The Fragile Threads of Power, V.E. Schwab

Book Title: The Fragile Threads of Power

Author: V.E. Schwab

Series: Threads of Power #1

Date Started: March 17th  2026

Date Completed: May 26th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I, unfortunately, skim-read this book from 200 pages in (once those first 200 pages had taken me over a month to get through). If it wasn't V.E. Schwab, I would've given up entirely.

This book seems to set out with the intention of telling a new story, with an enormous amount of new characters (that I couldn't keep track of), but it just cannot let go of the references, guest appearances and nostalgia of the original trilogy. And it absolutely holds back what this story could have been. At some point, it feels like a continuation but at others it seems to completely forget the central story and goes on a complete tangent for seemingly no payoff.

The structuring in general was strange. We jump between now and 7 years ago (and I still don't see the need), sticking with one character for ages and then forgetting they exist for the rest of the book. I had no sense of how all their stories tied together, and my only assumption is that it's laying groundwork for the rest of the series, but it made this book a really confusing experience.

Overall, you could've cut at least 150 pages; there's so much description, reliving essentially the same scenes, really driving home the protagonists' tortured hero narrative. Less is more is something I thought over and over again reading this book, as we fell into this swirling repetition of prose, prose, prose for the sake of prose. Yes, we love this series for its worldbuilding, but if we're coming back for a sequel series, we'd appreciate a little more plot that isn't just the protagonists' angst. Nothing happened in the first 200 pages!

I'm honestly super disappointed. A Darker Shade of Magic is one of my favourite books and while I've not always gotten along with some of Schwab's other work, I was hoping this step back into the familiar would pay off, but alas. I've still given it three stars because, if you're more attached to the original, you may get more out of it. If this is what Red London is now, I think I'm ready to move on.

The Unicorn Hunters, Katherine Arden

Book Title: The Unicorn Hunters

Author: Katherine Arden

Date Started: May 4th  2026

Date Completed: May 20th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

The Unicorn Hunters, in line with everything else Katherine Arden has ever written, is enchanting, adventurous and, most importantly, masses of fun. I loved how Arden's writing style leant into the medieval tone, feeling noticably distinct from her other work, but still had that shining spark of fairytale magic she injects into her stories.

I adore Arden's skill and palpable adoration for exploring real history, places and politics through the lens of fantasy. By changing just a few threads - Anne of Brittany is older when her father dies, and she is thrust onto the throne, the unicorns of lore are in fact real - a new tapestry so vivid is woven, something so cathartic and ambitious with escapism that it glitters.

This novel has the ultimate feel-good cast of characters, and I almost want a dozen prequels/sequels just for them; the endlessly savvy and exhausted queen, her scrappy headstrong younger sister, the protective but respectful illegitimate older brother (and his not-so-secret affair with one of her handmaidenes - more Margaret, please), the resourceful and streetwise urchin saved from the jaws of death, the valiant childhood friend turned forbidden love - and a cat called Butter who can walk between worlds, because of course.

My one note was that it felt like something was holding it back the whole way through, and that left the finale from truly resonating. Something somewhere was messing with the momentum and keeping it from five stars, but it was undeniably an addicting and magical read.

A Soul Full of Shadows, Derek Landy

 

Book Title: A Soul Full of Shadows

Author: Derek Landy

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #18

Date Started: April 4th  2026

Date Completed: May 4th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Action, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Comedy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

Regardless of where you find yourself in the Skulduggery saga, Derek has yet to disappoint in the new chapter he's added. With more than 20 full-length novels at this point, still every book is a truly original story, always with new ideas and fresh humour to make me laugh out loud (and that never happens). Nothing is redundant in a Skulduggery story, everything comes back around, and everything comes to an end. And, of course, this wasn't the real end.

I struggle these days with the sheer scale of people, places, magic systems and (now) timelines in the Skulduggery Pleasant world. It's somewhat inevitable, 18 main books and several spin-offs down the line, and luckily the hijinks and thrills don't suffer too much from it. I did find the first half of A Soul Full of Shadows a bit of a drag with predominantly talking and lots and lots of set-up, but the second half was a pure joyride and made up for it.

The sequel series/set of trilogies is not what the original 9-book/3-part trilogy series used to be; they've evolved significantly. Some parts I like, some parts I'm not as keen on - but I don't think I'll ever stop coming back for more, so I'm here for whatever road Derek wants to send a burning Bentley down. It would be nice if Tanith got to have something nice for more than 100 pages, though.