not disappoint! I adored this book just like the shade of magic series. I loved this book but it was different to the first books in this world… This book follows all of the characters from a darker shade of magic, seven years later, as well as new characters (who were so well developed!) I loved seeing how the characters have changed after the end of a conjuring of light and being able to read more of their stories. I found it started very well, it didn’t feel like there was a massive break between the two series. I found it was a slower paced book that was setting up solid foundations for more books to follow. The plot was there, all the characters were back in Red London and each of their missions intertwined with one another, but it also felt like lots of the book was just seeing what had happened to the characters especially in the beginning when you got flashbacks to important moments in the gap between the books. I of course love the world and the writing!! the writing is one of my favourite things in V.E.Schwabs books! I do think this book is different to the first series and I think it needed to be otherwise it would be too similar and feel like nothing had passed changed between the two series. Overall I LOVED this book! it is definitely one of my favourite books of 2023, if you haven’t read the shade of magic series definitely read those and then this!!

‘And all at once, the magic began to flow again.’

It’s been a long while since I first read The Shades of Magic, and I did try and and squeeze in a trilogy reread before this was published, but I was lucky enough to be granted an early proof. With this in mind I noted that there was enough backstory/subtle explanations to allow this book to be read and understood without needing to have read The Shades of Magic books first. So, I’m recommended this whether it’s your first or twenty-?th V.E. Schwab book :)

Set seven years after the last Shades of Magic we revisit familiar locations and characters, and we are introduced to new faces and places too. I don’t want to give spoilers at all, but there’s some wonderful wholesome and quirky characters who are an absolute joy, and others who are perfectly shady, and then those who I just can’t make my mind up about !!

I adore how, in typical and ingenious Schwab style, the separate story threads wisp and weave, winding us into a whirling climax crackling with perfect magical energy. Although we have a satisfying finale the way is expertly paved for book two - which I need right now.

This book is storytelling at it’s finest..

‘The stories about Delilah Bard were true.’

Well, my reading was... laborious !

First of all, thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC. But this book didn't make for me.
I couldn't manage to dive in it as I did with "Shades of magic". And yet I really wanted to like the book. Perhaps too much. I thought that there is a big lack of action, too many parts only used to describe useless things, and waaay too many flashbacks. That was confusing. Victoria Schwabb thoroughly tried to fill the 7 years gap between the two stories, but that was often useless to serve the plot.
This said, I enjoyed some parts of the story anyway. Being back in the Red London with Kell and Lila was awesome, discovering new characters and reconnecting with old ones. Seing that 7 years after "Shades of magic", nithing is really settled and that magic is still in danger was great.
But a good environment, a great world, doesn't always make a great book.

I really don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away but I can say I wasn’t disappointed at any stage. I loved coming back into the rich world of the Londons, seeing familiar characters and meeting new ones. Superb!

Had to wait until publication month to post this so here goes....

Well what can I say. I only read the Shades of Magic series last year so haven't been waiting as long as some for this next installment in the world. But I feel even if I was, it would have been worth the wait.

We join those we know and love, Kell, Lila, Rhy and Alucard (and others) catching up on what they have been doing in Red London since we left them 7 years prior. In this time things have changed, people have changed, but you still feel like you are coming home to this world and these characters and its so nice to see where they have ended up. We also get some glimpses into their journeys there along the way.

Tes is also in Red London and she is a newcomer with a power to rival them all, not only can she see the Threads of Power... she can use them

We also meet Kosika, a child who is ruling White London in the shadow of the last king, Holland.... can she help restore that world like he was trying to do

How important will these new faces be in it all, pick this up to find out... as won't say much more as I don't want to spoil even a bit, but this book was simply amazing.

I know there is always a worry diving back into a beloved world but there is no need to worry, it feels old and comforting but also new and fresh at the same time.

Now the wait for the next installment starts

I cannot thank Titan Books and VE Schwab enough for giving me the chance to read this book before release, however my rave review would have been the same with or without the early review copy.

Thank you for the publisher for the e-arc.

In full transparency, I had forgot how much I enjoy V.E. Schwab. Whilst I have not read the author’s full work, I re-read Shades of Magic in preparation to read this arc and how delightful it was. I never re-read but I am so glad I did.
The Fragile Threads of Power happens 7 years after the final book on the Shades of Magic Trilogy. It’s a big jump in time and we are reunited with our beloved Kell, Lila, Alucard and Rhy, among others, whilst at the same time we get introduced to fascinating new ones. And oh my, how amazing are these new characters!
I love fantasy books that have multiple threads (ah!) that get woven and tangled together to culminate in a final act. In parallel of following our favorite gang, we get to know a resourceful fugitive that is starting to unravel her potential until something dangerous threatens that, a child that rises to Queen-hood in White London and a dangerous organisation that plans to bring the crown down.
I don’t want to get in to much detail about our new characters, but I adored them. Very hard to execute and integrate a new character in such a beloved world and gang. I dare to say one of them maybe has snagged top 1 spot for me .
I have to say that, shockingly, I would love these new characters to have had more spotlight that they did. Whilst I adore the Shades of Magic original characters, we spend a lot of time in this book in flashbacks about what happen in the past 7 years instead of exploring more of what’s happening presently. As many have suggested in reviews, a novella about this would have made sense in the transition to this new series.
I have to give a huge nod to Kell’s arc. I didn’t think I could love him more but I do now! We see his struggles, his inner and upmost thought of himself and more display of his loyalty and love for London, Rhy and Lila. He is such a great constructed character and you wouldn’t think he could be more beautifully developed, but Schwab did it in this book.
I always adored the multiple London world-building that the original trilogy presented and I still adore it in this installment. I think it is such well developed and original, tailored to our new characters as well, whilst keeping up with the plot and overall arc. There is definitively a duality in anything that happens and gets introduced here, which sets the tone to what’s yet to come.
I’m not shy of 700 pages books but I felt this was unnecessary in this case. The pacing definitively suffers in this, as we get exposure to some scenes and characters that maybe was not as necessary. I am sure some of it will have a role to play in the future however, in here, just felt it dragged the narrative.
I have to say I finished this book with a smile in my face. It was a delight to be back in this world and V.E. Schwab’s writing is always a comfort to read. I cannot wait for the next book!

