A Darker Shade of Magic - A CW Original

 

    I used to be a bookseller at Barnes and Noble a few years ago and this book was HOT. We had it on the front display constantly, most of my co-workers had already read through the entire trilogy. It stayed on my list and I finally had the chance get involved.

It had magic, London, slightly YA elements, a dope cover…all the things you could ask for. 

And yet… it was lacking. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab just did not hit for me. 

We follow our main character Kell who lives in a dimension known as Red London, a place of magic and wonder. Kell is a mage that can traverse all other types of London, Grey London and White London as well. All Londons in different stages of development, magic and technology. 

His job is basically that of a messenger, escorting packages and messages to the leaders of these dimensions. In his trip to Grey London, our London in the late 1800s, he encounters a young woman by the name of Lila Bard. A clever, resourceful thief that  chooses Kell as her next target, and what she steals from him draws the attention of every London, forcing these two in an unlikely friendship as they navigate the dangers and magic of all after them. 

Again. This synopsis is great, I should LOVE this book, It’s a popular series. 

However the writing of Kell and Lila felt…the same? It felt like I heard more V.E. Schwab more than these characters. It was just snarky comments back and forth, more like a list and less like chemistry.  Lila seemed immune to any consequences in the story and for everything she did, Kell seemed to have to deal with a pick up the rest, and Im’m fine with that dynamic  if that’s the actual dynamic but it just felt like Lila was slowly becoming the main character and inching every other character out. 

The magic system is a soft one which I’m fine with but the applications and uses of the magic seemed repetitive and mundane, more like recycled Ninjutsu from Naruto. 

That being said, the aesthetics of the world were interesting and some of the chracters were enthralling and down right terrifying as  these two traipsed between dimensions. Kell’s relation ship with his brother was interesting at least. 

But this is my opinion, this book is the first one in a trilogy and V.E> Schwab has since made a lot of other work. Maybe I’ll give another a try, and please still check this book out if any thing I’ve said caught your interest and let me know what you think!