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.
Review: After thoroughly enjoying the first two books in the Shades of Magic series, A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows, I had very high expectations for the final book in the series. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met and I appear to be in the minority who felt that the series finale did not end on a strong note.
There are three main reasons why I gave A Conjuring of Light a low rating: the lack of character development, pacing issues, and a weak villain. In the first two books of this series, we are introduced to a fantastic cast of characters with quirky personalities and watch how they interact with one another. I wanted more character development in this book. We get pieces of it sprinkled throughout the book such as Rhy's parents change of heart when it comes to Kell and his actions or Kell getting the chance to learn about his parents, both of which are great discussion points but Schwab barely scratches the surface with it. I also needed the answer as to what happened with Lila's eye that is constantly asked throughout the book by each character that she meets and never answered. I also wanted to dig deeper into Lila's past. The romances in the book also left me unsatisfied. While we get the romantic tension climax between Kell and Lila as they finally openly admit their attraction and affection for one another, I was actually more interested in Rhy and Alucard's romance that was quickly summed up.
Another issue I had with the book is the inconsistency of pacing in the book. There were parts that I quickly read, particularly the beginning where we get answers to the cliffhanger of A Gathering of Shadows, and others that dragged on and on. I think my issues of pacing is that I did not feel threatened by the main villain in the story. While I do understand his threat to the Londons in the series, I didn't just find him compelling enough to read pages and pages about him. As a result my interest in the book embed and flowed and I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first two books. Despite my issues, this was still an okay read and I would still recommend this series. I guess I need to lower my expectations for series finales.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: There is some strong language and violence in the book. There are two small sex scene that isn't too graphic in the book.
If you like this book try: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, A Madness of Angels (Matthew Swift #1) by Kate Griffin
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I often find the third book in a trilogy disappointing and I don't know if it's because I am "done" with it or if it's the book itself
Really not loving the sound of a weak villain. I've read too many of those lately. Still, I do want to read this whole series. It seems like I have the same problem as you do with finales.
Sigh, I've still only read the first book in this series! I do plan on reading the others at some point but will make a note to lower my expectations for this one. It's too bad you thought the pacing dragged; that can certainly decrease your enjoyment of a book.
This author has been on my list forever...just can't seem to get to it. I'm going to start with the first, and hopefully make it through! Thanks!