Thank you so much Netgalley and Tor Publisher.

The Fragile Threads of Power was such a solid book for the first new book in the series.
It was perfect. Again. V.E. Schwab did it!!

+ Beautiful world writing
+ Polyamory relationship
+ Kell's development character
+ Many conflicts in different london, but it didn't get messier.

It was nice to back to Londonverse.

The Fragile Threads of Power is the fourth book in the Shades of Magic series, one that I thought was done with book three. I found the way Schwab ended the initial trilogy immensely satisfying as unlike most other young adult trilogies where the plot reaches its happily ever after, A Conjuring of Light allows the reader to enter into some of the same grief her characters must feel as they face loss in the aftermath left by Osaron, the power responsible for destroying Black London. Not every story needs to end happily; however, when I saw that Ms. Schwab was publishing The Fragile Threads of Power I knew to expect some story threads to be taken up again. Yay! If you’re reading this but haven’t yet read The Shades of Magic, you’ll definitely need to start there.

The events in this story take place seven years after A Conjuring of Light, yet the story begins with a flashback to the time seven years previous in White London when Holland returned and lay himself down at the foot of a tree in the Silver Wood after sacrificing himself to contain the chaos of unleashed magic that was Osaron in A Conjuring of Light. Magic is starting to surface in the bodies of the young people of White London, but Kosika is still young and hasn’t manifested any power, unlike her best friend Lark, who can cradle fire in his hands. This absence of power doesn’t matter to Kosika’s mother, a selfish woman who sees her daughter as something to barter in exchange for money. When men come to take Kosika, the little girl escapes to the Silver Wood, where she finds a dead man sitting at the foot of a tree as if sleeping peacefully. Under the fingers of one hand, new grass grows. Later, when Kosika’s powers do manifest, they are the powers of the antari. Just like Holland, one of her eyes turns black from corner to corner, and the Vir, the group who acknowledged Holland as the king who would bring magic back to White London, see Kosika as the child queen who will finish the job.

The story then moves to the present in Red London, where a young girl in a repair shop in the seedier part of town masquerades as an apprentice to a non-existent Master Haskin. The girl Tes is the real tinkerer, and the spools of wire and cogs aren’t even necessary for her to repair items because she can see the threads of magic, and all it takes for her to fix something is to pull at the threads to retie them or untangle them. It is a rare power, one that her mother hid from her father and sister, both avid and avaricious collectors of rare objects, as long as she could. Unfortunately, Tes had to escape from them when she accidentally revealed her power to her sister in spelling the skeleton of an owl to come to life. At Haskin’s shop, she has made herself a home, but is always looking over her shoulder for those who would see her worth only in what she could do and not who she is.

Finally, the reader meets a merchant’s son, who is also trying to escape from an unwanted future. He’d rather join the rebel group, the Hand, and do something adventurous, something noble, something that matters, instead of settling down to the safe life of a merchant. His father views his choice as treason; The Hand’s goal is to bring down Prince Rhy Maresh because they feel he’s responsible for the fact (rumor?) that the empire’s magic is failing. Now the merchant son is sent on a mission to retrieve an object from the Ferase Stras, a floating treasure trove with such a high level of security that two of the three people on the mission are killed and the merchant’s son not only drops and breaks the object, he barely makes it out alive under a magic protective cloak.

The reader is then re-introduced to the characters from the original trilogy, whose lives have been cobbled back together over the seven years that have passed. We find out what has happened to Alucard, Rhy, Kell and Lila, and understand that their complicated lives are just as or even more complicated now. Rather than retell more of the story here, suffice to say that everything weaves together eventually, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I love the way Schwab organized the story arc to introduce new characters who will have a profound and lasting impact on events, and how much of what needs accomplishing still falls to our old friends. I am a huge fan of dramatic irony; Schwab uses it to great effect in this novel as we wait for the characters to realize what we’ve known for a long time. It’s exciting and nail-biting all at once.

My only critique has to do with the object that the merchant’s son retrieves from the Ferase Stras and the use it is put to – I wonder at some of the logic around its rules of use. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but I wonder if anyone else had to reread those sections to figure things out. In the end, I resigned myself to being satisfied with a simple explanation – Tes wields a magic that can make more of something than it originally was.

Reader Advisory: Some sexual content, but nothing super-explicit; gore from murder, violence; self-harm as part of the sacrifice to use/control magic by the antari.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Books for sending this book for review. Any opinions are my own; I’m not receiving any kind of douceur for my review.

“A thing given by force would always be a pale shadow of something given freely”.

It is 7-years after Delilah, Kell and Holland saved the world from the dark forces sealed in black London and magic is disappearing from Red London. Kell and Lila have been at sea for the past 7-years serving as privateers for the crown, and Kell’s magic is broken. He is unable to use it without being overcome by excruciating pain. As Rhy struggles to hold onto power in Red London, Lila and Kell must return to protect and assist him. Meanwhile, in White London, a child has seized the throne in the wake of Holland’s death. Kosika, a 7-year old Antari now sits the throne.

Jumping between events directly following A Conjuring of Light, and the present, The Fragile Threads of power continues the story from the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy, and introduces some new characters. I found this book overall stronger than the first trilogy. It had better pacing, a more cohesive story and adds more depth to the characters we know and love than the first three books combined. It also further builds out the lore of the world, making it more comprehensive and accessible.

I’ve always been a fan of Schwab’s writing, but she’s really found her stride in The Fragile Threads of Power!

VE Schwab doesn’t disappoint with this stunning new release. I could not get enough and am almost sad I got an ARC due to being finished so quickly- I have to wait so long for the next one!

I am so happy that she is expanding this world and delving into more stories within it. I recommend it to everyone who loved the previous series or would like to give it a second shot.

The London we know may be grey and ordinary, but there other Londons - ones awash in power, where magicians wield control over air, fire, water, and blood. In each one of these Londons magic ebbs and flows, burnt out to an ember in dead, black London, but slowly building in white London, where a powerful young queen is ready to sacrifice almost anything to restore its power. And in red London, where the king has no magic, a group of rebels is seeking to do whatever it takes to keep the magic steady.

Schwab has picked up the Shades of Magic world a few years later, and does a wonderful job of bringing back old beloved characters, creating new ones to care about and setting up plots and intrigue. It did take me a minute to remember where we left things, but she does a nice job of catching the reader up while introducing new developments that logically follow to where things were left off. There are some nice bits of storytelling here, especially in Kosika's white London story, told partially in flashback. And I definitely fell for Tes, though I wondered if her ending wrapped up too neatly? (though I suppose I shouldn't assume anything, given it's a duopoly!) One thing I am happy about is that while here is definitely a sequel, this didn't feel like half a story. Highly recommend.

This book was a great surprise for me. I loved the characters and the story was a great blend of magic and adventure - a great success in world-building and immersive storytelling! The only thing that made me hesitate at first was its length, but it moved quickly and I really enjoyed it!

It was so nice to be back in the magical world of Kell, Lila, Rhy, Alucard and the whole gang. I was intrigued by the storyline but also felt somehow that not much happened. V.E. Schwab is known for her slow-world building and if you were a fan of shades of magic, that deep seeded love of the characters pulls you right back in. I will definetly continue reading these series but I have no clue where it is headed. This felt like a welcome home, sweet and almost melancholy, yet slow and winding so the next one can unravel somewhere completely unexpected.

Thank you to Netgalley and Toor Books for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Where do I start about this absolute work of art?? Only VE Schwab could return to such an iconic and beloved world and not have a single miss in the entire book. I had been so worried that it wouldn't live up to my hopes, and then it lived up to everything I had ever wanted and so so much more. Her return to the Londons is so spectacular, you will not want to miss it.

I laughed, I cried tears of sorrow and tears of joy, I gasped, I screamed at the book, and every single second I felt the warm and fuzzy joy of having come home after a long journey.

The stories of our beloved characters continue in such a dazzling way, and I can't wait to see where it all goes. They are still growing and learning about themselves and their world, and they are so precious the entire time. The new characters are just as compelling and I found myself invested in them in a way I hadn't expected.

