Review : A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Kell is one of the last travelers–magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city. 

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad King–George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered–and where Kell was raised alongside Rhy Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London–a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. 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.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, 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.  (From: Goodreads)

Title: A Darker Shade Of Magic 

Series: A Darker Shade Of Magic, #1

Author: V.E. Schwab 

Genres: YA, fantasy 

Publisher: Titan Books (UK), 2015

Edition: paperback, 384 pages 

Kell wore a very peculiar coat.

Finally, finally, I finally read a book by V.E. Schwab.  I gave this book a star between 3-4.  Well, I’m still contemplating.  Yes, whenever I finish a book, I contemplate the rating for a long long time.

Things I Like About It 

– the idea 

There were four London, White, Red, Grey, and Black London a.k.a. Creepy, Kell, Dull, and Dead London.  It was a parallel world.  The idea just seems pretty interesting.

– the world-building 

The world was well built.  I thought I might get confused with this whole thing.  However, clearly I worried too much.

Things I Dislike About It 

There’s not really any particular thing I don’t like about the story.  

Recommendation

I recommend you to read to this book.  Please note that…their world actually didn’t look like London at all.  So if you hope to find some British stuff here, you can only find a King George III and nothing more.

That’s all for my review of A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab.  Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.  Have a nice day and I’ll see you next time.  Bye 👋