It took me a while to get invested into The Fragile Threads of Power -- it begins with a brand new character, and I really wanted to get back to Kell and Lila and Rhy and Alucard. I imagine it would be different if I were reading this as a standalone, apart from The Darker Shade of Magic? But that feeling quickly abated and I became invested in the new faces, and in the back and forth between the present and filling in the past seven years.

The Fragile Threads of Power is a glorious book, with a lot of characters and a lot of moving pieces and plots. Schwab's world building is top notch, and the story weaves around so gracefully and magically. I loved it.

I honestly loved the dynamic between all the characters. I have always loved and enjoyed Schwab’s previous work but this definitely seems to be on the top and a new personal favourite, I find myself amongst yet another book by the author that I couldn’t get enough of.

I really love the epic fantasy world created by Schwab. It was just wonderful to be back in the world of A Darker Shade of Magic. This book had all the elements I enjoy in Schwabs books the intricate worldbuilding, the wonderful storytelling that grabs you from the beginning. The mix of the old characters we love, who are now older and wiser with the new characters with their unique narratives that are also interesting and intriguing. I absolutely loved this addition and cannot wait for the rest of the trilogy.

“A head gets lost, but a heart knows home.” V.E Schwab is a master storyteller. The Fragile Threads of Power is wonderfully rich and magical. The story keeps up the momentum and never slows. I loved the characters and the magic system. Definitely worth a read for any fantasy lover.

Another gripping read by V.E. Schwab!

When the remaining Londons collide, three remarkable magicians must come together to keep the worlds from unraveling.

If you were a Shades of Magic fan, do yourself a favor and pick up The Fragile Threads of Power! Dark, twisty, and captivating -- everything you could want in a V.E. Schwab read!

VE Schwab can do no wrong. This was another 5 star book for me for them. It’s always scary going into a new story within an established world, but she does it so beautifully. We had such a good mix of our old characters and introduced to the new ones.

And of course all of the new characters fit right in this story. They’re so well written and their stories are so interesting, I just wanted to keep reading to learn about them as much as see what Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard are doing within this post ADSOM world.

I cannot wait to read the rest of the series, I love the setup to a new conflict and more villains as well as an old morally grey one.

My favorite parts were Kell and Lila. Their scenes made me so emotional. Kell had so much growth in this book - losing his magic and rather than letting it beat him, he adapted and grew to a stronger person, not just an Antari. I also cannot wait to see what happens to Tes, I think where she is left off is going to tie in some really cool storylines later.

Overall, this book was amazing. No one can write slow burn like Schwab and keep me absolutely enthralled the entire time.

Thank you @torbooks and @macmillanaudio for the audiobook arc! The audio was 10/10!! Narration was consistent to match the narrators from the first series and then Tes’ narrator was a great addition!

Love this boook!!! I haven't read the Shades of Magic series and now I probably should. Devoured this book in a day!

There is something so lethargic about being back in the midst of these characters and their various shades of London. The new characters fit into this world like a glove and I'm loving getting to know them. V.E. Schwab is as brilliant as ever and has made coming back to this world like coming home.

I would 100% recommend reading the Shadoes of Magic trilogy before Threads of Power. It is hard picking up a new book knowing that it is extending off of a series you loved deeply. I was nervous I would be dissapointed or just couldn't love the new characters the same as I did in Shades of Magic but I was pleasantly surprised. There is a lot more of Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alacard than I expected and we get a lot of flashbacks to various events that bridge Shades of Magic to Threads of Power. In this sense I think that TFToP does a great job in bringing us up to speed but I might be a bit selfish here, I wish we would have gotten a standalone or something to bridge these books together. We spend so much time flashing back and forth that it takes away from the new and current characters. Schwab introduces us to a new cast of characters that, for the most part, you can't help but love. I am intrigued by the more in depth look into the magic system that weaves the London's together and seeing other gifts being expanded upon has made returning to the world interesting and engaging. I look forward to the rest of the series and really anything V.E. Schwab puts out into the world.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance readers copy.

The long awaited sequel/new series set in VE Schwab’s Shades of Magic universe. Coming back to the series after time away must have been difficult, but Schwab pulls it off gloriously. With characters old and new, they weave a wonderful tale that brings me back into the world and sets me up to experience new wonders (and pain) alongside our characters.

“All power has its limits. You are still a servant of magic, and magic demands balance.”

