Darker Shade of Magic Collector's

One of my favorite fantasy series! The world in this book is FIRE! The first book was very interesting to read and getting to know the magical world. I love all main characters. Lila and Kell just belong together and I loved reading about them. I also loved Rhy, he was funny even in not so suitable moments. Holland sometimes annoyed me but later on I grew on liking him. One thing I am really jealous about is Kell‘s magical coat! Like hello, i want one too… never worrying again about my jacket not matching my outfit 😩. Anyway, like I said I LOVE this book series. Everything is just soo well written and covered! V.E Schwab really knows how to write (I love her, she’s my fav author). I still have to read The Fragile Threads of Power and I’m very excited about it! Obviously this book deserves 5 stars. (The whole series)

This was such a pleasant read. At first I didn't see where this story would take me, but it was pleasantly told and I loved learning more about the different Londons. I also adore the dynamics of Kell and Lila. I can't wait to start the second book.

Gestern habe ich dieses Buch noch fix ausgelesen. Denn das muss man dem Fantasyroman lassen, er war gut zu lesen und es war eine entspannte Leserunde.   Ich liebe es, wenn reale Städte „verwandelt“ werden, so wie in diesem Buch. Es gibt nicht nur ein London, sondern verschiedene Städte in London mit besonderen Eigenschaften. Kell, der Magier und Protagonist, ist in der Lage zwischen den Städten umherzuwandern. Auch fand ich das Magiesystem interessant.   Mit der Zeit merkte ich jedoch, wie mein Leseeifer etwas nachließ. Und dies lag daran, dass mir die Welt und die Charaktere zu blass blieben. Fairerweise muss man sagen, dass wir hier auch nicht von einem 800 Seiten Schinken sprechen, sondern von 500 Seiten in der deutschen Ausgabe, die auch eher großzügig bedruckt sind. Dennoch hätte ich mir gewünscht, deutlich mehr über die Städte zu erfahren, um besser in die Welt eintauchen zu können. So fühlte ich mich ein wenig wie in einem Computerspiel, in dem ich zwar ein Gebäude noch betreten kann, dies jedoch schon eher spärlich eingerichtet ist. Das größte Manko sind/waren für mich jedoch die Figuren. Diese waren für mich einfach flach. Und selbst der Gegner Knells, den ich anfangs noch interessant fand, verlor für mich mit jedem Kapitel mehr an Substanz. Doch der oberflächlichste Charakter war für mich Knells „Stiefbruder“, der Königssohn. Außer flirten, nölen und flirten (habe ich das schon erwähnt?) konnte er recht wenig. Und selbst Lila, Knells Begleiterin aus dem „richtigen“ London, war für mich recht eindimensional: störrisch, mutig und regelmäßig auf Konfrontation aus.   Am Ende des Buches hatte ich auch den Eindruck, dass die Autorin nicht mehr viele Seiten zur Verfügung hatte und die Geschichte zum Abschluss bringen wollte. Ein Rundumschlag auf wenigen Seiten.   An sich war das Buch nicht schlecht, ich hatte meinen Lesespaß, doch ich habe gemerkt, dass ich einfach ein bisschen mehr „Futter“ brauche, was Worldbuilding und Charaktere angeht. Ich denke da an die Bücher von Christoph Marzi oder auch das eher dünne Buch Niemalsland von Neil Gaiman. Beide beschäftigen sich mit einem alternativen London und beide Male hatte ich das Gefühl, besser in die Welt eintauchen zu können.   Bei mir wird es wohl beim ersten Teil bleiben, es sei denn, ich finde zufällig irgendwo ein gutes Angebot oder werde auf einem Flohmarkt fündig.  

Fun and quick read. Didn’t blow me away but was entertaining enough to keep going. Excited for the next book in this series!

A great start to a new series. I loved the world building, it felt very unique. Can't wait to read the second book! I'm glad I only have to wait 7 weeks for it.

