Synopsis from Goodreads:
It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift–back into Black London.
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games–an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries–a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.
“I gave him my life, but you cannot ask me to stop living.”
I finished this book a couple days ago and immediately started ACOL. I mean IMMEDIATELY like 5 seconds later (Thank God for reading already finished series!). So I am gonna try really hard to review this book alone and not to mix it with ACOL.
First of all, I now know what’s the hype surrounding V.E. Schwab is all about! This book is so much better than ADSOM, while it took me months to finish the first one, this one took me a few days and if it weren’t for life interrupting my reading, I’m sure it would have only taken hours. It’s beautifully written, fast-paced, the action scenes are not boring at all, the chemistry between the Kell and Lila make my heart melt, the sass is still there, and of course, the wonderful, sarcastic Alucard (THANK YOU FOR THAT!).
Second of all, I am just so in love with the whole development of the characters and the series. Delilah Bard is unstoppable, that was obvious from the first time we met her in ADSOM. But, in AGOS she just rises and keeps on rising. Let’s face it, we all know that she is gonna be an Antari from the first book, so it isn’t exactly shocking. Delilah Bard, I admire her so fucking much, I admire her strength, her power, her will to live, her fierceness, her great humongous believe in herself. She actually reminds me of myself in that last part, and I never related to any character on that level before, so this makes me incredibly happy.
The Man With A Thousand Coats, Kell. I really liked this development of Kell. He spoke up, he started to absorb his surroundings, he started to reevaluate his life, I felt his mind waking up. I liked how Schwab addressed the Master/Servant relationship because even though Rhy and Kell were raised as brothers, they can never be eqaul as long as there’s leverage on Kell. They can never be equal if one of them is expected to die for the other. What I found really peculiar about Kell’s portrayal is that his whole character and job can be described as a “Traveler”, yet he lacks the luxury that comes with traveling; freedom. It’s very powerful to make someone’s identity contradict the reality, it makes you think. There was a big focus on his relationship with Rhy in this book; it still baffles me why was Rhy upset that Kell tied their lives together? I get that Kell might be upset because that makes the Master/Servant situation more unbearable, but for Rhy, it was because he felt selfish towards his brother. And that is something I have never seen being dealt with in other books before. We always get to see the doers POV, not the other one. Kudos, Schwab!
The Sarcastic Pirate, Alucard. I honestly didn’t trust him at first, no matter how much I loved his sarcasm. But I blame authors, they give and give, and suddenly you’re 200 pages in and discovering that the man you thought he was their friend just stabs them in the back and tries to kill your family (I have been traumatized by books!). But, alas, that wasn’t the case this time. He is really a nice guy. LOL!
As for The Non-Angsty Emo Boy, Holland. I truly thought he would be much more involved in this book, and I was kinda disappointed that he wasn’t. I must say though, that I feel sorry for him, it’s just not fair to move from one prison to another. Give the man a break, he deserves it, he and his kind-hearted soul.
Finally, I must say that this book is just magnificent with everything in it and that ending was brilliant!!! I am sure the thousands who have read the book upon its release thought it was more tormenting than brilliant.
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