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

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic #1)
Author : V.E Schwab
Publication Date : February 24th 2015
Publisher : Tor
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Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.  

Personal Thoughts

I'm not going to lie, A Darker Shade of Magic wasn't a book that I was going to pick up, not because I wasn't aware of the story, but because I didn't think it would be the kind of book for me. Having read the book now, I want to slam my head against the wall because if I had skipped this stunning new series, I would have been missing out on some phenomenal world building and a highly entertaining story.

By now, most of you probably already know what the story in A Darker Shade of Magic is. We have Kell, a delightful male character, who is also one of the last magicians able to portal through different parallel universes. Kell was sort of an ambassador, maintaining communication between the different Londons' leaders. It's rare for me to fall for male POVs as much as I did with Kell. I thought Schwab did a fantastic job at fleshing out his character and I loved how authentic his voice came out to be. Kell definitely a colorful character, and the more we got to learn about his personality traits, the more obsessed I became with him. I actually think Kell might be one of my all-time favorite male protagonists! As far as the other main character, Lila goes, I had a harder time warming up to her. She tended to be impulsive and made several rash decisions throughout the book that had me scratching my head and sighing in frustration. I also didn't particularly enjoy her nosy personality. She just kept butting in everywhere and this created a certain emotional barrier between me and her character. I did eventually grow indifferent to her, which is always better than complete frustration. Despite my inability to appreciate her character though, I wasn't turned off by the book in any way. A wonderful thing about both Kell and Lila was that neither of them were completely positive characters despite them being the heroes of the book. V.E Schwab explored the complexities of human nature by illustrating how their characters aren't always black and white.

The secondary characters also really shined in A Darker Shade of Magic. They were all interesting and vivid characters that had so much personality. I loved that V.E Schwab took her time to develop their characters as much as the main characters - that's always a sign of a talented author in my book. Athos and Astrid were my favorite though. They were the twisted and psychotic villains in the book that had my blood curdling. Every time they were in a scene, I would have chills! The world building in A Darker Shade of Magic was also superb. I was captivated by the different parallel universes. Usually, I'm not a fan of parallel universes in books because they tend to get confusing, but the author did a great job at ensuring that the world building wasn't confusing. I'll have to admit that the world building was my favorite part of this book. The plot in A Darker Shade of Magic was also the kind to sweep you away from the first page. It started off slow, but the build up was thrilling and halfway through the book, I couldn't stop flipping through the pages. V.E Schwab's gorgeous writing just made the book even more awesome.

A Darker Shade of Magic was an epic tale that took me on an adventurous ride, with its genuine characters, luscious world building and fun plot line. Don't be silly like me and put this book off your radar, because trust me when I say it will make you fall in love all over again.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall Rating : 4.5/5**

Thank you to Tor for the ARC of A Darker Shade of Magic.