Ich hatte erwartet, dass ich "A Darker Shade of Magic" mögen würde, denn die Idee mit den vier verschiedenen Londons, in vier verschiedenen Welten mit unterschiedlich viel Magie und einem Magier der zwischen den Welten hin und her reisen kann, klang schon echt toll. Dennoch hat es das Buch geschafft mich positiv zu überraschen. Die Geschichte konnte mich von der ersten Seite an fesseln, ich konnte es kaum aus der Hand legen und habe mir nachdem ich diesen Teil beendet hatte sofort den zweiten Teil gekauft. Doch die Geschichte ist nicht nur echt spannend und die Magie super cool, am meisten konnten mich die Figuren überzeugen. Kell und Lila sind total verschieden, doch sie haben gemeinsam, dass sie beide irgendwie nirgends wirklich dazugehören. Sie waren mir beide von Beginn an sympathisch aber zusammen mochte ich sie noch mehr, die Dialoge zwischen den beiden sind einfach toll. Doch auch die Nebenfiguren waren echt interessant, besonders Holland und Rhy, beide aus ganz unterschiedlichen Gründen. Mir hat das erste Abenteuer mit Kell und Lila super gefallen und auch wenn das Ende nicht gerade ein Cliffhanger ist, macht es doch neugierig auf den nächsten Teil.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

This is the longest it took me to read a 384 page book. And I am not sure why. The story is actually good, the idea of it is great. It indeed reminded me of Neverwhere by Gaiman. But the first part took me a loooooooong while. I like Kell's character. I hate Lila. I was suspicious of Rhy. I am gonna give this book another try at some point. Maybe I am the problem.

3.5 Stars. I'm excited for the next book

4 solid stars. I was keen on liking this book, and I did. Only it didn't throw me off my feet and into a bucket of enthusiasm head first, as I had hoped it would. What I definitely liked about it was the idea of the four Londons propped on a chain of magicality (yes, this is an English word - not my fault the OED classifies it as "rare") to normality, with Grey London being modelled on the actual city in the time of Mad King George and Prinny, and the whole world-building. I loved the idea that there would be fixed points (like that one tavern) which would appear in all the Londons at the exact same place. And speaking of world-building, I also was amazed at the perfect match the author was for me: just when I was beginning to feel I'd seen enough of that and might get on with some story now, Schwab set off the plot proper. On top of that, I did love the fact that a convincing would-be pirate queen teams up with the mage to save the prince, not the princess - though I fear that there is a love story lurking there with Kell and Delilah (who also might turn out to have had an Antari eye like him at one point which would be ever so corny in combination...) What made me smile and sigh at the same time, and also substract a star, was when I realised that, for all the new and bright ideas for her world, the author had made me read a Lord of the Rings condensed replica, concerning the main story: Kell (Frodo) comes into possession of a powerful magical stone (ring) and after contemplation decides it is best to go and return (destroy) it to(in) Black London (Mordor, Mount Doom). On his journey he is accompanied, not to say dragged along, by his less "chosen" but also less distractable companion Delilah (Samwise) and hindered by dubious character Holland (Gollum - sorry for that one) who wants the stone (ring) for himself. Troublesome journey, near-escapes from death, etc., and in the end not Kell (Frodo) sends back (destroys) the stone (ring) to (in) Black London (the fires of Mount Doom), but Holland (Gollum) does, possibly (definitely) dying in the process. That was somewhat too close and put me off being after the next part as keenly as I might have been. Still, it was done so covertly and felt rather like an hommage than plagiarism which reconciled me to the book so that I might read on at some point anyway, I suppose.

