#BookReview: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

About the Book:

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.

Reviewed By: Jessica P. 

Publisher: Tor Books

Recommended Age: Adult 

Genre: Fantasy 

How I Acquired this book: Purchased 

Overall rating: ★-DNF at page 40
Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author:
V. E. Schwab's first adult novel, Vicious, debuted to critical praise and reader accolades. Schwab is the author of YA novels The Near Witch, The Archived, and The Unbound. She is also currently writing a fantasy middle grade series with Scholastic.

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Please don't hate me!

Check out author's other books? YES: I loved This Savage Song! 
Recommend this book? No

Notes and Opinions: Before you totally murder me.........I want to say that I am so sorry that this book was so not for me.  I was bored out of my mind and only made it to about 40 pages.  Yup, I didn't even make it to the normal 50-100 that I try and do for each book that I own.  This one just wasn't happening.  

The story starts out in a way where the story is already going, which was fine. I wasn't lost or anything and the story was moving very well.  It was just boring me to death!!! This reads like a textbook and not a story. It reminds me of those dry history books where you are just told all this information but there is no real story.  

As for what I got from the characters and world building I did like the alternate worlds of the different Londons. That was pretty interesting but I didn't care for Kell at all.  

For me, this one just didn't work out.  If you love adult fantasy I would say try it as for me I do not do much of the adult fantasy stuff. 

Go Into This One Knowing:  Not for me, Slow, Boring 

 

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Posted in: 1 Star, Adult, Jessica P., Review, Tor Books