Jul 16

Jul 16 The Fragile Threads of Power

Author: VE Schwab
Publisher: Tor Books
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

***Description is a light spoiler for the Shades of Magic trilogy***

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and set in the world of A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E. Schwab opens a new door into perilous adventure and tangled schemes with The Fragile Threads of Power.

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power, and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast, and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory―Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.

But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years―and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland's absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own―but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown them instead.

And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.

Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

Her name is Tes, and she's the only one who can bring them together―or unravel it all.

TL;DR Review

The Fragile Threads of Power is everything I hoped it would be. V.E. Schwab is a master plotter, a master of the details, a master of sentences — just a master of everything

For you if: You read the Darker Shades of Magic trilogy (start there!).

Full Review

The Fragile Threads of Power was possibly my most anticipated book of the year. It has a LOT to live up to, kicking off a new trilogy that follows the bestselling (and a personal favorite) Darker Shades of Magic trilogy. I’m happy to report that I absolutely loved it.

The Fragile Threads of Power is set seven years after A Conjuring of Light, and it heavily features the characters we love most — Kell, Lila, Rhy, Alucard — while also introducing several new (excellent) characters. I don’t want to tell you much more, because I really enjoyed reading this without knowing any of the plot beats, but rest assured that it earns all of its 600+ pages and then some.

Darker Shades readers know this, but V.E. Schwab is a master plotter, a master of the details, a master of sentences — just a master of everything. Our beloved characters are seven years older and seven years harder. They’ve been through it — there was healing to be done after Conjuring that’s largely still in progress — and she’s matured them in a way that can sometimes feel not quite like what you expect, but always feels realistic and true.

I will warn you: There are a few places in the beginning, as she’s piecing together the events of the past seven years, when she tries to stress you out. But have faith, dear readers, she will not forsake you. I also counted two instances where the original canon was slightly broken (I reread Shades immediately before reading this, so it was very fresh), but they are things I can ultimately forgive.

Finally, what an ending!! Thankfully not as much of a cliffhanger as A Gathering of Shadows (IYKYK), but it’s a great setup for more books to come and I cannot WAIT for the next one.