Kell is Antari meaning he is one of the few people who can travel between the parallel universes. In Red London, his home, magic is abundant. In Grey London magic is virtually forgotten. And in White London people and magic are fighting. There was another London, Black London, but it fell to its own greed and hunger for magic and it was that event that closed the doors between the worlds. King George from Grey London is a man with dementia that everyone dismisses as mad. Kell, though, is very kind to him, offering him more words than his Queen, coins from his world that he doesn't believe carry any magic but that the King does. Kell is also sassy and also a small bastard to the people he doesn't like but is forced to interact with (namely, the Prince Regent of Grey London). One of his eyes is blue, but the other is wholly black (white part and iris alike) that is what marks him a traveller, that eye is pure magic. And Kell plays with magic so absentmindedly it's beautiful! Kell really loves magic, he is soft and sweet and kind and I love that in him. He is a revered person in Red London, best friend and brother of the prince, has been taken in as part of the family by the Royals and is very powerful. But he hates it. He hates that he can't pass as a commoner because people treat him as a Royal. He feels like he is more property than family (and that earned him a black eye from Rhy). Rhy also seems to be a very decent Prince, good to his guard and smart behind the charm, even without an affinity to magic. (When it's established that Rhy is bisexual my first thought that is that him and Kell were OTP.) Lila is a mischievous character. She's not bad, but she's not wholly good either... She's a thief and a damned good one at that! She can pass for a boy, using appropriate clothes for that and thus people have no idea that they are actually searching for a girl. The man who gives her shelter is a drunk and tries to take advantage of her. I'm almost scared for her, but she has skill (hand to hand combat, knives and pistols) and overpowers him and kills him. The little pirate wannabe is forced to set the ship on fire, taking only her clothes, a pocket watch she stole and a map with her as she goes to the Stone's Throw for shelter. Rhy cares and tries little when it comes to his magic studies. I don't know how Kell doesn't scream at him when all he talks about is his birthday party. He is incapable of understanding that magic cares not for status or charm and requires work and concentration, which he has none. The only thing he has an affinity for is fire but his focus slips so fast that he almost burns down a table, forcing Kell to extinguish the fire with blood magic. But still, Rhy is a good person and has a lot of amazing qualities, but he is a little too spoiled sometimes... White London is scary. It's vicious due to being poor in magic and it rebelled against the people who try to enslave it. The world had been bled of colour and warmth and it's dangerous to have too much and too little magic. The King and Queen (twins) are two cunning sadists with a taste for blood (literal and metaphorical). The King has a knack for binding spells and has stripped mind and soul of every soldier, forcing them to do what he commands, and enslaved his Antari, Holland, to do whatever he commanded (because he went against the twins when the previous King died and tried to take the crown for himself but lost). Kell is so shocked that they make Holland bleed into a goblet so they can drink his blood that he gets a little too drunk and ends up practically being forced to take a letter to someone. Kell, still a little out of it because of the Danes, goes to the address he is supposed to deliver the letter but feels someone else there. So he checks the letter, only to find it empty. He is then chased through the city by three men and tries to hide in his hidden apartment in the Ruby Fields. Opening the parcel the woman gave him he finds a stone with a rune on it, a rune that means magic. It's from Black London! The men after him crash into his room as he escapes out the window and fights them in the street. Kell helped create a blade for the royal guard that prevents magic from being used and in the fight with one of the men (under a compulsion spell) he is cut. By some miracle, Kell is holding the black stone when he speaks and the magic within freezes the man that is about to kill him. Later that same spell, made of pure magic, sips into the man's body, turns his veins and eyes black. And thus Black London's "plague" is in Red London. Meanwhile, Kell is still running for his life and blood magic doesn't immediately respond to his command to take him to Grey London. When it does he literally runs into Lila. And what does a thief like her do? She steals none other than the black stone. When Kell magically enters Lila's room in search of the stone he collapses. Lila thinks he is dead for a moment but quickly understands he's not, seeing his eyes, freaking out