Every word is perfectly crafted for the most emotion and impact I've read in a long time.
Come home to London, you won't regret it.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for an eARC of this book.

A Darker Shade of Magic is one of my favorite series so I was overjoyed to hear V is writing a sequel series. Going in I thought our main crew (Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard) would be secondary characters but that is not the case. And that might be my biggest issue with this book. We are introduced to two new characters, but then we're overloaded with flashbacks of what happened to the main crew in the past seven years. This could have been pulled and turned into a cute novella to make the pacing of this book work better.

The story really picks up once we return to White London to see what happens to Kosika and get more backstory on Tes at about the halfway mark. And from then on I loved it. Action. Mystery. Lila making poor decisions but being confident and awesome anyway. With a hundred pages left, I didn't know how everything was going to get wrapped up, but V is a master at her craft and somehow brought closure to the main plot while leaving enough questions for more. I wish we could have gotten one more scene with Kell to see how he was dealing with what happened to him, but that's just because he's my favorite character and I love him.

Be prepared to have all the threads of your heart pulled in all directions as you embark on another adventure with Lila and Kell. Along with some new and old favorites.

Step back into the four worlds, with and without magic, that have remained sealed....until now. A new antari named Kosika enters into our lives, along with a lot of troublesome things happening around her.

I absolutely adore Kell and Lila and trust me, you will remain on edge to see if Kell can truly control and gain his powers back, before the threads of his magic are torn apart, forever.

This was a great continuation of the Shades of Magic world. Set seven years after A Conjuring of Light, I enjoyed the introduction of new characters from three Londons and look forward to more stories in this sequel trilogy. Though it's not necessary to have read the Shades of Magic trilogy to enjoy this book, I feel doing so would add to the reader's understanding of the main characters' emotional development and their actions, especially those of Lila and Kell. I thoroughly enjoy V.E. Schwab's world-building and eagerly anticipate the next two installments.

This is a well written addition to the Shades of Magic universe, and I can’t wait to read more. I can’t wait to read more for a couple reasons: first, this book did a lot of building, but only barely reached a climax. (On the other hand, there was so much going on in this book, it easily could have been split into two or more.) Second, there were so many characters, it took me a while to get a handle on who they were and why I should care. All the ones you would expect are back, plus a flurry of new characters. I am not sure that folks who haven’t read the Shades of Magic series will be able to follow this new series. It’s also a difficult plot to summarize—partially because it’s definitely not over, but also because things keep flashing back and moving across viewpoints. But Schwab is pretty masterful here, and it’s easy to trust it’s building to something. After I was done reading, I kept wanting to pick it up and dive back into her world.

Seven book years and six actual years after the explosive events that concluded the Shades of Magic trilogy, V.E. Schwab takes readers back to that fascinating world. A new Antari and a new generation of magicians is learning to wield startling powers, but how will they use their magic, for good or ill?

Tes works in a repair shop in Red London. Her magic is similar to Captain Alucard Emery's, but he can only see threads of magic. Tes can actually manipulate them, and that's what makes her so good at repairing magical objects. It's unclear whether she can heal people whose magic has gone awry. A box that can create doors between the three Londons is on the loose after being stolen, and there are those who will commit any crime to get their hands on it.

I liked the Tes/Red London storyline much better than the White London storyline, which I found myself skimming through to get back to Red London. Nevertheless, Schwab continues to be one of the most imaginative fantasy writers in the literary world and I'm thrilled that this is only Book One! I've missed these three Londons and these characters immensely, especially Lila Bard.

VE Schwab is BACK with this incredible new addition to her bestselling Shades of Magic series that takes place in 4 worlds, all connected by a common point on the map: London; and all affected by the power of magic — the pulse of it or the lack of it. The Fragile Threads of Power continues the epic story of the characters we know and love while also opening a door to new people and new frightening possibilities. This is storytelling on a grand scale.

Not only do we catch up with Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard, we also meet Kosika, a powerful new Antari queen who rules White London with hope and desperation in equal measure; and Tes, “a girl with an unusual magical ability who comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds”. These new characters gripped my heart faster than I expected. (I would literally die for Tes.) And this story is the perfect continuation of a breathtaking tapestry that Schwab weaves with seemingly effortless skill.

