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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab is a dark fantasy about multiple London's controlled mostly by magic (except our world) in the 1800s and the Era of Mad King George. A Darker Shade of Magic is the first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy. The book features 4 London's Grey London which is 1800's London grey from the smokestacks and has no magic, Red London is where the Main character lives where magic is not used by everybody but those who do use it to enrich their lives, White London uses magic to corrupt and is in constant war, and Black London is a place where magic grew to powerful it imploded. Black London is cut off but its magic sometimes bleeds over it White London. The world-building is excellent and I never got confused about what London I was in. The pace moves pretty well until the ending where it picks up leading to a wonderful Climax. This is a novel of great main characters Kell and Lila are worlds apart literally. Kell is royalty but kind of hates the attention and would rather not be noticed. Lila is a thief who prefers to look androgynous and is frequently mistaken for a man, to her delight. Lila was an interesting character that bordered on being annoying to being one of my favorites which is a crazy balance, In the end, I put her in the like category slightly more than the annoying. The ending was fantastic it ramped up the action and left enough unresolved plot lines for the next book. A Darker Shade of Magic was a reread one that I never reviewed for my blog I did give it 5 stars but I had some problems with it this time that might lower my rating. A Darker Shade of Magic was published on February 24, 2015.
Plot Summary: Kell is a traveler of worlds there is the real world which is referred to as Grey London, which is the London of the early 1800's London, where magic is only a myth. Red London is where magic exists to enrich lives, White London uses magic to corrupt, and Black London is now barred because the magic grew so powerful it imploded, they shut all the magical doors to Black London and destroyed all magical artifacts. The trouble starts when a Black magic artifact is smuggled into Grey London by an unknown Kell who sells safe magical items from other London's to magic aficionados, all hell breaks loose when a pickpocket named Lila steals the black magic artifact and starts infecting people all over London, the only way to get rid of it is to head to Black London, now that Lila is apart of this she must venture with Kell through the different Londons. The plot thickens as we learn who set Kell up and their plans to rule all the Londons.
What I Liked: I enjoyed the pace, and where it took my imagination. I do like that in the story King George the Third is mad because he's exposed to magic and no one will believe him. I liked the lore and the rules of magic. Kell is a pretty great character I love how he is the opposite of his brother the prince. I feel the scene where Lila has one glass eye will be important in the later novels since she has a little magic and Kell and Hollis can pass through walls and have two different eye colors. I feel this was a good blink-and-you-miss-it scene. I have not read the entire series, so this is my speculation. I liked the ending of the novel, it was intense action, ended the main story, and left some plot lines to get resolved later. In the end, I was satisfied with where this novel ended. I like how much love was shared between Kell and his brother. I do like Lila not baking down and how she becomes a literal cutthroat in this story.
What I Disliked: I needed way more character from the villains, you get their plight but I needed a lot more from them as characters. I was confused about just how the magic of them appearing in different bodies worked, I understand the black magic enhanced the powers but a person they were possessing had the black magic not them. I don't know how the prince was infected and when it started that he could infect everything else and most of the guards and royalty. This is my biggest issue. The language spoken by those of low society is garbage, It kept repeating the same scene of not understanding way too much that it was getting cliche because it kept happening with no one learning anything.
Recommendation recommend A Darker Shade of Magic to Young adults who want more adult subject matter, it is a good transition book. There is light cussing and a good deal of bloodshed. This book does have blood magic but I feel it is told more responsible than others. I think the two main characters Lila and Kell are a fun dynamic that brings people from literally two different worlds together. I believe in another book they would make an interesting duo in a mystery.
Rating: I rated A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab 4.5 out of 5.
Ranking: I'm a big Fan of Victoria Schwab and her Adult writing which she writes under V.E. Schwab. I have read 5 novels of her writing which I will rank from best to worst: 1) Vicious, 2) Gallant, 3) A Darker Shade of Magic, 4) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and 5) Vengeful.
Plot Summary: Kell is a traveler of worlds there is the real world which is referred to as Grey London, which is the London of the early 1800's London, where magic is only a myth. Red London is where magic exists to enrich lives, White London uses magic to corrupt, and Black London is now barred because the magic grew so powerful it imploded, they shut all the magical doors to Black London and destroyed all magical artifacts. The trouble starts when a Black magic artifact is smuggled into Grey London by an unknown Kell who sells safe magical items from other London's to magic aficionados, all hell breaks loose when a pickpocket named Lila steals the black magic artifact and starts infecting people all over London, the only way to get rid of it is to head to Black London, now that Lila is apart of this she must venture with Kell through the different Londons. The plot thickens as we learn who set Kell up and their plans to rule all the Londons.
What I Liked: I enjoyed the pace, and where it took my imagination. I do like that in the story King George the Third is mad because he's exposed to magic and no one will believe him. I liked the lore and the rules of magic. Kell is a pretty great character I love how he is the opposite of his brother the prince. I feel the scene where Lila has one glass eye will be important in the later novels since she has a little magic and Kell and Hollis can pass through walls and have two different eye colors. I feel this was a good blink-and-you-miss-it scene. I have not read the entire series, so this is my speculation. I liked the ending of the novel, it was intense action, ended the main story, and left some plot lines to get resolved later. In the end, I was satisfied with where this novel ended. I like how much love was shared between Kell and his brother. I do like Lila not baking down and how she becomes a literal cutthroat in this story.
What I Disliked: I needed way more character from the villains, you get their plight but I needed a lot more from them as characters. I was confused about just how the magic of them appearing in different bodies worked, I understand the black magic enhanced the powers but a person they were possessing had the black magic not them. I don't know how the prince was infected and when it started that he could infect everything else and most of the guards and royalty. This is my biggest issue. The language spoken by those of low society is garbage, It kept repeating the same scene of not understanding way too much that it was getting cliche because it kept happening with no one learning anything.
Recommendation recommend A Darker Shade of Magic to Young adults who want more adult subject matter, it is a good transition book. There is light cussing and a good deal of bloodshed. This book does have blood magic but I feel it is told more responsible than others. I think the two main characters Lila and Kell are a fun dynamic that brings people from literally two different worlds together. I believe in another book they would make an interesting duo in a mystery.
Rating: I rated A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab 4.5 out of 5.
Ranking: I'm a big Fan of Victoria Schwab and her Adult writing which she writes under V.E. Schwab. I have read 5 novels of her writing which I will rank from best to worst: 1) Vicious, 2) Gallant, 3) A Darker Shade of Magic, 4) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and 5) Vengeful.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated