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

I really liked this book!
The plot was good, the characters were good, and I really like its pace.
Especially in the end, I felt like some of the battles were a bit short and shallow? However, I am aware that this is a trilogy, and will give the end game a chance to be tension I'm looking for.

I would very much recommend this to any fantasy fan who likes a bit of a blood bath and very interesting world-building. There's elemental magic, alternative worlds, humorous dialogue, and a small romance sub-plot that doesn't take up tedious space at all.

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zoeelora's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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goldensnitch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book will have you on the edge of your seat and gasping out loud and feeling heartbreak and every other emotion at the same time. It's suspenseful and fun to read. Goosebumps are a must while reading this book. I highly suggest this book and the entire series. It is amazing and definitely on my will read again list as well as my favorite book list. The characters are deep and have meaning other than just the obvious. The writing style is extremely easy to read and will have you breezing along. I fell in love with all the characters and will continue to love them and apply what they learned to my own life. Look out for V. E. Schwab and her amazing books.

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

*3.5*

“Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time those points were placed. But sometimes, rarely, they were people.”

This book was super slow in the first half. I’m not sure if it was because there was a lot of world building, because I’m not really sure there was, or if it was because we spent a lot of time following the characters’ every movement. I feel like this book had a lot of potential to be amazing. The magic is very cool and the world is super interesting, but I think the characters fall flat. I wasn’t very invested in their fates and was only slightly intrigued as to what they were doing and their back stories. I also didn’t really see the romantic connection between the two main characters, to me it felt completely platonic. I think this book was very plot focused and didn’t give me a lot of time to get to know the characters. I also feel like it wrapped up pretty nicely. Like, if I didn’t know this was a trilogy I would think that was the end. Overall, I enjoyed reading this and am interested in the story but I hope I feel more connected to the characters as the trilogy continues.

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