Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - A Darker Shade of Magic

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

109 reviews

asiaunique's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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olenvasynyt's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is everything I have been looking for in a fantasy story. I feel like the best way to describe this book was a really good dungeons and dragons campaign. Not only is the writing fantastic, but the worldbuilding and the magic system are both comfortingly familiar and totally unique at the same time. The magic involves traveling across worlds, spoken words and the bending of elements, and it’s done well because of the restrictions and the different amounts of magic for every person and every world. It adds to the worldbuilding because the different worlds have different amounts of magic which leads to them interacting with and using magic differently and it’s just really well thought out.

The characters! There are not a whole lot of main characters in this book (I feel like with some fantasy books there can be way to many) so you’re really able to follow everything well. As I said, this book gave me DND vibes and the main reason was the characters, especially Lila! Pirate / rogue / ninja vibes from her. She reminds me a lot of Celaena from TOG; I didn’t like Celaena in the beginning because she was kind of just a really brash, reckless and borderline rude girl, but as I learned more about her and saw how and why she fought I liked her a lot more. I definitely think when I learn her backstory I’ll fall in love with Lila just as I did with Celaena.

It is usually very hard for me to like a villain in a lot of fantasy books because they’re never as dark as I want them to be or they’re written as dark but they just come across as cheesy. But *oof*, I loved the villains in this book so much! Spoilers,

Spoiler

I will say the ending was a little lackluster to me mainly because I was upset with the twins dying because of how much I loved them as characters and villains. But Holland is for sure still alive, I refuse to think otherwise, (I say that now but I’ll probably jinx it because I really liked him too lmao) and I know if the first villains are this good then the ones that are coming will be even better.

This was the first book and I think it was just a such a good way to set up a series because of how well the world was portrayed and how the main plot began. It was simple because it was the pacing I think, but it was still exciting and you know the plot will just continue to unravel and mysteries will be solved. I’m so excited to continue reading this series!

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caseyreads998's review

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I'm not uninterested in the sequels but if I have to read one more "not like other girls" internal monologue from Lila I might snap.

I'm not sure how exactly to warn since it's all but one case scant mention but Lila is in threat of sexual assault so many chapters it blends together, so proceed with caution if that's a factor with weight.

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stargazer_ley's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I'm quickly finding Schwab to be an author I enjoy reading. After finishing the Villious duology and seeing the blurb for this book in Vicious, I decided I had to read this one and I'm glad I did. Kell and Lila are as compelling as the mystery of the black stone. I'm quite interested in reading the rest of the trilogy.

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chizuui's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I definitely enjoyed it as my first pure fantasy book. It had some "darker" moments and depictions of violence that kept me wondering why and how.

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wemilyebb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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phantasmfiend's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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mariebrunelm's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Kell is a thief by choice. Lila is a thief by necessity. The former can travel across different Londons, turning his manifold coat on the side relevant to the place to blend in or stand out. The latter is stuck in her Grey London, looking for one thing: escape. Of course the two were bound to meet. But what happens when they do might very well change the destinies of both.

This book was objectively excellent. I love V.E. Schwab’s way with words. She can turn a phrase as delightful as Leigh Bardugo and the two are equally good at crafting a narrative that will hook you but also leave many hints that you will or will not get.

In A Darker Shade of Magic, it’s not really about who’s good and who’s bad. It’s all a matter of perspective, really, and the real baddies (because yes, there are a couple of truly awful people) are not the antagonists. This is one of the things the author highlighted in her video series that serves as a readalong, and I loved that distinction. I love that big phrases such as “villains” or “saving the world” aren’t relevant in this book. The focus is on the intricacies of characters’ motivations and relationships, and it makes for a much more delectable reading experience in my opinion.

I’m so sad that I didn’t get the spark of a favourite book when reading this one, because I cannot find any fault in it. I loved every aspect of it. Maybe that’s just a matter of the moment I read it, when I was craving a different type of book, with less magic. But this book is still excellent and I highly recommend it.

Rep: the vibe is very queer without any label assigned to the characters.

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chronicacademia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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ssyrs's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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