May Read: A Darker Shade of Magic

[Maya]

Yessss im super pumped to read this!! Hope you enjoy this book :)

*no spoilers without warning*
*respect everyone's opinions*

[ella_peach]

Yay! I've wanted to read this book since it came out

[Ashley Marie]

Sammy I deleted the other post since it was a duplicate ;)

[Helen]

I am excited for this one. My copy arrived the other day, really looking forward to reading this!

[Helen]

I am excited for this one. My copy arrived the other day, really looking forward to reading this!

[Danny]

Looking forward to this one. Feels like it's gonna be a good read.

[Ruthie]

Looks like it's time for me to put in my monthly book order *rubs hands together* I know what book will be first on the buying list ;)

[Allison]

Can't wait! I've been wanting to read this since it came out.

[Abbie (boneseasonofglass)]

Just finished reading this, I really liked it! :)

[ella_peach]

Oh my gosh I just finished this a few minutes ago, and wow was it amazing! The world building (or worlds building, haha) was really really cool, I loved the idea of different Londons (and how the city is basically the same throughout all the worlds).
I liked how the magic was different than in most fantasy books. The language of magic was super intriguing.
Kell was an awesome hero. The Antari was a cool concept, I liked how they could use blood to use their magic. Kell was a really realistic MC, I thought.
I loved Lila so much. She reminded me a lot of Deryn Sharp from the Leviathan books (Anyone read those?) She was such a badass right from the start.
(view spoiler)[ The whole book was really good, but I thought the ending was a little disappointing. I don't it just seemed the fight with Holland and then with Astrid and Athos was...too easy I guess? I mean the whole book was building up how scary the twins were, and Kell finished them easily. And why didn't Astrid just kill Lila from the start of their 'fight'? I know Astrid wanted to toy with Lila, but COME ON. And how did Kell know so easily that it was Astrid and not Lila? And how did Astrid not see the knife coming? ARGHHHH.
Whatever. (hide spoiler)]
All in all, it was a fantastic read, wholly enjoyable. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

[Maya]

I just finished this on the plane! I LOVED IT. I don't have time for a full review...but I will get to it soon.

[Maya]

I just finished this on the plane! I LOVED IT. I don't have time for a full review...but I will get to it soon.

[mochi ☁️]

Just starting this book! A bit late for me, but the library had holds.

[Ruthie]

Yeah, I ended up passing on buying it cuz I didn't really want to spend full price on a book by an author I haven't read before (I'm a cheap skate) and my library is taking foreeever getting it to me! so I'm in the same boat Belle ;)

[Angelica]

Same here but mine just came in so I'll start in on it tonight :)

[Angelica]

Same here but mine just came in so I'll start in on it tonight :)

[Angelica]

Same here but mine just came in so I'll start in on it tonight :)

[Ruthie]

Mines still not here. *grumble, grumble*

[Helen]

I really enjoyed this and I am eagerly anticipating the rest of the series! Great pick, thanks x

[Gervan]

Ella wrote: "Oh my gosh I just finished this a few minutes ago, and wow was it amazing! The world building (or worlds building, haha) was really really cool, I loved the idea of different Londons (and how the c..."

(view spoiler)[I know! The end fight with the Twins and Holland was a bit anticlimactic but still really enjoyable overall. I actually really loved the antagonists though. The Twins were sick and sadistic and oh so lovely <3 (hide spoiler)]

[mochi ☁️]

I couldn't get into this book. (Unpopular opinion, I know.) I enjoyed the premise as well as most of the characters I met, but I just couldn't get into the feel of the writing. :/

I might try it again at a later date! Looking forward to June's selection!

[Anna]

Just picked it up yesterday and started reading... hopefully I'll finish in time to talk to you guys about it.

[Ruthie]

The library is being sloooooow at getting it to me. I'm not going to get to it this month. I'll let you guys know what I think whenever I get to it ;)

[Anna]

Finished it a few weeks ago, and then completely forgot about how I was going to tell you guys about it... whoops... so here's my review:

I should probably preface by saying that this is the first piece of popular fiction I’ve read from my library’s “adult” section; I generally read YA. That being said, I had some issues with this book. Interdimensional travel, dark magic, no overdone romance, with a fascinating cast of characters all around - what could possibly be bad about this book? And, yes, it was an addictive, enjoyable read. Both the characters and the world were interesting - but underdeveloped. Especially Red London: I would love to read more of Rhys and his guards and the court and culture and life of this other London filled with magic. I found the writing to be slow, which didn’t lend itself well to the urgency of the plot, making me feel like I was slogging through too many words to actually accomplish something. And when things did happen, they seemed to fall into place too easily. I’ve heard so many good things about this book, and the summary was so intriguing, but it turned out to be a not as good version of A Thousand Pieces of You.

I am glad I read it though, especially considering I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise!

[Ruthie]

I finally got this one! I know, almost a month late XD I really enjoyed it, but I agree with some of the issues that other people mentioned. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the series, and the author as a writer, develops.