Reviews

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

lucyreadsfbe8a's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.75

rabiahb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? No

4.75

bookishfaye's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Positives:
- I enjoyed this! I thought the world was really interesting and unique 
- I loved the whimsy writing style?? V.E. Schwab has such a distinct literary voice and it’s so cool how all their works are so vastly different & yet have some aura of Schwab that covered the work?? I love them 
- I love morally grey protagonists!
- very fast paced and V.E. Schwab’s short chapters speak to me

Negatives:
- I do think at times it felt a little tropey for the sake of it & not super believable? Oftentimes things felt too convenient for the characters/story with not a lot of payoff, and the dynamic between Lila and Kell was a confusing array of almost… insta-love? For lack of a better word? Now hear me out, I know there’s not really any legitimate romance in this, I more so am regarding the at times blind faith and trust they put into each other, and then *spoiler alert* the kiss?? Felt random?? Idk…..

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this & it was quite easy to read/fly through! I have some things i’m being picky about, but I’m excited to see where this trilogy goes & I could see it getting potentially better and better and perhaps even inspiring me the raise my rating for this one higher; we shall see 

laurenkara's review against another edition

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5.0

ALL THE STARS

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM

I don't know if I can even write a proper review for this book because my current state of emotion can be summed up by this gif



And it would literally just be me screaming into the void at how much I love everyone.

But I shall try.

taylormdavis415's review against another edition

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Always down for a magical marketplace and a bi prince.

Unfortunately, the main characters and their interactions felt extremely superficial. Throughout the first ~ 200 pages we go back and forth between Kell (moody pale magic e-boy) and Lila (manic pixie thief girl who disguises herself as a man and wants to be a pirate.) In that time, we get a lot of background info on who they are, their histories, and what they want. Unfortunately, once the two start interacting, it feels like the set up didn’t really matter?? Each of their conversations seem to be set up around delivering playful quips and retorts to justify the fact that two characters with essentially no reason to like each other kiss not once but TWICE in this book, both times “for luck.” The best way I can describe it is that they share the interactions of two high school characters on a CW show.

Some examples:

Page 189 -

“‘You wouldn’t understand,” Kell said automatically.

‘Try me,” she challenged.

Kell squinted at her, this strange girl. Lila Bard did seem to have a way of figuring things out.”

Page 235 -

“‘Say something,’ she challenged.

Kell swallowed, clenched his hands into fists at his sides, and looked at her hard. ‘You’re right,’ he said.



‘You’re right,’ he said again. ‘Compared to your life, mine must seem a jewel-‘

‘Don’t you dare pity me, magic boy,’ growled Lila, a knife in her hand.”

I mean come onnnnnnnn. I feel like these interactions were ripped from an episode of Riverdale.

All in all, a fun and easy read, but I don’t think I’ll see the series through.

the_afterword's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

qmbow's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

sophju's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

labunnywtf's review against another edition

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3.0

I am really, really disappointed I didn't like this more.

This is not terrible. In fact, I already have books 2 and 3 queued up to start tomorrow. However, so many of my friends love these books, love them with a passion. Maybe my expectations were too high.

There is a LOT of world to get into here. A magic system that is complex and sounds like it *could be* amazing, four separate Londons, a jacket that turns sideways and backwards to turn different colors.

I was super fascinated by the jacket.

Kell is a magical being whose ancestors were slaughtered because magic is scary. "Taken in" by the royal family, raised as a son-but-not-really, with his brother Ri who seemed like he *could be* kind of cool.

Lilah, who is fucking annoying but who I think I was supposed to be rooting for. Mostly I wanted her to get left behind in at least one of these fucking Londons so I didn't have to hear from her anymore.

A brother-sister king and queen (not like Game of Thrones) (Well, maybe like Game of Thrones, that's not really explained) who are incredibly wicked. A villain who should've been far more grey hat than white hat, but who I think we'll hear more from in the future books.

So much ground work!

So little actual understanding of this world!

Maybe I'm just dense, I don't know. People love these books, a lot. And maybe once I read the rest of the series, I'll fall in love, too. But man, I don't get it just from this one book.

Not bad. Just not OMG FLAIL. Kind of forgettable, actually.

laurenbaggy's review against another edition

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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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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