Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: Purchased
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

Review:

I was hooked from the first page. This is the first book I’ve read from Victoria Schwab and she’s so amazing. I love her voice. It is very natural and easy to read.

The characters are very interesting. I loved Kell. He is conflicted at times, and it’s hard to know what he’s going to choose to do. I also loved Lila. She changes throughout the story and becomes a deeper character. The villains were also perfectly evil. Holland, Astrid, and Athos show up when you least expect it.

The setting of the story is amazingly detailed. I loved the different Londons. It’s a fantastic world, but also similar to the real London, so I could picture where things were. At the same time, there were so many unusual things in the world, that I had to imagine them for myself. This story would make a great movie!

I loved this book! I have no idea where the next book is going to go, so I’m excited to read it.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett