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A review by shelves_by_sim
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is my first V.E. Schwab book and it really did not dissapoint. This book gave me Swordcatcher by Cassandra Clare meets Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat and it was literally everything. Sure, the world is a little complicated and you really need to pay attention at first but once I grasped it I was set (I'll give you a little advice, don't start out with an audio like I did lol). It is absolutely amazing. Red, White, Grey and Black London and their respective magics or lack there of, the Antari who are able to move through each of these worlds, the entire magic system was so good.
The writing was absolutely decadent, so captivating, so encompassing. I loved the setting, the colours of the worlds Kel travels through, the danger around every corner. I loved how each world or each London had different cultures and customs and that even languages and names of surrounding areas changed so drastically. It really showed how London is the only point that connects all of these worlds. Kel is a great character, he's that sort of morally gray, he's probably good but not that good, protagonist with a good cause (in an unromantic way, sorry lol) that gives a character so much depth.
Lila is, well, she's a bit hectic but I really learned to love her. She's headstrong and argues about everything and you never know if she's about to unalive you, just because. The plot was so good, the stone from Black London and what it could do is so interesting and the villains in this story were also so freaking good. I loved the ending and I cannot wait to jump into the next book in this series!
The writing was absolutely decadent, so captivating, so encompassing. I loved the setting, the colours of the worlds Kel travels through, the danger around every corner. I loved how each world or each London had different cultures and customs and that even languages and names of surrounding areas changed so drastically. It really showed how London is the only point that connects all of these worlds. Kel is a great character, he's that sort of morally gray, he's probably good but not that good, protagonist with a good cause (in an unromantic way, sorry lol) that gives a character so much depth.
Lila is, well, she's a bit hectic but I really learned to love her. She's headstrong and argues about everything and you never know if she's about to unalive you, just because. The plot was so good, the stone from Black London and what it could do is so interesting and the villains in this story were also so freaking good. I loved the ending and I cannot wait to jump into the next book in this series!