if you saw me go back and forth on this rating 3 times no u didn’t!!! It’s a 3.5 but had a good time, so

Oh I was SOO ready to fall in love with this; the cover is stunning! I liked Saft’s Down Comes the Night but didn’t get through Far Wilder Magic. This synopsis convinced me to try her out again because it sounded so lovely.

The beginning was nice and I was actually having a good time for nearly the entire first half of this. Unfortunately, the plot started to become a bit messy and I became annoyed and frustrated. The political plotline seemed uneven and some major threads didn’t really wrap up enough for me. I DID, however, adore Kit and Niamh (although the third act conflict… UGH WHY).

I wish I could’ve rated this higher but alas, the plot was a bit too boring and frustrating for me to enjoy the second half of the book much.

I have been desperately hoping to get approved for this book because I was SO excited for it! I love Hollywood romances and I was really looking forward to this one after enjoying How to Fake It in Hollywood.

Overall, this was very very fun! I loved Lilah and Shane. The tension was SO HIGH throughout nearly the entire book which was stressful but thrilling. Miscommunication trope made an unfortunate appearance near the middle but I’m glad it was smoothed over quickly.

I will say that the drama of the ending seemed absolutely unnecessary to me. I was sent into a panic spiral and was questioning my entire rating but I’ll stick with the 4 stars. For the most part, very cute and fun.

Y’ALL. I CANNOT BELIEVE!!!!!!!

CLEARED MY SKIN WATERED MY CROPS GAVE ME THE WILL TO LIVE LIKE THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!!!! SHADES OF MAGIC IS BACK BABY AND I AM FUCKING THRIVING THANK YOU VE SCHWAB YOU ARE A GOD WALKING AMONG US

Thank you Tor for the ARC I owe u my life
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This is SURREAL. It felt surreal while I was reading and it feels surreal to think that I finally have the contents of this book in my BRAIN?? Shades of Magic is my favorite series of all time, so to say I have been anticipating this new book and that I had high hopes would be an understatement.

All I can say is that VE SCHWAB DELIVERED. Every expectation I had was surpassed, it truly felt like no time had passed since I was last with these characters. Every quote, every plot decision, every flashback, it all seemed so absolutely RIGHT. I love these characters and this world so much, and this book expanded on everything in new, yet familiar ways.

The plot was so expertly crafted, I loved the pacing and how the flashbacks were interwoven throughout the book. With such a big time jump, I was a little worried things might seem abrupt or missing, but everything was seamless. Every piece of flashback we got perfectly flowed into where the characters were currently at in the present timeline and my excitement was HIGH for the book’s entirety.

I loved the mix of old and new characters! I love Tes and am so excited to learn more about her. Everything with Kosika in White London was fascinating and SHOCKING, so interesting to see. My fave gang of Kell, Lila, Rhy and Alucard absolutely SERVED in this book. It was honestly like I was reading my dream domestic fanfic but it was REAL CANON and I lost my mind approximately 700 times. I cried more times than I can count and have spent the last 24 hours going through my highlighted quotes and bookmarks over and over again. I am SO, SO happy to be back in the Shades of Magic world and I can’t wait to see where we go!

Thank you thank you Tor for granting me access to this early copy, I’ll never forget the experience of reading this book!

This was spooky and creepy but also super fun! I loved both Wil and Elwood and thought they were adorable. The friend group was definitely the highlight of this, I was surprised how many times I burst out laughing considering the darkness of the plot! Was a teeny bit let down by the ending but overall enjoyed it. Will lookout for more from this author in the future.

OHMYGOD. I’m loving this series SO much more the second time around. GOD I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS. Lila and Alucard are one of my top brotps EVER and I love Rhy, who wasn’t my fave during my first read but now I would die for. Also obv Kell & Lila together makes me feel like I’m floating on rainbows. I love these ppl and now I prepare for the pain of Conjuring of Light. YIPPPPPPPP

3rd re-read 9/2018:

JESUS CHRIST I LOVE THESE BOOKS!!!!! I literally fall more and more in love with them every time I re-read and I think this is gonna have to be at LEAST a yearly re-read from now on.

I tried out the audiobook for this time around (my first time listening to an audiobook of a book I'd already read) and IT WAS SUCH A GREAT EXPERIENCE. I ended up skipping ADSOM because I didn't like the narrator, but the narrators for this one grew on me! (I've discovered that I am VERY picky when it comes to audiobooks of characters I already know and love). Kell and Lila's voices were perfect. What was weird though, was that I LOVED the male narrator's Rhy voice and the female's Alucard, but I was not into the voices vice versa. But other than that it was GREAT. Listening to the audiobook made me emotional over parts that I'd never really been emotional about before, but OH MAN did they hit me hard. I WOULD DIE FOR THESE CHARACTERS. OH MY GOD. I CANNOT EMPHASIS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I FUCKING LOVE THEM. Nooooow, CoL! WOOHOO!

Very important side note: How in the FRESH HELL did I survive SEVEN (YES, S E V E N) months with this cliffhanger during my first read of this series?!?!?!? SEVEN MONTHS. I've read these books three times and I'm already anxious about starting CoL RIGHT NOW. Geez. I feel like I've blocked out that waiting period from my memory because it must have fuckin sucked.

Reread 6/2021
FUCK THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD

Don’t mind me just crying over a cereal bowl

4.5 stars but oh this was delightful! This book grabbed me by the throat and said BOOK SLUMP OVERRRRRRRR