The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

SYNOPSIS

Once there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London.

After a desperate attempt to prevent corruption and ruin in the four Londons, there are only three - Grey London, thriving but barely able to remember its magical heritage; Red London, ruled lately by the Maresh family, flourishing and powerful; and White London, left to brutality and decay.

Now the worlds are going to collide anew - brought to a dangerous precipice by the discoveries of three remarkable magicians.

There’s Kosika, the child queen of White London, who has nourished her city on blood and dreams - and whose growing devotion to both is leading her down a dangerous path.

Then there’s Delilah Bard, born a thief in Grey London, who crossed the worlds to become a legend far from there. She’s an infamous magician, a devious heroine, and a risk-taking rogue, all rolled into one unforgettable package. Having disappeared to seek a new adventure, an old favor now calls Lila back to a dangerous port, to join some old friends who need more help than they even realize.

Last there is Tes, a young runaway with an unusual and powerful ability, hiding out in Red London while trying to stay out of the limelight.

Tes is the only one who can keep all the worlds from unraveling - if she manages to stay alive first.

Spoiler free (however if you haven’t read the original series, beware of spoilers)

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What a read! I’ll be honest up front, my love for the original series and the long anticipation for this sequel trilogy may have painted this book the type of light that will hear no criticism. Being back n this world was like coming home. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed this world and these characters. Their banter and relationship dynamics are top tier. And their badass moments had me kicking and giggling in excitement. They’ve only gotten better with age (which is great because now that I’m older too, I can still relate to them). I was skeptical of Schwab introducing a new cast of characters that I was supposed to care about when I could instead be reading an entire book of just the original cast but… I loved it! Tes and Kosika were such fascinating characters and this book left me so intrigued as to where their stories will take us. I’m so excited for the rest of this series… even if I’m slightly terrified of my favourite characters being thrown into danger once again.

We follow a few different viewpoints and timelines so it’d definitely a more dense story as opposed to a bingeable read but it built onto the world so well and set the seen for an exciting series. We start off where we left, in the orchard with Holland. And so starts Kosika’s story. Her journey through the seven year s between Holland’s death and the present timeline. We see how she comes into her power and her morally grey influences. We follow Tes as she discovers her unique skill set which, inadvertently, lands her in a world of trouble years later. We look back with Kell on his and Lila’s adventures the last few years and Kell’s struggles with his damaged magic. And lastly we get caught up to Rhy and Alucard and how they’ve come to rule such a powerful dynasty. It was all so nostalgic. Even the new characters had storylines that tied in seamlessly with our original crew.

The plot was fantastic. I did feel the pacing could have been better. I almost think it would have been great to have a novella in between that highlighted the flashbacks so we could focus more on the present story in this book, however, I enjoyed it all. It did take me a while to get through just do to the density and frequent flashbacks pulling me out of the present storyline but it allowed me to appreciate the story for longer. I didn’t want it to end. There were unanswered questions at the end of the original trilogy that I hadn’t really seen as unanswered until they were brought up in this book and foreshadowed exactly how this trilogy will tie up all the loose ends from the previous story. Rhy and Alucard, and by associate, Kell and Lila, are fighting against unseen and unknown forces called The Hand, bent on taking down the monarchy. Kosika is floundering to keep her world’s magic thriving and to avoid returning to the brutal desolate days before Holland became king. And Tes is swept up in a whirlwind of magic that shouldn’t even be possible. As these characters storylines begin to intersect and thread together (see what I did there?), you begin to see the bigger picture of where this story will go in future and, without giving away too much, I can honestly say it’s been a long time coming!

The characterizations in this were so good. I didn’t think it was possible to love the original cast more than I did but boy was I wrong. Kell had always been a bit of a tortured soul and, although he is still going through it in this book, he’s also grown into a confidence and assurity in himself that was so beautiful to see. I think his trauma will be a key part of the series to come. Lila, the badass we love to love and also be frustrated with… still the same! I’ll admit during the first half of the book I was very frustrated as it seemed all our characters found personal growth and Lila just found more ego but as the story goes on you see just how much she’s changed and adapted and opened to people. But she still has a ways to go and I think that’s why she’s set up as one of the main characters with the new cast as well. I’m excited to see her learn to be vulnerable and rely on others. Rhy and Alucard, they were exactly as I remembered, just more mature and more secure this time around, I do see, however, their family dynamic eventually becoming a problem. I will say, though I’m happy for them, I wasn’t a fan of how they chose to continue the line of succession.

Onto our new cast of characters: Tes was a delight! She was like a more feral, yet more loveable version of Lila. I feel bad saying that but I feel Tes is what Lila could have been if someone had helped her in life sooner and seeing the parallels between them was fascinating. I also loved that she’s such a Kell fan, I find that will be a good comedic relief throughout the series. Kosika is the one character I’m not sure how to feel about. I sympathize with her and I do think she’s trying to do what she thinks is right, but I also don’t trust her. She seems more reserved than Holland ever was and it was harder to get a read on her. I’m interested to see if she will be a hero or a villain. The one character I really did not like no matter what was portrayed was Nadiya. She was such a layered character that was also hard to read but although us readers are convinced to like her or at least not mind her, some of the descriptions of her ambition have me unsettled. We’ll see where she ends up and if my hunch is correct.

This was such a fulfilling sequel to a well-loved series and it didn’t disappoint. It stayed true to the original as much as possible and expanded into new and exiting territories. I gave this 4 stars as it was such a great start and I just know it will get better as the story goes on.