First off, let me say - if you haven’t yet, go read Shades of Magic before this! You won’t be disappointed.

The Fragile Threads Of Power drew me in immediately. Schwab has a delicate yet precise way of slowly unfolding a story and deliberately introducing new characters along the way. It’s simultaneously gripping and wholly immersive. The story just seems to effortlessly unfold before you, each chapter building upon the last until everything comes together… It’s truly something one of a kind. I find myself completely at ease, calm and content while reading her words. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Overall, though, I'd say, this book is a stepping off point. It’s setting the stage, if you will, and is heavily character driven with a unique weaving of the old with the new. Each character we meet gets a dual timeline and backstory that weaves seamlessly together with the present. I always love the intrigue of Schwab's many POVs and subtle plot progressions! And being back in the Shades of Magic world was immensely nostalgic. I was just absurdly happy to be back there. The one thing I did find was that I wanted more of the plot. It was definitely there and interesting, but just felt a little secondary.

Do be prepared for surprises along the way!!

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN EXPECT:
— rebellion x heists
— threads of magic
— shifting, multiple POVs
— large cast of characters
— dual timelines
— kingdom on the brink of war
— rags to riches
— parallel worlds

It's like coming home, and I'm so sad to leave now...

Picking up 7 years after the events of Conjuring of Light, Kell and Lila have been sailing the open seas as Arnesian privateers and Rhy has been ruling over Arnes as king. But now, a new threat is attacking the peace of Arnes and the crown. A mysterious group who have named themselves The Hand have been stirring up unrest in the kingdom, mainly due to the dwindling number of magicians being born and they believe Rhy Maresh is the cause.

A new Antari has also risen to power in White London, Kosika, who is determined to finish her Saint's (Holland) mission: rekindle the power of White London, provide for her home, and keep the other worlds at bay.

Now, a young girl named Tes--who possesses a rare, magical gift--comes into possession of a dangerous device, one that could doom Arnes and the Royal Family as well as alter the fabric of the other worlds.

Worlds collide in this epic return to the world of Shades of Magic, weaving new stories and characters into THREADS OF POWER!

UGH, I loved this book so much. It seriously is like coming home. Shades of Magic was my introduction to V.E. Schwab and she has since remained one of my all-time favorite authors. Seriously, meeting her is like a bucket-list item for me. This new installation into the realm of SoM is so inventive and fun, it was so sad to see it end. I think I put off reading it so fast solely because I did not want it to end. Yes, it is a slow build like all of Schwab's works. However, when it comes to action and the crescendo of a story does Schwab absolutely nail it! I cannot wait for the next in Threads of Power! I can wait, just not well.

Unfortunately I didn't realize that this was part of a series so felt a little lost through some of it. That is my own fault and not anything to do with the writing or story. With that said, this book was still a great read and I can't wait to go back and start at the beginning.

No thoughts, head empty, except for how utterly spectacular this was.

As a Shades of Magic fan, the return to this world came with high expectations, but not only did V. E. Schwab meet every one, she exceeded them in every way. I was immediately captivated by her new cast that was introduced in this spin-off series, while also tremendously gratified by the direction of fan favourite characters as we learned of their lives for the past seven years and what that means for their futures.

The Fragile Threads of Power, simply put, only further cemented my adoration and respect for Schwab, making her an auto-read author for me for years to come.

I love love love V.E. Schwab’s writing style and she just never lets me down ever. I felt the threads of power weaving through every scene in this story. I love her ability to make a scene bloom, versus simply unfolding.

When I read, I tend to speed read during scenes I feel are either unnecessary or just so simply written that I speed through without even realizing it. With this book, I found myself flowing through the words and feeling that it would be wrong to speed through, in the same way that it would be wrong to speed walk through an enchanted rose garden. Better to enjoy the beauty and be one with the magic of it all.

My only critique is that I enjoyed all of the characters and want to dive even deeper into them. I would love for this series to go full Sanderson mode and deliver 1200 page beasts so that I can soak in more and more of each character. I know hefty books are not everyone’s cup of tea, but with this level of writing and this particular story, I need it to be twice the size. Give me more, Schwab!

PS- going to do a review on my socials when the publishing date gets a little closer, but thought I'd throw in my NetGalley two cents early.

Schwab has done it again. I loved the Darker Shades of Magic series and Lila and Kell most of all, so getting the opportunity to go back to the Londons AND getting to hear more of their stories was wonderful! Additionally, Tes and Kosika have broadened the scope of the worlds and with a new problem on the horizon, I can't wait to see where this new series goes from here. Though I don't love books with cliffhangers, I suppose I'll accept it for the opportunity to spend more time in Red London with some of my favorite characters.

Six years after publishing A Conjuring of Light, the conclusion to her Shades of Magic trilogy, V.E. Schwab returns to London with The Fragile Threads of Power.

