A review by sarah_julius
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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!