Reviews with content warning for Blood - Una magia más oscura

Interesting concept. Good standalone but interested to see what the other books do since the universe is pretty interesting. Felt like it needed something more but still a nice read.

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anna_pengu's review against another edition

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Overdramatic dialogue that felt juvenile and unrealistic in a way that made conversations between characters lose a lot of flow. I also was really let down by the bare bones nature of the worldbuilding that, within 174 pages, really was not delved into much beyond setting up the various Londons and some magic. But after 174 pages, I didn't feel that the plot had moved much at all and the world was uninteresting, sadly.

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luxxltyd's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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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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op3's review against another edition

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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

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ashley_reya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

While Delilah and Kell are certainly an odd couple pairing of lovable characters, I wasn’t particularly grabbed by this story. Halfway through, I still felt pretty “meh” about what was happening. While I did enjoy the back half of this story more, I don’t think I’ll be picking up the next in this series.

Overall, cute story, quick read, enjoyable characters.

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yana_ha's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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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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