I can't think of many things more challenging. While reorienting readers to her world, characters, and magic system, Schwab also has to prove this world's dynamism. Few sequels are as disappointing as those set years later but feel as if nothing has happened in the interval. Plus, the previous trilogy escalated into a stressful, high-octane adventure that tested each of its protagonists in brutal ways. How does one raise the stakes to keep readers engaged, while still giving a new story space to grow?

At an event in New York earlier this year, Schwab and her conversation partner Tochi Onyebuchi decided there are no rules except, "The rule is: do it well." And she does.

When I heard we were going back to London, I reread the original trilogy to prepare, so I can't speak to the experience of reading this new book cold. What I can speak to is the seamless characterization of all our favorites. Kell finds it difficult to adjust to his weakened state. Lila refuses to let him wallow in it. Rhy steps into his new role with the same heart he's always had for both his country and his brother while Alucard adapts to his own new position. Barely 20 when their story began, six years has forced all of them to grow, but they are instantly recognizable with or without the flashbacks explaining how we got here.

The new faces in Red London are equally compelling. I loved Tes from the moment she appeared on the page. I was more skeptical of Nadiya - being the ardent Rhy/Alucard shipper that I am - but she, too, won me over...and provided the last piece of evidence any of us should need to prove this isn't just a book that features queer characters but is, at its core, a Queer Book. (Thank you, Victoria.)

It is also a massive book. Schwab is doing a lot of things to bridge the old series and the new, including multiple flashbacks, developing White London more thoroughly, and giving the reader firsthand insight into The Hand, our new group of villains hoping to depose King Rhy. Even in Schwab's expert hands, this does present some pacing issues. A few sections drag a bit, and I'm still not sure why we spent so long with a man she never names. Meanwhile, though we know how The Hand and the Royal Family feel, I would have like to see more about how the average citizen of Arnes is faring under Rhy's reign.

Overall, the intrigue, adventure, and, yes, romance are spot-on and exactly what brought us to London in the first place. I look forward to all the ways this trilogy is going to emotionally destroy me.

So good. I couldn't put it down. Great characters, fascinating world, a story that leaves things open for more books. Excited for more in the series!

I was so happy to revisit this world. VE's writing is just as lyrical and poetic as ever and she had me hooked from the very beginning with her new characters. It was also such an amazing treat to see how much has happened with the characters from the original trilogy, as well as their struggles in the years following the final battle.

I will forever follow V. E. Schwab to the ends of the earth. When I got the news that there was a new book in the Shades of Magic universe, I honestly thought it was a joke. How amazed did I feel when Netgalley blessed me with an advanced copy.
The Fragile Threads of Power is set in the same universe as the Darket Shades of Magic books. The different Londons with varying levels of power. Schwab incorporates the characters from the last set of books but incorporates new life and new challenges along the way. We meet new characters, characters like Tes and Kosika, who test new powers and the limits that come with them.
All in all, I loved this book. It was like stepping into the warm comfort of home, but a home that had been redecorated. I was dying to a view into the new life that Rhy, Alucard, Kell and Delilah, built for themselves but was oh so curious to see where Schwab would take the new story line. I will be anxiously awaiting the next installments of this series, for sure.

I was really excited to be back in this world with these characters! I also loved all the new characters and all the seeds planted with how they will matter in the rest of the series.

My reasoning for 3/5 stars is much of this book felt like drawn out set-up, and for nearly 700 pages that felt like too long. I was also bummed that Kell had so much less autonomy in this book. While he had a personal matter happening, he still felt like a background character that just followed Lila around and did whatever she said. He was such a force in the other books it felt odd to read. The flashbacks were also so frequent and went to so many different years in the characters life it sometimes felt more complicated than it needed to be.

Otherwise, I feel like the next 2 books are going to have a lot more action now that the set-up is done. The ending was exciting, and I'm really looking forward to more of Kosika's story and how Black London will come back into play through her.

ZOMG. I thought that I loved the original trilogy but that was nothing compared to the opener for this new extension series. I love seeing the way that Schwab is playing with the magic system and evolving it by introducing new characters with more complex powers.

I am going to have a hangover for a while, because THIS WAS AMAZING. I want to go back and read it all over again.

First of all, thank you SO much to Tor Books and Netgally for this advanced copy! I'm still pinching myself that I've had the honor to read it early. Year absolutely made.

This return to the Darker Shades of Magic universe was everything I dreamed it would be. Not only do we have new, intriguing characters to get to know, but we have get to catch up with the old gang! I cannot tell you how excited I was to see Kell, Lila, Rhy and Luc again. With brief flashbacks interwoven through the beginning of the book, we get to see what they've been up to over the past seven years and how it affects the current trouble brewing in the present.

Plus I'm such a shipper for Kell and Lila, and adore Kell and Rhy's brotherly bond. Seeing them both again made my heart explode with joy, and I crave more already.

I won't spoil anything, but I'm extremely excited to see where things continue to travel (pun intended? who's to say?) with our new Antari in the next book.

And now I begin the long wait until book two... But if you are a fan of A Darker Shade of Magic, I can safely say that this series is completely worth the wait.

The Fragile Threads of Power is a continuation, seven years later, of the Darker Shades of Magic trilogy. My friend and I went into this book unaware of that fact, and it led us to have differing feelings. The story is spent following Delilah, Kell, Rhy, and Alucard, the classic characters from the three previous books. There are a few additional characters who rely on this new timeline, such as the new queen of White London (one of several dimensions throughout the fantasy world). Plot points unfold across the perspectives of all of these characters, making the storyline very complex and giving it a classic fantasy feel. As someone who has read all of the Darker Shades of Magic books, I found it easy to follow and a great way to see what came next for all of the characters I liked. 
Since this is being sold as a separate series from the Darker Shades of Magic, and the covers appear very different, it may attract a lot of people who have not necessarily read a VE Schwab book before let alone one set in the same universe. For those readers, this book may be quite hard to follow because it does not provide too much background information about what happened in other storylines seven years prior. The audience is left to fill in the blanks about things by themselves or read the previous books, which is alright but takes some extra effort to get the same enjoyment as I was able to from already being introduced to the world. 
Prior storylines aside, this book was really good! At around 650 pages, it is quite long. However, there were no points where it dragged on because there was just so much happening. Short chapters combined with ever-changing POVs allows things to remain interesting so that you can keep reading a lot in one sitting without getting bored. There was also a lot accomplished over the course of the story, which I appreciated. 
The characters themselves were also super likeable. Maybe it was just part of me that had already liked them throughout Darker Shades of Magic and loved getting to see how things turned out for them. Pretty much everyone, even Holland, makes an appearance at some point. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who is already a fan of VE Schwab, especially those who like the Darker Shades of Magic books. Anyone else who is in the mood for a little escapism and a fast paced book to dive into, I think this makes a great choice. If you do read it, be prepared for a major cliffhanger at the end. I already can't wait for the next book to come out to find out what happens next!
Of course, thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for providing a digital copy of this book.

I want to start this review by saying that I generally love this author, and I loved the first books in this series. However, this book was too long, and had too many characters and too many time jumps. It was nearly impossible for me to keep track of what was going on and who was doing what when. I had a hard time connecting to the characters, because they were seemingly so all over the place. You had the characters from the first books, new characters, but also flashes back in time to kind of cover the time since the last books. It almost feels like there should’ve been a book before this that covered what happened to them since then before adding in anything new. unfortunately, my experience with this book will probably keep me from eating any more in the series.

HOW DOES SHE DO THIS?! The Fragile Threads of Power is everything I hoped for and more. I didn't want it to end, and I didn't want to say goodbye again. I just knew V.E. Schwab would cause some emotional damage with this one.

If you are like me and are/were afraid this new series would change how you feel about the original series, fret not! Her writing and storytelling only welcome you back like a warm hug and give you everything your brain needs. She wrote new characters to fall in love with, which is impressive since her original four were top-tier. Not sure how she did it, but I love a skeleton bird now?

This is absolutely the most dramatic review I have ever written, but I cannot contain myself! THANK YOU ONE MILLION TIMES to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this early!

I loved the trilogy that preceded this book, which apparently is the first of a new continuation of the series.

The original saga began in 2015 with “A Darker Shade of Magic”, continued with “A Gathering of Shadows,” and ended with “A Conjuring of Light.” In those books, set in 1819, we learned there were four Londons in four separate worlds that could be traversed by magic only available to a few.

This new series begins some six years later, and takes us back to all four worlds. In Red London, the main locus of the story, we meet 15-year-old Tesali Ranek, known as Tes. She ran a repair shop, allegedly working as an apprentice for a Master Haskin, although there was no such person. Tes was just a teenager, but she had a unique skill. She could see threads of power, manipulate them, and fix those that were broken.

In that way, her skill surpassed even that of Alucard Emery, consort to the king, who could see threads of magic but couldn’t reshape them. He, along with the king, Rhy Maresh, were trying to monitor an increasing threat by the members of the Hand, a movement seeking to topple the king.

They were helped by Delilah Bard - Lila, - captain of the Grey Barron, the renamed ship she took over from Alucard when it was the Night Spire. Lila was an Antari, the strongest type of magician in the world; there were only a few who matched her in power. Alucard has tasked her with working undercover to find out what she could about the Hand. On board with her is Kell Maresh, 22, brother to the king and Lila’s lover. Kell was formerly the most powerful magician in the kingdom, but his power was shattered by Osaron, the shadow king, the dark force that destroyed Black London. Osaron was defeated, but now Kell cannot call upon his power without being overcome by wracking pain.

Nadiya Loreni is Rhy’s queen and mother to their daughter (shared by Alucard as well), Tieren Maresh, 4 years old, called Ren. Nadiya was an inventor, and was happy to tinker in her workshop and let Alucard be Rhy’s companion. No one fully trusted her however.

Ren was named for the deceased and beloved royal priest, or Aven Essen. Rhy is now advised by the tenth Aven Essen, Ezril, who replaced Tieren after his death.

In alternate segments, we learn what is happening with the Hand. Members are trying to obtain a persalis, a piece of forbidden magic that could cut through space the way Antari were able to do. But unlike the door made by the Antari, this door could be held open indefinitely, and let a hundred killers through. The only known persalis was housed on the Ferase Stras, a legendary ship which dealt in the empire’s most dangerous goods. A group of thieves in the Hand were tasked with overcoming the wards on the ship, getting past Captain Maris Patrol and her crew, and stealing it.

Meanwhile, in White London, following the death of the previous leader, King Holland Vosijk, a seven-year-old girl named Kosika, bearing the telltale signs of an Antari, had been selected to take his place. She was now 14, and she has begun to see and hear visions of Holland, who advises her. Holland had helped magic return to White London after Osaron wreaked havoc on the worlds, and it is now Kosika’s aim, with Holland’s help, to rekindle the flame. He told her, “I chose you . . . to be my hands. Your magic was once mine. My legacy is yours. I will guide your hands, if you let me. . . . And together, we will do wondrous things.”

Evaluation: Thankfully, author goes back and forth in time at various points, in order to fill readers in on some of the backstory.

I was so sad when the original trilogy ended, and beyond delighted that Schwab has picked up the threads of the story again. Lila, Tes, and Kosika star as strong female leads. Different gender preferences and roles are so well integrated you barely take notice, which in a meta sense is a glorious way to highlight the same humanity in everyone.

This series is highly recommended for fantasy fans!

You know how when you find a series you adore, you can come back to it over and over and find new things to love each time? The Shades of Magic trilogy was my gateway into fantasy and has remained my favorite fantasy series. When I learned there would be a continuation series, I felt a smidge worried that it might not live up to the originals. That tiny, niggling worry was immediately squashed once I started reading, and I was sucked into just as I had been before!

The world-building Schwab is known for continues to blow my mind, as well as the layered cast of characters, plot, and threads (see what I did there?) that will tie into the upcoming books. Not only do we get more of our favorite characters from the previous series, but we are treated to several new ones across the Londons. I was a bit worried that our favorite four would be relegated to side character status in the new adventures, and I was so glad to see that each of them plays an important role in the book. Each new character perfectly complements the storyline, and since we got the opportunity to know each one of the original four so well in the first series, adding new characters to the cast was a perfect writing choice here. I love that Schwab trusts her readers to think and remember instead of spoon feeding us character details.

There are several nods to the first three books, with allegiances and rivalries of the past becoming important plot points in the present. I’m not sure if this continuation was always a plan, or if the idea for it came much later, but the way the two parts have come together feels seamless.

The magical system is as whimsical and complex as always, adding a blend of technology, science, and magic. I’m excited to see how this progresses down the line, especially considering the ethical dilemmas that tinkering with magical limits will pose.

All in all, the only complaint I have is that I’ll have to wait who-knows-how-long for the next installment! If you loved the Shades of Magic series, you’re going to want this book for your collection!

Thanks so much to Tor/Forge and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

V.E. Schwab brings back the characters you loved and introduces some fascinating new ones as the worlds try to move on from the events that occurred at the end of A Conjuring of Light. Unfortunately, what they seem to be moving into is a whole new mess of troubles.

While the apocalypse was averted through the monumental efforts of Lila, Kell, and all the rest of our heroes, political strife and a weakening of magic has caused new tensions to emerge and shadowy figures to start making sinister moves in Red London. Meanwhile, in White London, magic is slowly returning due to the efforts of a new ruler, but there are some serious questions in play about how this is even happening and what the cost might be for everyone.

A five star return to the world of a beloved series.

V.E.Schwab has written a phenomenal story to kick start a new trilogy taking place 7 years after the Conjuring of Light. It is written so that a new fan can jump right in, but I would also recommend checking out hte past books, they were that fantastic.

You are immediately drawn into the worlds of Red and White London and the characters of Kel, Lila, Rhys are about
New friends such as the magical Tes and Vares will join in this story and it is hard to say who is my favorite! When someone does something so well, so perfectly, it is almost impossible to describe. I would say that if you like scfy and world building. love magic and intrigue, then you must pick up this new novel. You will not be disappointed!
#TorPublishing #TheFragileThreadsofPower #VESchwab