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

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Published: February 24, 2015 
Publisher: Tor Books 
Pages: 398 (paperback) 
Series: Shades of Magic #1  
Source: Bought 
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. 

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

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.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then 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.

This book has been raved about by so many people, so I have no idea why I never decided to pick it up. I think I was mainly nervous that I'd be the lone person that didn't absolutely fall in love with it. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. I've been having so much trouble with getting into books lately and this seems to finally have ended that curse (of course it probably helped that I was sitting in airports for hours with nothing else to do other than read and drain my phone battery).

What I Liked
The concept of multiple Londons fascinated me. I love the idea of parallel or alternate worlds and I've finally found a book that does this so well. I thought that it would be difficult to remember which London was which, but the differences between the Londons made it so easy to tell the difference. Each one was unique and it might have been a little cliche that there's a London that no one goes to, but honestly I didn't mind that aspect. It was mysterious enough to keep me interested and not feel like something that I've read before. 

The characters were absolutely stunning, especially Lila. Her character was by far the most developed and the incredibly interesting. She's fierce, but not to the point where she feels unreal and detached. Kell and Rhy were also stars for me. I loved their relationship and how they genuinely seemed liked siblings. 

I loved the concept of the Antari. It was something so unique to me and I can't wait to learn more about the magic in this world in the following books. I'm sure there's going to be some developments with a certain character and I was to see if I'm correct about my theories. I also hope that there's more to Black London than was previously thought by the characters. 

What I Didn't Like
If I had to say something I don't like, it would have to be that the story does take a little bit to get going. Once it gets going though, it was hard to put down. I felt completely sucked into the story. So if you're struggling to get into it, just give it a little time and then I'm sure you'll love it.

Verdict
I will definitely be continuing this series and I'm so glad I picked this book up in the first place. It feels like this book helped me got out of my reading slump, which is quite impressive since it's been 
going on for awhile now. 

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a little adventure and something unique.