Reviews

Um Tom Mais Escuro de Magia by V.E. Schwab

noragrace89's review against another edition

4.0

The world building is so good, it felt like it’s just the beginning of something great. I’ll marathon the entire series this month.
P.S. I love that gorgeous cover

koscielski's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

nickiitay's review against another edition

3.0

Schwab really throws you into this one without much context but I enjoyed following the two main characters as their paths merged. The world building was hands down the best part, travelling through multi-universe Londons classified by colour was so fun. I do wish the ‘villains’ were a bit more central to the story, but you can’t have it all in 400 pages. I’ll definitely read the next one because I need the deets on Black London and White London.

Also, is it controversial to enjoy Holland?
Asking for a friend

andreea_b's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

4.25

mo_ber's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

3.5

kathi92's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A

4.5

kgirl_kkk's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

theleo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.25

sarah_julius's review against another edition

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

5.0

An absolute work of art. I’ve read one other book by VE Schwab (Gallant), and loved her writing so I had high hopes coming in to A Darker Shade of Magic. I knew there was going to be a fair bit of world building at the beginning, and thought I’d just have to push through, but every. single. page. was perfection. The world Schwab built is so unique and intriguing with these twin (and triplet and quadruplet) Londons laid on top of each other, unique language, and magic systems, with complex dynamics and characters. Kell was strong and intelligent with a strong sense of moral justice and love for his family but had a darkness and brooding to him that was not cliche, and made him complex, compelling, and still had you rooting for him the whole time. My dear Delilah - you are the badass of the literary age. She is brilliant, strong, cunning, powerful beyond imagine - but she’s real, she has weakness and moral dilemma and underneath her strength is so clearly someone who wants so badly to belong somewhere. The pacing was perfect, and actual story was so interesting and unique, I was not able to predict what would happen next. The story was complex without being overly cumbersome, the writing and dialogue were perfect and felt real, had emotion and humor and love. The potential in the story that was written is incredible and I cannot wait to see what Schwab has for the rest of the series. If you are looking for high stakes heist, thievery, unique magic and world, dynamic characters, and a book you will not be able to put down, this is the book for you. Cracking open book two right now!

dixiecarroll's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I found this to be a little lackluster with too many characters BUT I loved how it wrapped up. Now that I have a feel for the characters and the world I am definitely interested in continuing, but I am not rushing to the next two just yet.