In this new start to a series—a sequel to the Shades of Magic trilogy—V.E. Schwab transports us back into a world full of magic. It’s been seven years since the three powerful Antari: Kell, Lila, and Holland fought against Osaron to save the different worlds that each of them came from. Now there’s new characters and new dangers that threaten the different Londons.

Red London is ruled by Rhy Maresh, married to queen Nadiya with whom she has a mischievous little girl, Ren, heir to the throne. However, Rhy’s true love is Alucard, his consort. There’s signs of rebellion and conspiracy that threaten the throne coming from the Hand, a secret group of traitors who believe Rhy’s lack of magical powers will cause their world to also lose their magic.

White London is ruled by Kosika, an Antari kid who is devoted to Holland. She leads her people to take part in rituals in order to restore the magic in their world. However, she keeps summoning a power that she may not be able to fully control nor understand.

Kell and Lila have been at sea for years on different missions. After visiting the Floating Market, they’re entrusted with the challenge of retrieving a powerful object stolen by unknown forces. An artefact that could destroy what they risked their lives for to protect in the last trilogy.

In the midst of all this there’s Tes, one of the new characters, a young girl with a special power to fix broken things (and sometimes make them better). She will find herself intertwined in the affairs of the Antari, the thieves and the traitors. However, only her power will be able to weave together the threads of power.

In The Fragile Threads of Power, Schwab continues to draw the readers into a magical and adventurous storyline. It’s a book that’s heavily focused on characters and that’s an introduction to a new grand journey. The book is extremely long which allows for a slower burn. And, whilst the pace of the book is quite slow in the first half, it picks up in the second half and everything becomes more interesting and action-packed from that point onwards. The slow pace however is understandable due to it being the first installment of a new series that needs to explain what happened in the seven year gap between the previous trilogy and this one. The plotting and suspense throughout are truly masterful though. The author truly balances well each storyline and each character’s journey.

Readers will be able to reconnect with Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard but in a more mature way. These characters have grown and parts of their personalities have changed from the previous series. Focusing on Kell and Lila, we see a Kell that’s truly struggling with his self worth and his shattered magic. On the other hand, Lila is still as cunning and fierce as always but we do see that Kell is her soft spot and that she deeply cares for him, in her own way, that is. Since characters are more mature, there are also some slightly suggestive scenes despite romance not being a central point of the story.

As for the new characters, both Tes and Kosika are quite interesting. Despite both of them being kids/teenagers they’re extremely strong and capable. They’ve gone through a fair share of struggles to get to where they are. Kosika’s story is still not fully developed in this book; however, we do see Tes having a heavy background and a powerful and important position in the story. She is a character that readers will truly love. It will be interesting to see these character’s journey and growth throughout the series.

Overall, Schwab created a solid fabulous start to a new fantasy series. With themes of self discovery of one’s power, strong magic, mystery, and found family, The Fragile Threads of Power is a perfect read for those who missed the worlds of the Shades of Magic series and its characters.

This was a phenomenal re-entrance to the Shades of Magic world. With Schwab's signature buildup and phenomenal characters, reader's are bound to find themselves entranced once again. The new characters are welcome additions, while the old ones made you feel home once again.

Wow. Just wow. I am new to V.E. Schwab. My knowledge of the author and books is very limited. I just know they are popular and my library fantasy readers just can't get enough.

I dove into The Fragile Threads of Power with know prior knowledge of the world, the writing style, or even the plot synopsis. I like to go into a book pretty fresh and with no expectations. That being said, I was so impressed! The world building and character construction was top notch. There is a wonderful sense of suspense through out the story. While the page numbers is a bit daunting, it reads quickly. I was fully engaged and entertained from page one. And then the whole story ends in a big cliffhanger which will have me hanging on until the next in the series.

Overall, a wonderful book with masterful writing and world building. This is definitely going on my library shelf and my personal library shelf.

3.5 stars, primarily for the pacing. This is 648/736 pages long (depending on whether you have the US or UK version) but moves fairly sedately until the last 20%. This book is the first in a companion trilogy to the Shades trilogy, and much of that first 80% is spent establishing what has happened in the 7 years between the end of Conjuring of Light and the start of this book, and introducing 2 new characters. Much of that careful groundwork pays off satisfactorily at the end of the book, but I did find myself wondering why I should care about assassination plots on the Maresh royal family and where the higher stakes would come in. Now that I’ve finished the book, I can see where Schwab is going and am happy to go along for the ride, but do wish the pace of those initial hundreds of pages had been brisker.

