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kauliflower's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence and Slavery
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Classism
kenzibir's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Really enjoying the series and this author
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
capsandclauses's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.”
“I apologize for shooting you in the leg.” said Lila. “I was myself entirely.”
Enter through the door. If you dare...
Why did it take me so long to get around to reading this damn book? A Darker Shade of Magic is an adult fantasy following Kell, a sort-of alternate reality portal jumper and Lila, a thief. In this universe, there are four Londons: Red London (Kell's London full of shifting, changing buildings and magic), White London (chaos and anarchy), Grey London (OUR London) and Black London (forgotten to history). When on a routine messaging errand, Kell takes a piece of Black London with him from Grey London back to Red London, a chase of corruption and deadly evil plague begins to haunt society.
I loved this book. I haven't read a book that fully has these vibes since Six of Crows. Kell and Lila are the perfect, loveable anti-heroes. Scarred, flawed and human. No character is safe and characters who have perspectives die. It was dark, and gritty and magically realistic.
“He would see her again. He knew he would. Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time they were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. For someone who never stood still, Lila felt like a pin in Kell's world. One he was sure to snag on.”
“I apologize for shooting you in the leg.” said Lila. “I was myself entirely.”
Enter through the door. If you dare...
Why did it take me so long to get around to reading this damn book? A Darker Shade of Magic is an adult fantasy following Kell, a sort-of alternate reality portal jumper and Lila, a thief. In this universe, there are four Londons: Red London (Kell's London full of shifting, changing buildings and magic), White London (chaos and anarchy), Grey London (OUR London) and Black London (forgotten to history). When on a routine messaging errand, Kell takes a piece of Black London with him from Grey London back to Red London, a chase of corruption and deadly evil plague begins to haunt society.
I loved this book. I haven't read a book that fully has these vibes since Six of Crows. Kell and Lila are the perfect, loveable anti-heroes. Scarred, flawed and human. No character is safe and characters who have perspectives die. It was dark, and gritty and magically realistic.
“He would see her again. He knew he would. Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time they were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. For someone who never stood still, Lila felt like a pin in Kell's world. One he was sure to snag on.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Sexual harassment
op3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
cicizzy's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I really liked the worldbuilding and the characters. I need to read less romantasy this was really refreshing to read.
But the writing style bothered me. I can’t even say what it was, maybe I was just too tired to but I felt like I had to focus a lot more than usual while reading. Maybe it’s just that it felt like there are no “unnecessary” sentences. If you miss a sentence you can actually miss important information. There were no drawn out descriptions of places or longer conversations. Everything was short and to the point. I think when it comes to that so would have liked to see a bit more of the worlds and Londons. The lack of description could make it feel a bit “flat” at times and I think it was a bit of a wasted potential. But it is also just the first volume and I hope that the worlds will be explored a bit more in the future volumes.
It also didn’t exactly feel like the early 19th century for me but Gray London also didn’t play a big role.
I‘m looking forward to the rest of the series.
But the writing style bothered me. I can’t even say what it was, maybe I was just too tired to but I felt like I had to focus a lot more than usual while reading. Maybe it’s just that it felt like there are no “unnecessary” sentences. If you miss a sentence you can actually miss important information. There were no drawn out descriptions of places or longer conversations. Everything was short and to the point. I think when it comes to that so would have liked to see a bit more of the worlds and Londons. The lack of description could make it feel a bit “flat” at times and I think it was a bit of a wasted potential. But it is also just the first volume and I hope that the worlds will be explored a bit more in the future volumes.
It also didn’t exactly feel like the early 19th century for me but Gray London also didn’t play a big role.
I‘m looking forward to the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Physical abuse, Trafficking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
_teoeo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual assault
lenorenore's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
nice_frogboy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
this book blends involuntary compulsion and sex in a way that was not disclosed, and which i personally do not care for. in the first half of the book, we have:
attempted rape on a protagonist, whippings of magically compelled S&M slaves, someone discloses being compelled to offer sexual favors in the course of an ordinary business transaction, involuntary boob grabs, one protagonist straps the other to a bed and summons a nude clone of them for implied sexual gratification, magical torture, magical chains, the other protagonist is in the bed again...
and so on. there are readers who will enjoy this, but me, i think i really need to know up front if the author intends to go all Anne Rice and such.
and so on. there are readers who will enjoy this, but me, i think i really need to know up front if the author intends to go all Anne Rice and such.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Blood
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
rubybastille's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fun but feels like it's doing a lot and some threads felt left behind. Each London is vividly imagined, from the sumptuous Red to spine-chilling White. I wish we could have learned more about Kell's lost past and the vanishing Antari, which feels like a big deal but isn't really addressed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Torture, and Sexual harassment
mformato's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Ignore how long it took me to read this, life just got in the way. When I did read it, I flew through the pages. I was loaned this book after originally thinking I wouldn't be interested and I adored it. Good fast pace writing and interesting stories and characters to discover. Overall it felt like had this been a stand alone fantasy, I would have been satisfied as the story wraps itself up neatly and the world was immersive enough that you could have just let your imagination wander with where things could have gone. But I am interested in seeing how the story actually continues.
Not full five stars because of too many coincidences that move the plot along despite fitting well with the characters themselves.
Not full five stars because of too many coincidences that move the plot along despite fitting well with the characters themselves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Blood, and Murder