Friday 19 August 2016

A Darker Shade of Magic by: V.E. Schwab

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Published: February 25, 2015 by: Tor Books
Pages: 400
Rating: 2/5 stars



Kell is the last line of a set of rare magicians called Antaris. Because of his gift, he is able to travel in between the parallel worlds of the Londons. There's Grey London, Red London, White London and Black London, and Kell has traveled through them all. Kell will smuggle anyone through the different worlds if they want to, but if the King of Red London were to find out, he would be punished for treason. Enter Delilah Bard, a fearless young woman with a passion for adventure, She persuades Kell to take her through the different worlds, but doing so will soon put them in immediate danger.

I really, really, really didn't get the hype on this book, I thought that the concept would be so cool and unique, however I found myself bored to sleep and even confused as to what was going on. I thought the cover of this book was very beautiful, but everything else pretty much fell flat for me.

I guess the only good thing I can say about this book is the fact that I did think that the concept was unique. I admire Schwab for putting together a very unique piece of work, but I think it could have been executed better. It wasn't like anything I had read before.

I just found this book to be so incredibly BORING. I didn't know a thing that was going on, the words went right over my head, and I couldn't grasp anything important about this book. I don't know if I was just in a slump, or if this style just wasn't for me, or if it needed to be executed better, but nothing about this plot stood out to me. There's nothing else left to it really.

So really, I don't really have anything else much left to say about this. I won't continue with the series, but I did want to enjoy this book a lot. I just couldn't :(

Have you read A Darker Shade of Magic? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

12 comments:

  1. I haven't read any V E Schwab books because of all the hype. If I get around to them, I wanna give them a fair shot!

    Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it - sometimes you just don't click with a book. Still, on to the next one!

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    1. I definitely think you should give them a shot because if they click with you, they could be so enjoyable. Just not for me :(

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  2. Oh no! I'm sorry you didn't like this Emily! I read it a month or so ago, and while I liked it, I didn't LOVE it. I found it boring for the first 20%, but then everything started to come together for me. Better luck on your next book! :)

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    1. Thank you Gennifer! Yeah as opposed to just 20% through, I found it boring all throughout :(

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  3. Okay, I am very surprised you didn't enjoy this. I was actually thinking about giving this one a chance, because of the hype and everything, but now I don't feel so confident, especially because it is fantasy and I'm always bored by this genre, hahah.

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    1. I'm always bored by fantasy too and that might be part of why I didn't like it. That being said, it's always good to try, right?

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  4. I AM SO SORRY YOU DIDN'T LIKE THIS.
    I haven't read this one yet, but I want to ASAP. I've read 2 other books by Schwab and loved them both. I hope I enjoy this one even though you didn't!

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    1. I think if you've read Schwab's other books then you'll probably like this one as well. Maybe I'm just not used to them.

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  5. YOU DID NOT LIKE THIS. Just as well I didn't pick it up, then :D Tbh, I never ever felt like reading this. Like, ever. Maybe it's the hype, but not even the blurb excites me or anything. Take The Raven Boys, for instance. Even though I was very late in getting on the bandwagon, I've always felt this curiosity about those books. Here I don't even feel that. Better stay away, yes? Maybe I'll pick one of Schwab's other books first and see how I like it :) Great review, Em! I'm sorry this one failed to impress.

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    1. I think what drew me to this book was the hype! (Curse my willing to conform to what everyone else is doing) and it didn't pay off. I totally get just not being interested in a book, but if you read any other of Schwab's books, I'd be very curious to hear what you think!

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  6. I'm not sure if I want to read this novel or not - I enjoyed The Archived and The Unbound by the author (though, they weren't as magical and exceptional as I expected seeing the hype that surrounds all her works), but I decided to DNF This Savage Song, because - while the concept is really interesting and the characters are unique - I feel like nothing exciting nor outstanding has happened so far and I'm already past 30%.
    I've never been interested in the synopsis of A Darker Shade of Magic - it was more the hype & the reviews that lured me in... and I SO want to join in on the fun, but I seem to be kinda bored by her novels...
    Do you want to read other novels by the author? :)
    Amazing review, Em!! <33

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    1. It was the hype that drew me in originally for this book as well but it just bored me to no end! I'm kind of interested in reading This Savage Song but if her style of writing is similar in all of her books then I feel like I'll get bored again. Her books aren't necessarily on my radar, but if one comes my way I think I'll give it a fair chance.

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