Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

13 reviews

baearles's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Torture, Cursing, and Cannibalism

rinku's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Blood, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Police brutality

Minor: Death of parent and Kidnapping

zoeelora's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Self harm

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual harassment, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Abandonment, Addiction, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Misogyny, and Violence

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Blood, Physical abuse, Confinement, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault and Police brutality

Minor: Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Classism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

A little bit too fast for me and sometimes the characters felt just like a bit too try hard.
Still I loved to stumble through this world and adventure and enjoyed it :3
Felt a little like Mistborn x Six of Crows

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, and Rape

anna_geyer's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book. The plot and magic system are pretty simple and straightforward, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I love Schwab’s writing, even when it’s fast paced it’s lyrical and she paints beautiful pictures without dragging on. 
Overall it’s a fun book, I’ll definitely continue the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

theslowreadernumber5's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Murder, Slavery, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Drug use, and Kidnapping

oliverreeds's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

p good. the character work is incredible

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, and Torture

emohell's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

i will admit i’m predisposed towards loving ve schwab’s writing, and a darker shade of magic is no exception. with incredibly fast paced action and morally complex characters, this is a tense page turner that kept me screaming into my arm at every plot development. absolutely loved it, and i’m looking forward to jumping into the rest of the series!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Death and Sexual assault

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

the main character is a special type of magic user that uses their blood to use more complex abilities. the cutting of hands or arms in order to use these powers is mentioned frequently, and is also used to describe injuries characters sustain as well. the sexual assault is never accomplished, although it is attempted and alluded to more than once.

parkyparkpark's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, and Abandonment