Title: A Darker Shade Of Magic
(Shades Of Magic #1)
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia
First published: February 24th 2015
Finished reading: April 15th 2016
Pages: 400
“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”
I know, I know, I should have listened to the numerous recommendations and raving reviews and picked up this series a lot sooner, because A Darker Shade Of Magic went straight to my list of all time favorites. This book is amazing! I have to say it has been hard to write a coherent review without fangirling all over the place… Because the first book of the Shades Of Magic without doubt deserves every last bit of the hype around it. Why? A Darker Shade Of Magic has an excellent worldbuilding, a simple but intriguing plot, a fast pace, well written prose, interesting characters I almost immediately connected to, no love triangle, almost no romance… In one word: BRILLIANT, or at least everything I want in a fantasy series. I loved the dynamics between the two seemingly so different characters Kell and Lila, especially since there is NO love interest whatsover between the two. The worldbuilding is really well done and together with the prose it immediately set the right atmosphere for this kind of dark and intriguing story. And even though A Darker Shade Of Magic doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, I still needed to read the sequel straight away. An excellent sign for a great story, right? I will stop fangirling now and leave you with these last two last facts: first of all, V.E. Schwab is without doubt one of my new favorite authors and secondly, if you haven’t read this series yet and like the genre, make sure to move it to the top of your TBR pile!
Ever since disaster happened in Black London, the three remaining Londons have been separated and isolated in their parallel worlds. Grey London – dirty, boring and lacking magic, ruled by mad King George -, Red London – where life and magic managed to flourish with the Maresh Dynasty at the top – and White London – where people fight to control magic and whoever has murdered their way to the throne rules. Kell is one of the last Antari left with the rare powers to be able to travel between the worlds, and officially he is the personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London. It is his task to carry the monthly letters between the royals of each London, but that is not the only thing Kell takes with him on his travels between the parallel worlds. His dangerous hobby of smuggling bits of a world they’ll never see to those willing to pay for it finally caught up with him and he is set up for treason… And while he flees into Grey London, someone seems to tag along even though Kell still believes he doesn’t need help.
As you might have guessed from my rambles above, I really loved reading A Darker Shade Of Magic. This first book in the Shades Of Magic series has basically everything I want in a YA fantasy series all mashed together into one brilliant story, and this book made it straight to my list of all time favorites. I know it sounds a lot like fangirling and I admit I still find it hard to write a proper review even days after finishing it… But what I can say is that A Darker Shade Of Magic is one of those books that is truly worth the hype. Make sure to read it if you haven’t already; you won’t regret it!
I can’t wait to read this! I want to binge read the series though. Any idea how many books will be in it. Just two or will there be more do you think?
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Sorry for butting in, but to answer your question – there will be at least a third one. The title was released last week. Not sure what the wait time is going to be, though.
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If you can wait, definitely don’t start this series yet. Like Emily said, there will be at least a third book and supposedly it will be recently published in 2017, although there is no exact publish date yet.
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Thanks!
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So glad you loved it. It’s a great story. I still haven’t managed to write a review even though I read it a few months ago 🙂 It’s always hard with books you love.
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I totally agree! I always have problems writing proper reviews about my favorite books… And A Darker Shade Of Magic definitely belongs to that list.
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Great review! I’ve been hearing nothing but praise for this series and I have the first sitting on my shelf. I’m hoping it’ll be within my next few reads! 🙂
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I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did! I recently finished the sequel as well and both are excellent.
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Onward to AGOS — to which I hope it doesn’t disappoint. The character development in the sequel is infinitely better, I thought. Plus, more Kell’s coat feels.
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I actually recently finished AGOS and I really enjoyed it as well for different reasons. I think I liked the ‘simple’ plot in ADSOM better, but I totally agree the character development in AGOS is way more interesting. The wait for the third book is going to be a long one…
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I’ve been wanting to read this one but I can’t find time to. Ugh! Great review, btw. 🙂
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I hope you will be able to find time soon! It is definitely worth reading. 🙂
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Oh I’m so glad you liked it since I was one of the (probably) many who recommended it to you! And now you can join me in the agonizing wait for the sequel. 🙂
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I’m glad I finally gave in and read both of them! The wait for the third book is sure going to be a long one…
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We’re in it together with a lot of other people, though. Does that count for something, or just make the wait more agonizing? Hmm…
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It definitely goes both ways… But even though the wait is going to be painful, I’m glad I finally read the first books.
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