A Darker Shade of Magic Review

Hey guys today I’m here to review a book about magicians, thieves, and multiple Londons; also known as, A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.-goodreads.com summery

Rating

This book was AMAZING and I’d recommend it for EVERYONE! For anyone not new here, you might know that Victoria Schwab (AKA V. E. Schwab) is my favorite author and, let me say, she did not disappoint with this new book! It was everything full of everything I have grown to love from Victoria Schwab and more! Now I could go on vaguely about this book for days, but I guess I should get into the specifics of why it’s great!

Things I Liked

So I was thinking about what made Victoria Schwab’s books stand out, and one of the things I thought of was her characters. They are all extremely fleshed out, and feel like real people! They have personalities, and you want to know more about them. I even get invested in the evil characters and, while I might not advocate what they are doing, I still want to know more about them and where they come from; I want to understand them. Not many other authors do that. And that’s not even getting to how amazing Kell and Lila’s personalities are. Lila is such a stubborn character and Kell isn’t used to people questioning his actions; this causes some great banter between the two of them! Speaking of Kell, Kell was such an interesting character! I just want to know everything about him; specifically about his past. I know he hinted at there being some mystery in his past but it wasn’t resolved, so I think that will be explored in the next books (which I’m really excited for).

Another thing I want to know more about is the world. I love the concept of the multiple Londons; it’s different and it didn’t always play out like I thought it would! I’m excited see the characters explore the world even more in the next books and maybe even explore into the Black London (I feel it’s inevitable that they go there). I just want to see what is there, or is there even anything there at all? Is it just a void lost in space? See, good books make you ask these questions!

Things I Didn’t Like

*Cricket* *Cricket* Nope I got nothing.

Overall

Overall, I loved this book! It had everything I have come to expect from a Victoria Schwab book and more! I recommend this book and all of Victoria Schwab’s books to EVERYONE! (Especially Vicious! If you haven’t read that; what are you doing with your life?!)

Keep Reading…

Meagan!