Sadly the book wasn't for me. I do admire the strong beginning, and was happy to see the book doesn't shy away from dire consequences. ( )

I finally got around to reading A Darker Shade of Magic! Well, actually I listened to it on audio. It was the first pick for a book group I am in. My overall opinion is that it was pretty good: not great, not bad, but good. I am certainly left with questions I want answered, a lot of questions.

So this book introduces us to Kell and Lila as alternating chapter POVs.Kell is Antari, meaning that he is one of just two remaining that can use blood magic and travel between the parallel Londons. Magic is not solely used by Antari, and in fact the knowledge and use of magic varies greatly between the different Londons. Currently there are 3 Londons that Kell travels betweens— his job being to carry messages between the royals of each of them.

Kell refers to his London as Red London, in which magic is widely used, and the other two he calls White and Grey London. White London has people that seem drained of their power and who carve things into their skin and resort to other drastic measures to regain even a little of what is draining away. It is ruled over by two very powerful and dangerous siblings but apparently shuffles through rulers quite often, very characteristic of its chaotic and unstable nature. Grey London on the other hand has nearly forgotten about magic. Lila Bard lives in Grey London. She aspires for adventure and freedom and very soon will meet the very traveler to show her the way.

While on his travels, Kell comes into possession of a mysterious black stone that exudes a pure magical aura and as he learns more about this stone’s nature and the possibilities it creates, he feels that it is up to him to handle it responsibly. Being so powerful however, there are those who have other plans for the stone. Thankfully for Kell, Lila is the sort to face danger head on and is up for just about anything.

While Kell is likable enough, I rather felt like most of the book was more introductory and never really got into character development. His coat is legit though. I mean, he just turns it inside out seemingly into infinity and there’s all these different coats it turns into and he can keep stuff in the pockets of all of them. So many pockets. Lila seemed a lot more fleshed out in comparison. She clearly doesn’t like being tied down to anything and least of all to labels anyone would want to attach to her. Even beyond this, she notices how others use labels to further their own end and in so doing, perpetuate stereotypes. This is particularly the case for stereotypically female attributes, and Lila makes sure to pay no mind to how she “should” act as a young woman.

Outside of these two main characters the few side characters were pretty flat, though it may just seem that way now because they will be developed further in the series. The villains of this book were a bit disappointingly flat in my opinion. But dynamic villains are a soft spot for me, so I am pretty critical when it comes to them.

I did pick up on a few small details as I was reading that I feel like might pop up later as being really important and integral to answering big questions in the story right now, so I hope those pieces do end up being used. I am particularly curious about this marking in Kell’s skin that is discussed in the beginning of the book and with Kell’s childhood. I will more than likely read the next book of the series since I did find A Darker Shade of Magic enjoyable, but I do hope there is a lot more character development in that installment. I rate this first one a 3/5 stars.
★★★☆☆

P.S.- I think the edition covers that include Kell going between two different Londons as illustrated by two circles of map (red and black) is brilliant! And I’m curious as to the use of black in this instance as well due to the mysterious nature of Black London. ( )

"Blood was magic made manifest. There it thrived. And there it poisoned."

In [b: A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400322851l/22055262._SY75_.jpg|40098252], there are four Londons, all separated with different qualities. Kell is an Antari from Red London, where magic flourishes. Antari have the ability to travel between Londons, and Kell is one of the last of his kind. He sends messages to the monarchs of the Londons, but when these Londons cross into another, danger ensues.

Four stars are still decent, but I expected a lot more due to everyone hyping it up. I am not disappointed in any way, I just assumed it would be worth five stars. The beginning was a bit slow, hence why it took me six days to read it. (Embarrassing tbh).

“For the ones who dream of stranger worlds.”

The story itself is very fascinating, and I loved the way [a:V.E. Schwab|7168230|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1511218938p2/7168230.jpg] described the magic. It was thrilling, the words so truly enchanting. It wasn't basic magic, it was so much more than that. More complex, yet so simple. (Also, reading this in a British accent? 100x betta luv XX ( )

This book is inventive and entertaining and well-written. I liked the character's Kell and LIla very much (although I did not care for how the narrator voiced her character). I loved the idea of the overlapping Londons and the differences between the worlds. I'm comparing this book to two other books. First, I'm comparing it to Schwab's other book, Vicious. This one was a complete fantasy novel whereas the other involved fantasy elements but was set in the present day real world. I enjoyed Vicious more, perhaps because of the setting and plot, and perhaps because I liked the main characters more. But I still enjoyed this one. Second, I'm comparing it to the Necromancer's House, which I listened to just prior to this. Both are about magic and magicians and the struggle for power amongst them. Other than that they couldn't be more different. Again, I think I liked the other book more. But I will definitely keep my eye out for Schwab's next book as she creates fascinating worlds with interesting and believable characters.

Update: I just started the second book in the series, A Gathering of Shadows. I looked back at this review and had to laugh because I am so glad to get to see these characters again and to see how the story continues. I think I underestimated how much I liked the first book! ( )

4,5/5

Este es un libro del cual no tenía muchas expectativas pero me ha gustado bastante y pretendo seguir con la saga. El mundo creado por la autora me flipa, lo de que haya 4 Londres que son muy distintos pero a la vez tienen similitudes me encanta. La diferencia que para mí es la más importante es el cambio en la lengua que usan en cada Londres, como que en algunos el inglés es el más importante para vivir y en el otro es un idioma para destacar.
Pese a ser un libro mas bien corto he podido empatizar con los personajes, desde quererlos (Kell, Lila...) hasta a odiarlos (los mellizos). Uno de los personajes que más me ha gustado es Holland, aunque en algún punto del libro no me ha gustado su final ha hecho que me guste más .
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I did not have many expectations of this book of but I liked it a lot and I intend to continue with the saga. The world created by the author freaks me out, the fact that there are 4 Londons that are very different but at the same time have similarities I love. The difference that for me is the most important is the change in the language they use in each London, as in some English is the most important to live and in the other is a language to stand out. Despite being a short book I have been able to empathise with the characters, from loving some of them (Kell, Lila...) to hating some of them (the twins). One of the characters that I liked the most is Holland, although at some point in the book I did not like him the end has made me like him more.

(sorry for any mistakes in my writing) ( )