A Darker Shade of Magic

"I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still"Oh gosh, I loved this so much!!THE PLOT:{NOTE: I reference a lot to the the londons here, so just know that there are 4 londons: Grey, White, Red and Black London)So basically this book follows our main character Kell who is an antari, who are a rare breed of species who can travel between worlds (Londons to be specific) which are otherwise closed for others. So, Kell is like a messenger for the worlds who delivers the message from his London(Red London) to the kings and queens of the others. But what most don't know about Kell is that he is a smuggler who smuggles stuff from his own London and sells it to the buyers in the other Londons (which by the way is illegal). We also follow another character Lila Bard who is a cutthroat and a thief (a very good one at that), She basically minds her own business, picking pockets of the Rich and has her face on the wanted posters all over her London (Grey London) and is also an aspiring pirate. Now remember that Kell is a smuggler, so one day when he went to deliver a message to White London, he unwillingly brings an item quite dangerous to Red London, but the worst part about it, he knows that the item should not exist.... Kell and Lila cross paths and after that the main story starts.THE WORLD:V.E. Shwab builds such an atmospheric and intricate world which makes it so much fun and interesting to read about. There are 4 versions of London, Red London in which people live peacefully with magic, Grey London, a world without magic where the people have forgot all about magic, White London, a dying London where people fight to keep every last bit of magic and the magic fights back and once there was Black London which is now destroyed. In simpler words *quoting Lila*, "There is Kell London, Dull London, Creepy London and Dead London" It may seem a little complicated but once you start reading its really not.THE CHARACTERS:Honestly my favorite part of any book! Ok so lets start with Lila Bard she was very well written while being a very strong female character and overall just absolutely amazing. Kell was also a very nice character and deserves so much love. Rhy is so precious.FINAL THOUGHTS:This was a fast paced fantasy/thriller with characters that you will fall in love with and a world that is so intricately woven throughout the story all with a backdrop of a very intriguing plot. Also this book is perfect for character-based readers and those who have loved Six of Crows!!

A Darker Shade Of Magic was every bit astounding, alluring, and left me wanting for more.After reading this book, I was enamored by this world, mainly by the magic. It took time for me to get hold of ‘who was who’ in which London, but once I got an idea of how things worked in this world, I was swept in by the story. I relished the differences among the 4 Londons, including the Arnesian language. I love this world and the characters and can’t wait to read the next book. Read the full review on my blog.

I should start this review by stating this, I have heard so much about V. E. Schwab before I read the book that I was slightly intimidated to read it. Whenever anything too much hype comes my way, my immediate reaction to be wary of it, to try to find faults with it. My mind doesn’t want to admit that it might just be that good. In a way, it’s a good thing but in other ways, it’s a hindrance more than a good thing.When I read the synopsis, I was really intrigued because it offered something different and I wasn’t disappointed at all. To those rare people who are unfamiliar with the series, it has parallel worlds with almost no places being common. For some reason, every world has London and there are four of them. There’s Gray London (almost like our world), Red London (where magic and peace coexist), Red London (where magic is overly used and almost on the verge of extinction and violence rules) and then there’s Black London (a place where magic won and infected everything).I have had reservations about this book and some of them were proven right. I will get into them now so that I can then rave about the good things of which there are many. The thing is, I am not too sure if there was a proper plot for the first maybe 200-250 pages? I mean, sure, we get introduced to many characters and we get to see Kell being magical, Lila being badass but I didn’t really see an actual plot point till things started to really move plot-wise around near the halfway mark. It didn’t feel right, there was no goal in sight for a long while because there was no actual problem for the characters. It’s one of the things that bothered me which is why this is not a five star read.Yes, I realise I only talked about one flaw but that one is a major one, ok?Now onto good things! The pace of the book is seriously good, the short chapters, the snappy dialogue and just the descriptive language makes my cold heart warm. Seriously. The magic system was cool, too! I absolutely love Kell’s cloak and please, can someone gimme one of those, pretty please? The details of each London are so different and the worldbuilding for each was so wonderfully done.Some people steal to stay alive and some steal to feel alive.The characters! Since I haven’t yet managed to read the next two books, I can only say what I think about them right now. Kell as one of the main characters worked really well, he’s grumpy, he’s spoiled in his own way without realising it, and most importantly, the way the relationship between the two brothers is shown is so good! Rhy plays a minor but important role in the book and I can’t wait to read more of him because I think he has the potential to be an amazing character later on and I just want more Rhy, ok? Lila Bard is just so good, I mean, she’s not the best person but she’s had hardships and she’s learned from them. I sort of see Vin from the Mistborn trilogy in Lila, tell me what you think of that! She felt irritating at first but as the story progressed, I really started to like her. She also feels like she’s genderfluid? From what I have read so far, her internal dialogue was interesting to say the least.I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.Holland is such an interesting character too! At first, I wondered if Rhy and Holland had had a thing but then, that thought was sort of wiped out of my mind as the story went on. I felt sort of bad for Holland then I was so angry and disappointed with him then I felt bad for him again. It was a wild ride for me, ok? I was clearly emotionally invested in that man. Ugh!One of the best/ worst thing V. E. Schwab did was to make me feel like secondary (or maybe they were tertiary?)characters were out of danger but damn if I didn’t feel bad when those guards died. Ugh. Thanks for that.Overall, a fast-paced, interesting read and I can’t wait to read more of it. If you are a fan of fantasy (urban fantasy) and like to not count on the author on character deaths then this is the book for you. Yeah, I am still bitter about them deaths. Thanks.

Loved the world of the this book! Makes me think of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and Peripheral. Don’t understand how this hasn’t been turned into a show or movie series!

Very interesting worlds with great characters, very well-written, as it can be expected from V.E. Schwab. Would recommend to anyone who likes supernatural stories.

SIGNED by the author yazıyorlar ama imzalı değil. ya insan kandırıyorlar ya da ingilizceleri yok. ilk başta çok uzun bi yorum yazmıştım ama yayınlanmamış. bunu yayınlayacaklar mı çok merak ediyorum. yaptığım bütün iyi yorumlarımı da sileceğim.

Bra bok, väl värd att läsa! Hade kanske förväntat mig något extra med tanke på hypen kring den.

Dévorer en quelques jours, la mythologie du monde est passionnante, l'univers et les personnages sont bien recherchés, avec un système de magie qui change.