Lila Bard remains one of my absolute favorite fictional characters, though, and we see a ton of her here. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but Rhy, Alucard, Kell, and Lila’s parts easily comprise 70% of the narrative. And Lila is just as deliciously stabby a protagonist as ever, to the point where I often read her parts twice just to revel in it.

Threads also introduces Tes, who can see and manipulate the titular threads of magic, and Kosika, queen of White London and Holland’s heir. They both seem great and I’m most excited about where their storylines go in the next books.

I loved this spin off start to a new addition to this wonderfu series. I liked the new characters and though our author says she hates kids she certainly i think had fun adding them into a non young adult novel. Tes is by far my favorite and my heart is happier that she was able to help kell so that he can be all he wants to be again. The wonderful addition of the daughter for rhy and alucard to cherish though i am very wary like lilah of the queen. I hope she learned her lesson in this book and doesn’t push her bounds in future books. Kosiak and Holland oh i so glad to see him back even if he is a God of sorts and i really do hope he able to heal his world and not bring about destruction again. A wonderful first book.

This is my favorite novel of the Shades of Magic series. It's not required that you read any previous novels from the series, but I'd highly recommend it. V.E. Schwab can really build out a world, and fill it with really incredible characters and stories. I cannot wait for this to be released, so others can be as excited as I am for this novel!!

The Fragile Threads of Power
“Rhy glanced over and caught his stare. “What are you thinking about?”
“Your brother,” said Alucard, regretting the words as soon as they were out.
Rhy raised a brow. “Should I be jealous?”
He rolled his eyes. “Go to sleep.”
“I knew all that loathing was a farce.”

It’s only been a month since I finished A CONJURING OF LIGHT but I missed these characters so freaking much! Being back with Kell, Lila, Alucard and Rhy made me so happy. And then we get two new characters that quickly grew on me, White London’s young Antari queen Kosika, and the mysterious young Tes in Red London.

The first third of the book jumps around quite a bit and fills us in on what our dear characters have been up to for the past 7 years while also setting the stage for a new plot line.

By the end of the book Tes and little Ren had fully stolen my heart. I hope we don’t have to wait too long before we get the next book in this series.

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The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a new trilogy set in the same world as the Shades of Magic trilogy. If you haven’t read the first trilogy you should start there or you will not understand what is happening. There is mentions about past events, but very little detail reviewing what happened. So, you may want to do a reread of the first trilogy if it has been a while.

The style is reminiscent of the first trilogy and the world is the same. So, if you didn’t like Shades of Magic there will be nothing to draw you to this world. But if you did then you will be back among your favorite characters on new adventures.

As much as I enjoyed the book I am left not truly likening any of the characters. The queen quickly became a favorite as she is aromantic and asexual and found a place that fitted her needs and build a family that is not traditional, but was perfect all the same. But by the end I am left questioning her morality. And this is true of Bard as well. I am excited to see where the next books will take us.

I liked this and I’m sad I didn’t love it. I think the original trilogy had a lot more going on than the new book BUT I will say I loved the new characters

A perfect addition to the Shades of Magic world. The new characters are just as interesting as all of our old favorites and the world building was as well done as all of Schwab's previous books.

4.5 ⭐️

The Fragile Threads of Power was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I'm happy to say that it was well worth the wait!

Returning to Red London felt like the warm embrace of coming home. The floral scent of magic was palpable in the pages of the new adventures of Kell, Lila, Alucard, Rhy, and the rest of the crew.

Following seven years after the events of A Conjuring of Light, the story weaves multiple timelines with multiple perspectives of characters familiar and new. VE Schwab takes their time reacquainting readers with the world they know while building the new trilogy's storyline, which I very much appreciate. It has been about 2 years since I first read the Shades of Magic trilogy and without time for a reread of the SOM series before I dove into Threads of Power, I found the summaries, flashbacks, and well-placed reminders to be incredibly valuable. It does feel a *bit* long in a few parts throughout the first ~60%, which is likely purposeful and I'll learn why later on, but that's my only critique on an otherwise wonderfully adventurous and stunningly vivid story.

These characters have my whole entire heart. They are clearly created and treated with the utmost love and respect by their author. And when an author so clearly adores their characters, has so much fun with them, and most importantly: lets them be themselves, it makes for a magical reading experience, which is what I felt as I read along.

To say I'm thrilled for book 2 is an understatement.

If you haven't checked out the vibrancy of the Londons and its magical inhabitants, what are you waiting for?!

**Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and VE Schwab for an advanced copy of The Fragile Threads of Power and the opportunity to provide my honest, voluntary review!**