A Darker Shade of Magic

V. E. Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic Cover

A Darker Shade of Magic

Ann Walker
9/18/2015
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** spoiler alert ** I enjoyed this quite a bit, and buzzed through it quickly. The world-building (Multiple Londons! With varying degrees of magic-use!) was intriguing, but I wish it could have been developed a bit more. The plot, focusing on a Magical Bad Thing That Must Be Destroyed, was a bit different in that the Bad Thing seemed to have a mind of its own. Also, the destruction of the Bad Thing seemed a bit anticlimatic.

The characters - ooooh, the characters! Kell, the protagonist, has magic powers, but also came as a bit of an emo-slacker when he wasn't on duty as Icy Magical Dude. (Also copper hair! Yowie! But at some point it changed to auburn, which is okay, but not, copper.) Rhy, his foster brother the Prince, came across as the cliched Slacker Prince. (But then there was the bit about his not executing the members of a gang who had kidnapped him, because he had empathy for their political struggles - why was this not developed more as part of his character?) And then there's Lila. Ooooh, Lila. Cross-dressing pickpocket, pirate-queen wanabee, desperate for adventure and an escape from the futility of her London. Lila was by the far the most interesting and engaging character to me - she operated entirely on her own terms, and was not interested in the slightest in romance (or even friendship, for that matter.) I'll definitely read the next book in the series because GIVE ME MORE LILA.