I
absolutely adored this book’s preceding trilogy, The Shades of Magic series, and so this book felt like coming home.
It was a love letter to the characters
I had grown to adore and missed, and it was a thrilling introduction to a host
of new characters. Because there was a sense of returning, it was easy to feel
comfortable settling back into this world, but in typical Schwab style, she
quickly pulls the rug from under you as new depth and breadth is explored both
in the magic system and in the four-tiered world.
Plus, she’s introduced a tiny
skeleton owl companion that I became entirely too invested in and have far too
much anxiety around its wellbeing.
It's
a masterpiece, and it really gives meaning to the Austen quote: “If I had loved
[it] less, I could talk about it more.”
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…
This
is the sequel to They Met in a Tavern, and I didn’t know how Menchaca would top the first one, but he managed it with flying colors.
The characters in
this novel are divine- both heroes and villains compliment one another so
beautifully you really can’t imagine the world where one existed without the
other. I loved his portrayal of his female characters; he gives them such
depth, and I particularly loved his character, Wings.
It’s not often in fantasy
that a character who is a mother and wife is given any form of personality, and
Menchaca gives her such vibrancy, power, and agency it was an absolute breath
of fresh air.
I
also loved the funnier moments in this novel. There is a lot of plot, a lot of
characters, and a lot of action, so it ran the risk of getting bogged down, but
the moments of levity really tie it all together and makes this an enjoyable
read.
The Starbreakers were heroes, until a tragedy broke them apart. Only now, years later, have they begun to make peace with each other. The rest of the world is a different story.
There has been a breakout in the prison known as Oblivion, and now the worst of the worst have been turned loose on an unsuspecting world. Desperate to contain the crisis, the right hand of the king has called the disgraced Starbreakers back into service. After all, they were the ones who put most of these villains away in the first place.…
Agnes maintains such a gentle strength throughout
this novel that it’s hard not to fall in love with her.
She goes through the
stresses and trials of being the governess to absolute chaos demons and maintains
her morality throughout (where a lesser human would have crumbled). She is kind
and honest, and through her interactions with others, Bronte is able to explore
a number of different hard-hitting aspects of the human condition.
Be it the
contrast between a priest who does more harm than good for the sake of his own
vanity and a priest who heals through compassion and decency, or her
exploration of the different ways jealousy presents itself in friendships.
Anne Bronte's first novel is the compelling autobiographical tale of a young woman desperately seeking a place in the world
When her family becomes impoverished after a disastrous financial speculation, Agnes Grey determines to find work as a governess in order to contribute to their meagre income and assert her independence. But Agnes's enthusiasm is swiftly extinguished as she struggles first with the unmanageable Bloomfield children and then with the painful disdain of the haughty Murray family; the only kindness she receives comes from Mr Weston, the sober young curate. Drawing on her own experience, Anne Bronte's first novel offers…
When an unsettling event occurs in the Queendom of Frea, Jacs, an inventor's apprentice from the Lower Realm, participates in the Contest of Queens to prove that a Queendom is strongest when united.
In a Queendom divided, can one girl unite the realms?
Jacs, an inventor's apprentice from the Lower Realm, has only ever dreamed of what the land among the clouds holds. That is until she finds a letter from Connor, an Upperite boy who sends a wooden boat into the abyss, hoping to learn more about the land below. Little does Jacs know, Connor is actually Prince Cornelius of the Queendom of Frea. With wooden boats and hot air balloons, the two begin a secret correspondence that lasts years. But their friendship is divided by a heavily-guarded bridge and an inescapable prejudice.
The strength of their bond was thought to transcend distance and time, but when the royal family visits Jacs' town of Bridgeport, the illusion of peace between the Realms dissolves, and the old feud is reignited.
Now, to save her people, Jacs must infiltrate the Upper Realm and earn her place to compete in the Contest of Queens. She must learn how to survive against the contests' grueling tasks and within a political web she could not have imagined. In a story about friendship, love, bravery, and defying gravity, Jacs will strive to prove that a Queendom is strongest when united.
