A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E Schwab
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.
Actual stars: 4,5 stars !!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my god I love Kell so much like he's my squishy baby pompom chick a wow w0w. My final assignment presentation is in 2 weeks, this month I rarely have time to read but V.E Schwabb clearly said "No, read my book! NOW" then I am completely invested in this book and CANNOT stop, I should be studying instead Kell took my brain (and heart) and OWNED it. my god you sweet thing Kell. I totally swoon and head over heels with him.
The problem is, when you invested in the first book of a series you NEED to continue to read the rest of it or you'll die out of curiosity. So, what will I do next?
Of course i'm gonna write a review. Procrastination is on point!
Schwab has a beautiful writing style and with came up with with an amazing plot, original magic system (a huge challenge), a fascinating hero and heroine who aren't sickeningly perfect but are equal parts gutsy, funny and anything else you could possibly want AND BRILLIANTLY EVIL VILLAINS! Plus, her worldbuilding is crazy good. Books about parallel universes can be difficult to wrap your mind around, but she made it easy, even for me, people who aren't native english.
I was NEVER BORED. Admittedly, the book was a tad bit slow at the start, but stick with it because when things started happening there was never a dull moment. My heart was pounding by the pages.
I look forward to A Gathering of Shadows!
*Little fact: I thought the cover was some men with triangle hat! and when I look closely it was Kell with his coat fluttering.
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