A Darker Shade of Magic
A Darker Shade of Magic, (Shades of Magic, Book 1), by V.E. Schwab
Blurb: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.My ReviewOkay, so I'm definitely jumping on the V.E. Schwab band-wagon! Vicious and Dark Duet have been on my TBR list for a while, but I picked up this book randomly when shopping (I brought it because of the gorgeous cover, but I actually have to say I prefer the cover by Tor Books; I think it's more unique). It took me a while to get around to reading it and now I'm kicking myself for not reading this authors work sooner. Here's why... The writing is utterly beautiful, harshly poetic at times, but also simple enough that the worlds, which could have been very complex and confusing, were easily understood. The world building was brilliant and I was instantly intrigued and drawn into the story. It is a bit of a slow-burn to begin with, but I liked that, I liked seeing the worlds and understanding them before being thrown into the action and boy was there action! My only compliant would be that the battles ended too soon, but maybe that was just me reading too fast! And then there's the characters... They're all so different, but all amazing and developed and totally engaging. Kell was great hero, but I did find myself drawn towards Holland and I'm desperately hoping he wasn't actually dead and we see more of him - I feel like he may be redeemable now he's no longer under Athos' control... However, my favourite character was definitely Lila; she was the most kick-ass heroine I've read about in a long time and I loved the fact that, being a thief, she straddled the line of good and bad, shifting back and forth, although she definitely had a good heart and I know we'll see more of her in the other books. Also, I hope we see more of Rhy in the other books, since I felt like he didn't get much time in this one and he's another character I was intrigued about.My only problem was that I felt there were a few loose ends that didn't get tied up, not that it really mattered but I thought the magical enthusiasts (Ned) would have something to do with the story and the mad king, too. But maybe they'll have roles in later books... Now, I'm off to buy the other two books in this trilogy!
My favourite quotes from 'A Darker Shade of Magic':'A respectable prison is still a prison,' 'Well might have cut him some slack, but men who waded into waters claiming they could swim should not need a raft.' ' "Just because you make it look easy doesn't mean it is." ' 'Saying yes would have meant staying, and staying would have meant settling.' ' "I'm not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of dying here. ... I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still." ' ' "Do you know what makes you weak?" said Holland. "You've never had to be strong, You've never had to try. You've never had to fight ..." ' '... the problem with forcing people to do things they didn't want to do. You had to be specific. They had no choice but to follow orders, but they probably weren't inclined to go above and beyond them.'
Blurb: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.My ReviewOkay, so I'm definitely jumping on the V.E. Schwab band-wagon! Vicious and Dark Duet have been on my TBR list for a while, but I picked up this book randomly when shopping (I brought it because of the gorgeous cover, but I actually have to say I prefer the cover by Tor Books; I think it's more unique). It took me a while to get around to reading it and now I'm kicking myself for not reading this authors work sooner. Here's why... The writing is utterly beautiful, harshly poetic at times, but also simple enough that the worlds, which could have been very complex and confusing, were easily understood. The world building was brilliant and I was instantly intrigued and drawn into the story. It is a bit of a slow-burn to begin with, but I liked that, I liked seeing the worlds and understanding them before being thrown into the action and boy was there action! My only compliant would be that the battles ended too soon, but maybe that was just me reading too fast! And then there's the characters... They're all so different, but all amazing and developed and totally engaging. Kell was great hero, but I did find myself drawn towards Holland and I'm desperately hoping he wasn't actually dead and we see more of him - I feel like he may be redeemable now he's no longer under Athos' control... However, my favourite character was definitely Lila; she was the most kick-ass heroine I've read about in a long time and I loved the fact that, being a thief, she straddled the line of good and bad, shifting back and forth, although she definitely had a good heart and I know we'll see more of her in the other books. Also, I hope we see more of Rhy in the other books, since I felt like he didn't get much time in this one and he's another character I was intrigued about.My only problem was that I felt there were a few loose ends that didn't get tied up, not that it really mattered but I thought the magical enthusiasts (Ned) would have something to do with the story and the mad king, too. But maybe they'll have roles in later books... Now, I'm off to buy the other two books in this trilogy!My favourite quotes from 'A Darker Shade of Magic':'A respectable prison is still a prison,' 'Well might have cut him some slack, but men who waded into waters claiming they could swim should not need a raft.' ' "Just because you make it look easy doesn't mean it is." ' 'Saying yes would have meant staying, and staying would have meant settling.' ' "I'm not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of dying here. ... I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still." ' ' "Do you know what makes you weak?" said Holland. "You've never had to be strong, You've never had to try. You've never had to fight ..." ' '... the problem with forcing people to do things they didn't want to do. You had to be specific. They had no choice but to follow orders, but they probably weren't inclined to go above and beyond them.'
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