Reading challenge – 1/4 of 2016 gone.

Well, I’ve had an email today from Goodreads about my yearly reading challenge, confirming that today we are a quarter of the way through 2016 and ‘Congratulating’ me on being ahead of schedule!! I’m 38% done.

So what have I read since my last blog/update.

Book number #17 – A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E.Schwab

This book has lots of high ratings with some fantastic reviews, on both Goodreads and Amazon, and so when reading them and the blurb I was hooked into giving it a try. And I’m so glad I did.

This is a really good book with a fantastic story line/premise. Which is that there are four Londons – in parallel worlds or universes, each geographically much the same as the other but with very different customs, governments and languages. Our hero is ‘Kell’ who is one of the last people in the world that can travel between them: red, white and grey Londons – (black London has been destroyed, but suspect we’ll see more in future books). He is a little bit of a magical rogue in that he supplements his income and passes his time with a bit of gambling and smuggling between the Londons, which will prove to be his undoing and create the adventures we go through in the book.

This book is very well written, I’ve never read the authors work before but will, with lots of thrills and interesting engaging characters thoughout! I’m hooked. So any shortfalls? I hear you cry. Well, for me, everything was easily anticpated. No unexpected twists or shocks. A weak flaw, but would of been perfect with some twist I didn’t expect or see. I also found the whole ups and downs with the ‘Black stone’ a little too….’Lord of the Rings’ like. I’m avoiding spoilers but sure people who have read the book will know what I mean.

But well worth a read, I enjoyed it, and I’m sure will read more from this author. 4 out of 5!

Which book next?