The Fragile Threads of Power feels like a heartfelt gift for old fans, and a delicious initiation for new ones. I am thrilled to have been given an ARC, and I cannot wait to discuss this new adventure with old fans and new ones alike. All I can say is that readers are in for decadent treat that will only leave them wanting more.

A Darker Shade of Magic was the first staff recommendation I chose when I began my bookstore job nearly 6 years ago and it hasn’t left that spot since, retaining its place as my favorite book series, and I’m thrilled to say I look forward to placing The Fragile Threads of Power right beside it come September! I can’t begin to express my gratitude for receiving an advanced copy of this book (I nearly cried at work when the email arrived), and must say that the continuation of this story so dear to me was everything I had hoped for, from the return of familiar faces to the introductions of new ones. It felt like returning home to a safe space after an extended absence, or donning another side of a familiar coat. Admittedly, I had worried my excitement for the returning characters would make it more difficult to connect with the new additions, but from the moments of their introductions I became invested in Kosika and Tes and the unique perspectives they offered on familiar worlds (and of course Vares and his ability to lighten even the most dire moments). In fact, I found myself so invested in every character that once I finally allowed myself a reading day I finished the last 50% of the book in one sitting, just a few minutes ago. I simply could not stop, and was shocked to see how long the book was at the end because it seemed to fly by, and I would’ve happily read another 500 pages. I’m already looking forward to a reread when the physical book is released later this year.

The only problem now is the wait for the second book, and the annoyance everyone in my life will feel when I talk endlessly of my love for these characters, this world, and V.E. Schwab.

“The Fragile Threads of Power” is a worthy successor to V.E. Schwab’s incredible “Shades of Magic” trilogy. Set in the same universe, this volume sets up a new adventure that will satisfy fans without alienating newcomers. Seven years after the events of “A Conjuring of Light,” magic has returned to White London under the stewardship of the Antari child queen Kosika. Meanwhile, unrest is growing in Red London, where magic is continuing to wane. Tes, a girl who can see and manipulate the threads of magic, becomes embroiled in the plot of a mysterious rebel group working to overthrow the Maresh Dynasty. Schwab does a masterful job of weaving together multiple plots within multiple timelines, paying enough attention to fan favourite characters without neglecting her new heroines. Readers will be clamoring for the next volume in this exciting new trilogy.

Oh to be back in the world of Schwab's Londons - with Lila and Kell and Rhy and Alucard and a few new faces (so delightful it was love at first read/sight)! Schwab's writing is like a precious dagger - beautiful, ornamental, and exacting. I know of few others who can craft a world, from the visuals to the spirit of it, quite the way this woman can. And the pacing - languid and sumptuous while somehow managing to rocket forward like a wall of elemental magic. There is so much happening in these 600-odd pages but Schwab never makes it feel like work to keep up and remember it amidst the ever-changing perspectives. I cannot wait to see how the rest of this series unfolds - a treasure.

I mean, what can I even say? V has done it again!
If you loved Shades of Magic, I genuinely think you'll love Fragile Threads of Power even more! Dark and twisty, with some familiar faces and some new. Lots of magic and sweet moments, blood and fighting, and of course, quite a bit of adventure.

Thank you for the advanced copy! I'm honored that I made the list, and so pleased that I decided to read early. As a reader I am a huge fan of Schwab's work, have read every book, and was excited to return--and catch up--with old friends Lila, Kell, and Rhy, and meet new ones in Tes and Kosika So many new threads and possibilities!

THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER is a balm, a story told with depth and skill. Quite honestly it felt as though I'd never left the world. With the turn of a page, I had become Antari, pressed my hand to the wall and traveled back to London.

Also where can I get my own Vares?

Five stunning stars. What a beautiful continuation of one of the best fantasy series of all time. I am excited for fans of the original series, as well as new fans of the author's more recent work, to read this book. It has all the makings of a fantasy classic while still feeling fresh and new. I cannot recommend it highly enough.