Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - A Darker Shade of Magic

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

78 reviews

abby_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

📖
I had fun reading this book. Overall, I would say it was fine. There was good worldbuilding and I liked the characters. I found parts of it confusing and I did struggle to stay interested at times and there were parts where I didn't really care what happening to the characters.

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jahnadv's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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evarinya's review against another edition

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I couldn't get into it. It felt like nothing happened until the 30% mark - or at least nothing that made sense - at which point I was already so fed up with Kell's passiveness and Lila's arrogance that I don't see myself enjoying whatever else is going to happen.
Also, (attempted) sexual assault is a cheap thing to move the plot along, but I guess 2015 was a different time.

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uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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kauliflower's review against another edition

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thegoodship88's review against another edition

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3.75

This was excellent. Really torn on 3.5 vs. 3.75. I can’t rate it higher because my personal enjoyment was impacted by the author having the characters do things that were serious that were either skimmed over as if nothing had happened or was supposed to be the “correct” decision

(end of the book anyone??)

Seemed like the author was tone-deaf to these issues and additionally some poor writing.

Sometimes, despite the intriguing world building and magic system I found myself not engaged—I’m guessing that was a writing issue but I’m not really sure.

Overall a very engaging read with a magical world and a plot I really enjoyed, especially for the second half of the book.

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capsandclauses's review against another edition

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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.”

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joepyeweed's review against another edition

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4.0

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tensiar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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rubybastille's review against another edition

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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.

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