and hitting him with a book (I shouldn't be laughing). She ties him to the bed and when he wakes up starts asking him questions. Despite being in Grey London, where magic is mostly forgotten, Lila doesn't dismiss him completely and doesn't even seem all that surprised by Kell burning his ropes. She is more than happy to use the stone in her favour. As it clouds the thought, Lila uses it as if it's a great way to get what she wants, and even makes that sword and scabbard she wanted so. Later though, she understands that the magic is wrong and clever and that's more dangerous than anything. She also makes a Kell. He is living, per se, but he quickly starts gaining a sort of awareness (as she makes him strip). At last Lila heeds Kell's advice and tries to dispel the new Kell but is unable to. Seeming to understand what she is trying to do, he lunges for her, making her lose her hold on the stone (and that's when she realizes that that magic stole her energy). It's only Kell's blood magic that dispels the other him but he doesn't think to do the same for the sword before he leaves. And, because the magic in the black stone is a thief and the sword feels the same as the stone did, Lila throws it out the window, where a drunk passerby grabs it, in his greed, and the magic forces him to stab himself so it can burrow inside him as it did with the cutthroat in Red London. Way to spread the Black London's plague guys! Holland finds Lila in a tavern and forces her outside, where he uses his magic like a beacon to Kell and hurts her too, forcing her to call for Kell. All because he smells his magic on her. And of course he comes running, even though he knows it's a trap and that he should be running the other way. Holland wants the stone and Kell tells him to let Lila go and fight him, which is a big mistake. Holland is stronger and faster than Kell, so he overpowers him rather quickly. Then he uses the stone to shackle Kell and make him bleed from the inside out. Kell can't form words, can barely think and is dying a slow and painful death by the time Lila comes back and clubs Holland in the head. She too wanted to keep running but Kell had come back for her so she came back for him. It's hard but she carries him back to the Stone's Throw. I think this experience softened Lila a bit, but it also exposed her to the very real danger of magic and its wielders. Still, she rummaged through Kell's many coats and pockets to find something to help mend his cuts, goings as far as to test it out in her before, lest it was poison. So she seems to start to care for him. When Kell wakes up he is forced to tell Lila about the other Londons, explain their history. And he realizes then that the only way to safely dispose of the black stone is to take it back to Black London. They get into an argument because, of course, Lila wants to go on this grand adventure with him. She wants to live a little, not just survive! She wants to have an adventure and the traveller is her way. They are both kind of scared to rely on the stone's power to grant her passage, but it works. For some reason, they don't get dropped off at the same place, Lila is near the river and the royal parade, where she gets the hard attention of the prince for wearing his missing brother's coat. When Kell catches up to her is to save her from a merchant that caught her stealing. And his reaction to Kell forces him to tell her the truth about him, but the way he feels it: that he is a possession of the royals, not family, not truly. And in her anger, she reveals her more vulnerable self. When they reach their destination, the Ruby Fields, where Kell has his secret room, filled with the trinkets he brought from the other Londons, they find it burned to the ground, nothing left behind. Holland, who was behind that attack, comes back to the inn, feels Kell there, knowing Lila is with him, and taunts them, saying Barron died because she is a coward. But Kell, having heard his approach, used the spell to conceal them from sight and hearing and the world around them passes through them, as if ghosts. Using that power, and because his every trinket was burned away to nothing along with the building and the people inside it, they go find Fletcher, a man that is basically the black market of Red London. When they reach his shop Lila sees the stone's magic has seeped like poison up Kell's veins, turning them black. While he recuperates, she tells him the short tale of her first murder: her father, who tried to use her flesh to pay his tab. And he tells her the long one of Rhy's abduction and (near) death. How Kell himself almost died to save his brother because he didn't know that healing magic takes a little longer to react and cut his wrists to save him. Rhy forgave his captors; Kell did not. The Grey London dark-magic-infected fool died when he was hit by a carriage. His body was falling apart fast, magic being almost non-existent there and the dark magic being unable to survive long. The one from Red London