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

4.0

Another win for V.E. Schwab! Every London was crafted brilliantly, and the use of color to tell them apart added even more gorgeousness to the story. I thought the book flowed well, that the characters, particularly Kell and Holland, shone, and the the magic system was well-defined. The start to this series feels extremely world-based, so the fact that the world-building was so excellently executed excites me to keep reading.

The thing that took away from this book for me was Lila. I was bothered by her incompetence. She was constantly being saved by Kell, so much so that it made the series of events predictable. While I enjoyed reading from her perspective, I couldn't see what she was adding to the plot other than a bit of style and the possible mystery of her glass eye, which is why this book is a solid four stars instead of near a 5.