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A review by elladk
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
4.0
second read: 4.25/5 stars
first read: 4.5/5 stars
“I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it."
"Seen what?"
Her smile widened. “Everything.”
A Darker Shade of Magic is an amazing new adult fantasy novel, and I think this might be my new favorite series cause the writing is immaculate, the characters are really well written and the plot couldn’t have been better. The reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I know the other books in the trilogy: ‘a Gathering of Shadows’ and ‘a Conjuring of Light’ will be even better.
Yes, I know this such a stupid reason but if I give this book five stars what the hell am I supposed to give the other books? Now, enough of me rambling let me try to write an actually decent review about this book.
“Bad magic, Kell had called it.
No, thought Lila now. Clever magic.
And clever was more dangerous than bad any day of the week.”
the plot, writing, world building, etc:
V.E. Schwab is an amazing writer and she might be my favorite author, she has a way with words and it’s just amazing. Some people might call this book slow cause not much happens in the first 200 pages but I couldn’t help myself but feel truly enchanted by the world Schwab has created. I was just enjoying myself, even though nothing happend. After the pace picked up a bit this book just went from amazing to even more amazing and I couldn’t help but be mad at myself for not picking up this book earlier. So to say it quickly, the plot was slow but I didn’t mind it because the writing and world building was just so amazing and I can’t express how much I love Schwab’s writing style.
”As Pyrata. To burn.
As Illumae. To light.
As Orense. To open.
As Anase. To dispel.
As Hasari. To heal.
As Travars. To Travel.”
characters:
Kell: He was just such an amazing protagonist and he was a really round character that did grow a lot during the story. I was mesmerized by how casually he handles his powers, knowing that he’s the last one left, with Holland, that has these powers and this man is just risking his life for a rock.
Lila: Lila was just what I needed when it came to female main character. She was badass, a thief and mysterious. I am expecting a lot from her in the next books cause I already have a theory that her magic powers arent as little as everyone suspects… but I’ll have to find this out in the next books. She was an amazing character and I’m praying she doesn’t die later on in the series cause that would break my heart.
Holland: Ok, ok, you might think why are you talking about Holland and not the main antagonists. Well… I think he might be my favorite character cause I know there’s more to him than Schwab showed us in this book and the ending kinda showed it, I’m not sure if he will actually evolve in the next books but I’m hoping he will.
end of review:
I’ve been rambling way too much cause this is the longest review I’ve ever written but let me summarize everything I said really quickly to come to a conclusion. Was this book amazing and should you read it? Hell yeah! Was it perfect? No, but yes. Basically you should just read this book cause it’s amazing and it might start out slow but I promise you it will be worth it in the end.
first read: 4.5/5 stars
“I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it."
"Seen what?"
Her smile widened. “Everything.”
A Darker Shade of Magic is an amazing new adult fantasy novel, and I think this might be my new favorite series cause the writing is immaculate, the characters are really well written and the plot couldn’t have been better. The reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I know the other books in the trilogy: ‘a Gathering of Shadows’ and ‘a Conjuring of Light’ will be even better.
Yes, I know this such a stupid reason but if I give this book five stars what the hell am I supposed to give the other books? Now, enough of me rambling let me try to write an actually decent review about this book.
“Bad magic, Kell had called it.
No, thought Lila now. Clever magic.
And clever was more dangerous than bad any day of the week.”
the plot, writing, world building, etc:
V.E. Schwab is an amazing writer and she might be my favorite author, she has a way with words and it’s just amazing. Some people might call this book slow cause not much happens in the first 200 pages but I couldn’t help myself but feel truly enchanted by the world Schwab has created. I was just enjoying myself, even though nothing happend. After the pace picked up a bit this book just went from amazing to even more amazing and I couldn’t help but be mad at myself for not picking up this book earlier. So to say it quickly, the plot was slow but I didn’t mind it because the writing and world building was just so amazing and I can’t express how much I love Schwab’s writing style.
”As Pyrata. To burn.
As Illumae. To light.
As Orense. To open.
As Anase. To dispel.
As Hasari. To heal.
As Travars. To Travel.”
characters:
Kell: He was just such an amazing protagonist and he was a really round character that did grow a lot during the story. I was mesmerized by how casually he handles his powers, knowing that he’s the last one left, with Holland, that has these powers and this man is just risking his life for a rock.
Lila: Lila was just what I needed when it came to female main character. She was badass, a thief and mysterious. I am expecting a lot from her in the next books cause I already have a theory that her magic powers arent as little as everyone suspects… but I’ll have to find this out in the next books. She was an amazing character and I’m praying she doesn’t die later on in the series cause that would break my heart.
Holland: Ok, ok, you might think why are you talking about Holland and not the main antagonists. Well… I think he might be my favorite character cause I know there’s more to him than Schwab showed us in this book and the ending kinda showed it, I’m not sure if he will actually evolve in the next books but I’m hoping he will.
end of review:
I’ve been rambling way too much cause this is the longest review I’ve ever written but let me summarize everything I said really quickly to come to a conclusion. Was this book amazing and should you read it? Hell yeah! Was it perfect? No, but yes. Basically you should just read this book cause it’s amazing and it might start out slow but I promise you it will be worth it in the end.