Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Darker Shade of Magic

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

200 reviews

donatio's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a reread and even though I already knew what I was in for and knew how things would end, Schwab managed to catch and drag me into the worlds.
She is one of my favourite authors and in my opinion just a master of storytelling, I can picture clearly in my head what happens and feel with the characters who feel a little like home by now.
This is a book for the ones who like elemental magic, multiple POVs, thieees and adventures.
100% recommend

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rinku's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Shades of Magic is quite the beloved series here on Goodreads, but I couldn’t give the first book, Four Shades of Magic, more than 3.5 stars. I had the feeling that the premise of this novel was so great, but the execution left a lot to be desired for me.

In this story, the first character we follow is Kell. Kell is one of the two people being able to wander between the four different Londons that each have a different relationship with magic. The second main character is Lila, a thief from the normal London. After getting an artefact she isn’t supposed to have, they both have to work together to save the world.

A big problem I had with Four Shades of Magic was its pacing. Almost the first half of the novel is just exposition, leading to a very slow beginning. Only after the half when the event mentioned in the synopsis happened, it got more interesting, and the story finally had a direction it was going in. Also, even though I hated the ending of the series, Foundryside executed the plot point of a thief stealing a magical object she wasn’t supposed to have much better.

Furthermore, there were some things happening that I didn’t fully understand, and it was so cliché how the villains explain their plans in big detail to the main characters. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending as well;

Spoiler

Athos and Astrid just dying was a bit boring, and I really don’t like that Kell and Rhy are bounded to each other, this is just a plot point I personally don’t enjoy

This all sounds quite critical if I’m honest, but I still liked the general plot and there were some great and impactful moments here and there, like

Spoiler

Barron’s death or Lila first being alone in White London, not knowing what she should do

. In general, there were quite a lot of deaths but there were just too many so that I started to not care about them anymore.

Like I’ve said, the book is definitely carried by its settings and the world building. The different Londons are so interesting, and I liked the historical setting, even though it could’ve been utilized more, same goes for places besides London that were barely mentioned. The elemental magic was nothing to special but nice, nevertheless.

At the beginning, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the MCs, Kell and Lila. They both are quite edgy and arrogant which made them a bit cringe and unlikable in my eyes. Only later, I started to appreciate them more, but I felt not such a strong connection to them like I felt to Addie. It was nice that we had no romance between them (yet?), and I enjoyed that Lila was more tomboy-ish. I’m wondering though if she’s

Spoiler

an Antari as well, we’ll see

. Another character that made me cringe was Rhy; his overly sexual nature was just a bit too much. In comparison to them, I really liked all the villains. The twins are so brutal and such great villains, but Holland is an interesting character as well.

Even though I’m a bit critical towards the plot and the characters in Four Shades of Magic, I’ll read the next books of the series since the world is so interesting and creative.

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tallnecked_pancakeface's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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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zoeelora'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? It's complicated

4.5

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rainbow10's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Wow, it was so original and so unlike anything I’d ever read before! Highly recommend for any fantasy lovers!

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brotestantethic's review

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

Schwab always enchants with her writing. I have to say this was my least favorite of hers so far, after having read Vicious and The Invisible Life. But solid. Characters are really lovely, world building is stunning. My issues lie with pacing: the book starts off slow, and the ending is rushed. I am definitely still interested in continuing the series.

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maries_reads's review

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adventurous medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

So I’ll be honest, this was slow going to get into (for me). I don’t think it was actually that it was slow I just took awhile to really get into it. After about 75 pages though I flew through it. As you can see my activity on this book I just jumped fully in after about 20%.

I like that this book didn’t end in a cliffhanger, but rather allowed for the series to really take on its own path for the next book. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind a good cliffhanger, but I felt this plot line was wrapped up nicely, while still having a lot more story to tell.

Can’t wait to continue the series and see how some of these MCs and side characters grow!

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