A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This post has been a long time coming. Oh maybe me reading this book has been a long time coming. I feel like it is the eternal challenge of the book worm. You find an author, you love their talks, you enjoy their social media presence, and their books are all on your TBR list. Well here I am very. much. overdue.

I loved A Darker Shade of Magic. It challenged the rut of novels I felt like I’ve been drawn towards in the past, with it’s sense of how magic works, and the eternal struggle of good vs. evil, and humanity in general.

Okay, to understand the characters and how well they breathe life into the book, I have to state that the only reason the book works is the beautiful way in which the magic works. Magic at this point is both setting and character. It is a living thing, and it is over imposed upon the world, or rather worlds.

Four interconnected London’s is so beautifully simple, and devastatingly complex. Why London? Why is each one slightly different? Why is magic different in all of them? The even better answer is that we, or rather our leads, don’t know. Does V. E. Schwab know? Undoubtedly. And to be there is the beauty. There are hard set rules to this magic, and yet we get an idea of the unknown, the impossible. Which again just seems to mirror these hard worlds. These cruel worlds. These unknown worlds. And I ate it up.

Who better to deal with a harsh, impossible, fascinating world? Of course there would be no better duo than a delinquent, aspiring pirate and a cherished, yet swindling magician. The dynamic between Lila and Kell, was fascinating and hilarious. I loved how Lila unsettled Kell, and yet they worked so well. I connected with Lila, though I have not had to fight for my life the majority of my life. She had the heart of a wanderer, and a passion that I respected. Even if like the slightly more morally upright Kell, I was chagrined at some of her actions. The characters were multifaceted and truly made the soul of the book shine.

I cannot wait to read the next one, though I am currently waiting as I listened to it as a book on tape, and the next book has a line for. I highly recommend the narrator, who artfully brought the book to life. If you haven’t read A Darker Shade of Magic please pull it to the top of your TBR. It’ll be worth it. And now, As Travars. 

You can get A Darker Shade of Magic here through Bookshop.org, which supports local independent bookstores!

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