“For the ones who dream of stranger worlds.”

4 out of 5 stars

A Darker Shade of Magic: A Novel (Shades of Magic) by V. E. Schwab

The book has all of my favorite things: London, early 19th century, talented/mysterious lead character, and of course magic.

Easy, enjoyable read. My first V. E. Schwab book and it didn’t disappoint. Four parallel worlds where magic is a living thing - either ravaged, suppressed, embraced or forgotten. I really love that each world has its own distinctive smell and unique imagery to go along.

This is a great stage setter for the coming books in the series, no YA love triangles (yet) just interesting character and story development. I finished the book curious to know more personally about the main characters and interested in seeing what happens to them next.

Last quarter dragged a bit but ending was on point and as I said, left me excited for book two.