Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Schwab has been on my to-read list for an extremely long time. I’ve been intrigued about so many of her books, have been curious about the hype, yet it has taken me a while to work my way around to reading A Darker Shade of Magic. After reading it, I can understand the hype and will certainly be back for more. In fact, I’m eager to dive into book two to see what comes next for the Shades of Magic series.

At first, I was a wee bit uncertain about A Darker Shade of Magic. It was filled with wonderful world building, and I was intrigued. I loved the way the worlds were developing, the way the details were unfolding, and I was desperate for more of the worlds. At the same time, I felt as though there wasn’t really much happening with the characters. I adore great world building, but I also require things to be happening with the characters. At first, I feared we were only going to have one of the things I enjoy.

After a while, once the worlds are truly developed, the story starts. Once things start to move, they do not stop. I fell even deeper in love with the worlds, I came to adore the characters, and I was hooked to the way the story was unfolding. A Darker Shade of Magic is not as complex as some of the fantasy books out there, but it does not lessen the enjoyment of the story. In fact, it’s sometimes nice to have a story that does not require a lot of complexity, something that is nice and simple to follow.

With A Darker Shade of Magic, I found once things started to move I was unable to put the book down. I was hooked on so many levels, in dire need of the details of how everything came together. Some things were a bit on the obvious side – the way things played out in this one, along with certain elements that are sure to come into play in the future books – yet everything was so addictive that I did not care.

I loved the worlds, I loved the characters, and I loved the story. There is no doubt in my mind that I’ll be jumping into book two and other Schwab books, as I need more.

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