Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

Wandering Star
Jul 21, 2017
3 min read

Hey everyone! Here is the first of our Friday posts! I just wanted to remind you that every Friday, we will be posting a new review! But that also won't stop us from posting other reviews during the week ;) so be sure to keep an eye out!

***REMINDER THAT ALL OF OUR REVIEWS ARE SPOILER FREE UNLESS IT IS A REVIEW OF A SUBSCRIPTION BOX OR WE TELL YOU OTHERWISE!!!! WE WILL ALWAYS WARN YOU BEFORE REVEALING ANY SPOILERS!***

With that being said, let's move on to why you're all here: THE REVIEW!!!!!

Today, I am reviewing A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. This is a book that people have been bugging me for AGES to read! With the high ratings that it has received online and it's popularity on bookstagram, I honestly don't know why I didn't pick it up sooner.

Let's start out with a summary:

Do you believe your world to be the only real one? Think again! There are four different "Londons"; Grey London, Red London, White London, and Black London. Each one has varying levels of magic in their world. Some don't believe it exists (Grey London) while others were completely consumed by it (Black London). Only certain magicians called Antari are able to travel between the different Londons; however, Antari are few and almost extinct.

Kell is one of the only two Antari remaining across all four Londons. Officially, Kell is an ambassador for Red London who travels to the four Londons to pass information among the governments. Unofficially, he is a smuggler who marvels at the smallest little trinkets from each world. Word of his smuggling abilities spread and eventually, he is tricked into smuggling an object no one should possess. He escapes into Grey where he runs into Delilah "Lilah" Bard, a thief who has no problem stealing from anyone and dreams of sailing. Together, they travel across the Londons to rid the world of this object before its too late, but things are never as easy as one would hope. They must watch their every step with dark magic spreading and stop it from consuming everything.

PHEW! It is hard to summarize this book without spoilers!

Now onto the review:

Plot: 1/1 stars

This book was easy to get sucked into. The plot, although it may sound cliché, actually felt new and refreshing! It felt dangerous to even read, so I don't even want to know how the characters made it through! There was enough mystery, wittiness, and action to really keep the reader hooked.

Characters: 1/1 stars

The characters were dynamic and fun to "hang out" with ;) I never felt like she was compromising a character by adding in a romance or making them something unrealistic. Let me tell you, the characters themselves as issues. The writing that brought them to life did not.

Description: 1/1 stars

PURE FANTASY! MY LOVE!!!! Ok, ok, I may be a little biased in this category ;) But V. E. Schwab promised things in this book and she delivered!

Also, it was easy to immerse myself into her story world. I felt like from the get-go, She made sure the readers understood how the world works. Then, she let you question everything over time as the characters themselves discovered new things. The world was so complete that I am honestly having a hard time trying to ind a chink in the armor to report on here.

Pace: .9/1 stars

Ok, I'm gonna be honest here: looking back, the beginning was a little slow. Why I am not too upset about this is because her writing doesn't even make it seem slow! While I was reading it, the pace felt perfect. It was only upon reviewal where I realized some people may find it a little slow during the world building part in the beginning. However, there are also more popular books out there that have a much slower start than this, so I honestly don't think this is something anyone trying to decided whether or not this book is worth reading should worry about.

Extras: 1/1 stars

Excitement! Emotions! Intrigue! Yes please!

Not to mention an ending that was satisfying, yet left you wanting more (my lips are sealed)!

That means this book receives a Wandering Midnight approval rating of (drum roll, please).......

4.9/5 STARS!!!!

I honestly don't know why I didn't pick this up sooner. It has quickly turned into one of my favorite series and I HAD to pick up book two as soon as I finished the first one! If you are a fan of fantasy, you need to go pick this book up right now! I promise you won't regret it ;)