I was cautious that this series need other books after the first trilogy but I’m very glad to be mistaken. This book weaves multiple characters in multiple timelines through multiple Londons with ease. I cannot wait for the next instalment.

A span of seven years has elapsed since the portals bridging the realms were sealed shut. A septennial milestone since Kell, Lila, and Holland joined forces to confront the threat of Osaron, an act of dire bravery that safeguarded the realms of Red, Grey, and White London. These seven years have also seen Kell's magic sundered and Holland's life tragically extinguished.

In the realm of Red London, Rhy Maresh reigns, his newfound family—Queen Nadiya, their daughter Ren, and his partner Alucard—by his side. However, beneath the surface of prosperity simmers a conspiracy and rebellion, rumors suggesting that Rhy's rule is sapping magic from the world.

Meanwhile, White London is overseen by Kosika, a young Antari, who ascended to the throne. The queen guides her subjects in rituals of sacrifice and blood, paying homage to the altar of Holland Vosijk, yet the burgeoning power she wields might prove beyond her command.

Lila and Kell, now living as free spirits upon the waves, receive a charge from the captain of the Floating Market: to recover a profoundly potent artifact, pilfered by enigmatic forces.

Amidst this tapestry of realms and destinies, a young woman named Tes, endowed with a talent for mending the broken, becomes enmeshed in the machinations of Antari and monarchs, betrayers and thieves. It is her singular abilities that can interlace the intricate threads of power.

While I'm still relatively new to the realms of fantasy and mythology, I've been enthusiastically broadening my literary horizons, and the author's work has been an illuminating revelation. The narrative is exquisitely crafted, rendering the characters into vibrant existence upon the pages, while the settings burst forth with vividness. Each character's voice is remarkably authentic. A pivotal cornerstone of this tale is its world-building, with the author constructing a meticulous and richly detailed universe, complete with its own tapestry of histories, cultures, and languages.

This marks my inaugural experience with the author's work, and it has left me thoroughly enchanted, eager to delve into more of their creations. The book's cover is a captivating spectacle, poised to seize attention within the shelves of a bookstore. Heartfelt gratitude extends to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing this advance reading copy.

Schwab returns with a new series that continues the world building of her previous books. Fans of her work will love getting to meet new characters, along with the return of beloved ones.
While not her strongest book, there is still much to like here with an exciting story that sets up a new threat to explore.
One that will appeal to fans of Sarah J Mass.

What an absolute delight. Delving back into the world of Shades of Magic was everything I hoped it would be and more. The characters are older, the fights grittier, the plot perfectly woven just like the threads of power that weave throughout the world. Schwab has grown as a writer, and handles the differing perspectives, times and storylines with such deftness she makes it seem easy. A must read.

In the follow-up to The Darker Shades of Magic series, the world(s) we know are both similar and eerily different: a new Queen, the spiritual heir to Holland, takes White London’s throne; Rhys Maresh remains without power, but now, an uprising gains strength in Red London; Kell and Lila embark on a new mission across the globe, to places and nations yet unseen by readers; and a different form of magic emerges, pulling on the very threads of these worlds. This long-awaited spin-off sequel ventures into new political, magical, and emotional territory, offering deeper explorations of favourite characters and revealing newfound terrors and excitement for all.

The Darker Shades of Magic series is my favourite fantasy series — the world-building is vibrant, the characters are flawed and tangible, and the magic is interesting. And its successor is no different. The Fragile Threads of Power brings a fresh perspective on the world(s) that we have seen before, deepening the already fabulous world-building with new layers of magic, some threatening magical politics, and by venturing to parts of the world we haven’t seen first-hand before. V.E. Schwab looks to the very structures (or threads) of the world itself in this book, and I loved it! Really, the expanded magic system made this book shine. We get to see, now more than ever, how the worlds we’ve already encountered function and how they might threaten, once again, to fall apart. It’s a terrifying, but absolutely thrilling, reading experience.

That being said, I was also very happy to spend more time with the characters from the original series. This book gives them so much space to grow and to exist, and this made reading it (somehow) more enjoyable! Their interactions with our new cast of characters added more depth and nuance to each of them, and the melding of the new with the old made for some really fun scenes. I was so relieved to see them being given so much space on the page and to check in on them after 7 years. They worked really well alongside this book’s new faces — all of whom are a welcome addition to this series and add vitality to the pre-existing politics and magic systems of the world, as well as its emotional heft.

The only criticisms I had of this book are, I think, more general symptoms of the spin-off series venture. In the attempt to handle both new and old characters, sometimes the pacing of this book is slightly off, as we switch from the thrilling actions of one character to the quiet meditations of another; and as it handles the seven-year time jump between this series and the original. The issue also arises of balancing time spent with old and new characters. And despite my love for the original group, I would’ve liked more time with our new characters, to get a deeper sense of them and their impact on these worlds. However, both of these don’t affect the plot too much and Schwab makes sure most scenes are, if not exciting, then thoughtful, and that each character manages, at least, to shine for a bit.

Overall, this book marks a spectacular return to The Darker Shades of Magic World, and I can’t wait to see where Book 2 takes us.