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

Holy moly, I absolutely loved this book! It has been a while since I have sped through a book in this way, completely engrossed in the story and not once felling bored or impatient for the plot to pick up. 



But let’s start at the beginning. This book is a fantasy set in London in multiple universes. There’s Grey London, where magic doesn’t really exist, Red London where magic thrives, White London where magic is power and black London which succumbed to magic and is now closed off. These Londons used to be connected by doors, but they have now been sealed off and only very few people can travel between the worlds. Kell is one such person and he is the main protagonist of this book. He works for the King and Queen of Red London delivering messages to the rulers of the other two living Londons. He has a bad habit of collecting trinkets, which is strictly forbidden, and one day he accidentally brings something very dangerous from one world to another, and now he must figure out how to get rid of it. 

As I said above I absolutely loved this story! I was fully prepared to dislike it, as everyone had raved about it and I very rarely think books deserve their hype. But this one does. It is actionpacked almost from page one. The world building is detailed but unobtrusive and the characters are realistic and interesting. 

My only issue with this book is the fact that it is a series. And while I look forward to reading more about Kell and the Londons, I wonder where the narrative will lead as this book seemed to wrap up nicely. There are a few unsolved issues (really only one) that I guess will be the main story of the next book, but this deals with a different character, so I can only hope we haven’t finished with Kell completely, as I found him a fascinating and interesting character and would like to know more about his story. 


I gave this book 5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. I will definitely be continuing with the series and I will recommend it to just about everyone. 

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