though was a willing recipient as well as more powerful, so it took it longer to come apart. And he has more than enough time to sleep around and spread the plague around the city. It's chaotic in such a thriving environment. This kind of magic can only truly survive inside Antari due to their deep magic resources, was made for them. While Lila and Kell search for the white rook, Fletcher comes in. He says he won't sell to Kell but to Lila, and it's more a sex trade than a sell. But he gets what's coming to him. He called the guards on Kell (and Lila was smart enough to use the stone to conceal herself) and when they take him and knock him out, one of them kills the shop owner. Lila finds what they were looking for and then sets out to find and save Kell, going to the masquerade, not wanting to use her friendship with Kell to not have to pay but not having another choice. She does owe the shop keeper a favour though. Gen and Parish, Rhy's guards, are out in the market when they see something strange and follow it. It's the man that tried to kill Kell and fell to the black magic. He shoves his hand in Gen's chest, Parish kills him and Gen, who was infected by the magic, kills his friend. Astrid, Queen of White London, infiltrated Red London with a possession spell. She uses Rhy to make Kell tell him the whereabouts of the stone and beats Kell up too, for good measure. He stalls trying to draw blood so he can free himself from the magic-dampening cuffs. Lila finds there is something off, vacant and hollow, in the King and Queen so she goes about searching the palace for Kell, finally finding him. She gets shot by Rhy but uses the stone to get back to the room while Astrid stabs Rhy and throws the compulsion necklace to Lila. With the prince dying and a guard having been thrown off his balcony, the guards that were outside are swarming the room. Kell and Lila barely gave enough time to escape with Rhy to Kell's room and out through a door he created to a sanctuary. He does the stupidest thing: uses the stone to bind Rhy's life to him (the only way he could save him). The stone then attaches itself to his hand and doesn't let go and also creates a Soul Seal between the two boys. Kell's teacher comes running into the room and, after a brief talk, he takes them out of the Sanctuary. He asks Lila how she lost her eye and tells her she has dormant magic, and I wonder if she is Antari... If her family thought her an abomination and craved out her eye... The other two Londons have travellers, why not Grey London? As Lila and Kell are crossing to White London, Holland pulls him back and Lila is left to defend herself in a magic-thirsty world. And Kell is forced to kill Holland (who is relieved after a lifetime of suffering at the hands of his King and Queen), bringing his body back to his London and saving Lila from magic-starved lunatics. The two of them go in separate ways so they each defeat a monarch. Kell goes after the King and it's a long fight that is so bad for Kell. It's not until he uses the stone that things turn. But it's only when he goads the other man to find a more creative death for him and then kill him himself that things end. When the King tries to dispel the monster he made it turns on him, as Lila's Kell did before, and kills him, giving Kell the opportunity to kill it and retrieve and mend the stone. Meanwhile, Lila tries to kill the Queen while she's wreaking havoc in Red London and fails due to a protective spell around her. Undoing the spell unleashes the Queen, who almost kills Lila in their fight. Luckily, she wants to kill Kell more, so she glamours herself as Lila and goes to him. But he knows that not his Lila and kills the Queen. The stone's magic then overpowers him and he collapses. He tries his best to fight Vitari (magic itself) but it's only when he distantly hears Lila that he knows how to do it, and even then it's a struggle to dispel it. Good news: magic mutants in Red London are dead. Bad news: the Prince was linked with Kell by Black London's magic and now only Kell's magic is tethering them, which may make his recovery harder. But he is well, and even flirting with Lila, so that's good! The kingdom is mostly back to itself, even though now people don't trust Kell as much as before... This book was awesome! The story is a little slow, I think, but the world building had to take priority. And how well written it is! It's brilliant and vivid, the different Londons so distinct from one another! The plot was really good, but the characters were perfect! They were flawed and made mistakes but they also recognized those mistakes and made amends. They were kind-hearted and good and so easy to fall in love with! I loved to know what was happening outside of their view but at the same time hated it because I wanted more of my babies! But it was a truly beautiful and amazing and fantastic story, filled with magic and fighting and two characters that didn't start on the right foot but built a great friendship.