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A review by lbarsk
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
4.0
This book was SO GOOD and EXACTLY the kind of fantasy that I love to read. Schwab does an AMAZING job of getting you so invested within the first, I dunno, 30 pages or so that when the action really picks up you are TURNING PAGES AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT. I was just so WORRIED throughout this book, and feel like I'll actually need to reread parts before getting to the second book in the series because I was reading so fast.
This gets 4 stars instead of 5 because the ending felt slightly wonky to me -- like, nice to see that the stress level has calmed down after a ROLLERCOASTER OF A NOVEL, but I'm actually not sure I would've known to look for a second book had I not already known there was one. Actually, in a way, it feels like the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in that sense? Like, when you finish reading that one for the first time you're like "hmm ok! this... wrapped up! and something's bound to happen but it doesn't feel urgent right now. I want to see what happens to Harry and his pals but I'm not quite sure where this is going to go." Because I do want to see what happens next! I love Lila and Kell! There are A LOT OF UNSOLVED MYSTERIES AT PLAY. It was just weird to go from this pace of SUPER INTENSE ACTION AH HIGH STRESS LOOK AT THESE COOL CHARACTERS BEING BADASSES WOW YIKES to "oh ok... the book is suddenly over!"
DESPITE THAT, please read this book. You'll really enjoy yourself and, yes, you'll definitely want to read the second one to see what happens next. Also, you'll love the characters immediately -- I did -- and Schwab's worldbuilding is TOP NOTCH.
This gets 4 stars instead of 5 because the ending felt slightly wonky to me -- like, nice to see that the stress level has calmed down after a ROLLERCOASTER OF A NOVEL, but I'm actually not sure I would've known to look for a second book had I not already known there was one. Actually, in a way, it feels like the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in that sense? Like, when you finish reading that one for the first time you're like "hmm ok! this... wrapped up! and something's bound to happen but it doesn't feel urgent right now. I want to see what happens to Harry and his pals but I'm not quite sure where this is going to go." Because I do want to see what happens next! I love Lila and Kell! There are A LOT OF UNSOLVED MYSTERIES AT PLAY. It was just weird to go from this pace of SUPER INTENSE ACTION AH HIGH STRESS LOOK AT THESE COOL CHARACTERS BEING BADASSES WOW YIKES to "oh ok... the book is suddenly over!"
DESPITE THAT, please read this book. You'll really enjoy yourself and, yes, you'll definitely want to read the second one to see what happens next. Also, you'll love the characters immediately -- I did -- and Schwab's worldbuilding is TOP NOTCH.