Reviews

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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itslinadarling's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kyliegh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

5.0

voidstar's review against another edition

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3.0

There's a lot of stuff in this book that's real fun to play with: a blood mage owned as an asset by a royal family encouraged to see himself as part of the family but ultimately not really treated that way, the different versions of London, Kel's relationship to Rhys, and Lila's very trans-coded character.

Unfortunately, I have a preference for character driven stories, which means that most of the stuff I found really exciting was just not focused/developed enough for my taste and I would have liked it if it was pushed further.

Also, as a trans nonbinary person, a lot of the way Lila's character is handled felt really uncomfortable to me (constantly having to bring up that she's really a woman).

lilidahl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

kimmag92's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

bibliophil_leah's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 ⭐️

I fell in love with the cunningness of Lila!
The characters were all well crafted and had a complexity to them. The worlds were beautifully presented with a lot of details so I could imagine myself walking along the red river or through the White Castle. Cannot wait to read the rest of the series!