Prepare to be hooked - A Darker Shade of Magic Review

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic

Author: V.E. Schwab

My rating: 5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pub. date: February 24th 2015

Publisher: Tor Books

Synopsis: 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. (synopsis from Goodreads)

I’m not really sure how to write this review, to be honest, because I don’t know if there are any words in the universe to describe how much I loved A Darker Shade of Magic. The best word I can find is epic, but I still don’t think it sufficiently describes how absolutely, totally, completely awesome this book was. I think I need to make up a new word.

   I love Kell!

   I’m not entirely sure why I love him so much, but I just really loved reading about him. It might be that he is so certain of things like magic, but he can still admit it when he’s wrong. It might be that he was totally relatable. Or it might just be that he was a generally good guy, with a darker side. Either way, I found him totally intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading more about him.

   Lila is totally awesome!

   Lila, I know exactly why I love. She’s badass, independent, witty and just plain awesome. She had to survive on her own most of her life, which has taught her all about the darker side of society. She’s a thief, and a very good one at that, but I loved her. She was just so fun to read about!

   The truly magical thing was the world-building, though.

   I have never read anything like this before, ever. The world-building is near-perfection, making you really feel like you’re in the world. I love the world, the four different Londons, and what really made it impossible to put away was the curiosity, the need to learn everything about these Londons, about their histories and magic and everything. Schwab has created such an intriguing, magical and yet dark world that it is impossible to stop living in it, even after you’ve finished.

   The writing was stunning!

   To make a book like this work, you need good writing, in order to make such a different world feel tangible and real. Schwab has it in loads! The writing manages to capture the feeling of all different Londons perfectly, making it feel like you’re actually the one travelling between worlds. It transports you completely into this amazing world she’s built, and makes it an amazing experience.

   If I still haven’t convinced you to pick up this book, let me just outright say it. You HAVE to go buy this book, like, now, because you are missing out on an experience like nothing you can imagine. This book will hook you in from the first sentence, and keep you there, and take you on a journey you won’t forget. Although, I must warn you, reading this book might ruin you for any other book, but it’s worth it.