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

Goodreads: 

From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, who first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.


But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Reading this book, I felt super confused and overwhelmed with emotions, I blamed myself for not focusing and kept rereading the sentences but to no avail. The information of the 3 Londons was thrown at me like daggers from everywhere and I couldn't quite keep up.. 

About 20 pages in, I got the hang of the action and I was immersed into the world. I was hooked from the very first page though, and it was my first time ever reading anything by the eloquent Victoria Schwab and she fascinated me in every way possible. Her writing is addictive, beautiful and you just cannot not admire it. 

This whole preview is mostly from Kell's point of view; Kell is a great protagonist, he is kick-ass and witty with a smart sense of humor. We also get to see a sneak peek of Lila's life. A thief who dresses up like a man and is an aspiring pirate. I also loved the idea of different Londons (Black, Gray, White and Red.) The idea that the inhabitants of Grey London don't even admit to the presence of magic contrasting with Red London's lively use of magic just blew me away. 

I loved the details of which the author added of Kell and his many sided coat (also added to the synopsis). The aspect of parallel Londons intertwined with magic and awesomeness is unique and completely new to me! 

About Prince Rhy, I can't wait to see more of him, I also want to know more about Lila and her life. I need to get my hands on the whole book so I can conquer it. It's definitely high on my TBR list in 2015. 

Let's just admire the cover for a bit now, it blends in with the story and I love covers that do that!! It's not just random, it actually makes you guess what the story is about. 

Overall, I gave this 150 page preview a 4/5 stars solely because I was a bit confused..  I'm super pumped for this one. 

Are you excited to read this book? Tell me in the comments below! 

-Jay