"Books" Archive

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

A book review by Mina Nguyen

      Following the events of V.E. Schwab’s series, Shades of Magic, seven years later, readers follow old and new characters into the four worlds- each with its own powers and fantastical lure- connected by a single city: London. With White London having a new Antari, Kosika, and taking the throne in Holland’s absence, the young queen is willing to do anything to restore the power of White London, even if it means feeding the city with her own blood and religious fervor. Back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is being threatened by a rising rebellion, the Hand, who is determined to balance power by destroying the crown completely where Kell and Lila will be forced to come back from being abroad to save the King. Through all this, a girl, Tes, with an unusual magical ability to see the threads of magic comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

          Every book that Schwab has written, I’ve fallen in love with. The Shades of Magic Series is the first series I recommend to anyone in need of a fantasy book, and I would recommend reading that series before starting the spin-off series, The Fragile Threads of Power. While it may not be necessary, it is highly recommended so that readers understand the careful world building that Schwab has written along with her well-crafted characters. I, initially, was excited to pick up this new release due to my love of Kell and Lila, but Schwab does a great job of introducing new main characters without ignoring old ones; I immediately loved Tes. I found Tes to be complicated and crafty; she’s smart, but she has extreme flaws that can inhibit but also enhance her character and her choices. Additionally, Schwab does a great job of giving her side characters personalities. They’re not there to only push Tes along, but they also have interesting backstories and goals that inevitably affect the outcome of the book. With picking up her new release, I was worried about forgetting everything from The Shades of Magic Series, having read it over a year ago, but Schwab does a fantastic job of reminding readers of the most important events and the hierarchy of magic; she also doesn’t introduce all the past events in the beginning of the book within the first chapters, but she sprinkles it throughout the book so the writing flows so naturally. While this book did take longer to get into compared to her previous series, as the book progresses, events get more interesting and there are enough loops and unexpected action that keeps readers hooked. As an overall review, I find that V.E. Schwab does a unique job of adding in interesting concepts to her books; her settings and plots are so original, and she does a great job at world-building that readers can’t help but keep reading. I loved this first book back into the introduction of The Shades of Magic Series, and I can’t wait to read more! I really believe that any reader who picks this series up will be fascinated by her storytelling and her characters (the two people that I ended up recommending this series to gave 5 stars to the majority of the books in the series). I can’t recommend this enough!

Books similar to The Fragile Threads of Power:

● The Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab (Should read before this new series!)

● Villains Series by V.E. Schwab

● Babel by R.F. Kuang

● The Atlas Six by Olivie Blak

Put The Fragile Threads of Power on hold.