Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Una magia más oscura

This is a pretty straight forward magic-as-power fantasy, with multifaceted characters who are challenged to grow or die as the adventure progresses. I could wish the world building included a little more detail on the "physics" of the magic system, but it was overall enjoyable and feels as if there is more story to be told in this world. Thankfully there IS more since this is book one of a series, and we can hopefully learn more about Kell and Lilah are faced with new dangers and intrigues.

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witcheep's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

Pika-arvostelu: Kerronta on viipyilevää, miljöötä ja henkilöitä kuvaillaan paljon. Jos pitää eläväisestä kuvailusta ja uuteen moniulotteiseen fantasiamaailmaan tutustumisesta, kirja miellyttää varmasti. Jos taas kaipaa nopeatempoista toimintaa ja isoilla panoksilla pelaamista, sitä saa odottaa ensimmäisten sadan sivun ajan. Sitten kuitenkin myös juoni ottaa enemmän tuulta siipiensä alle.

Fantasiamaailman rakentuminen: Magian syvempi sävy esittelee kiinnostavan ajatuksen rinnakkaismaailmoista, joissa Lontoosta on olemassa neljä eri versiota, kukin eri suhteessa magian olemukseen ja käyttöön. Eri maailmojen välillä voivat matkustaa vain vahvat, mutta harvinaiset verimaagit eli antarit. Heidän voimansa ei periinny suvussa, vaan on arvoitus, miksi jollakin henkilöllä on tämä voima. Tämä rinnakkais-Lontoiden universumi on rakennettu niin tarkasti aina taikuuden toimintaperiaatteista eri maailmojen omiin kieliin, että uskon antareista paljastuvan vielä lisää tietoa jatko-osissa.

Henkilöt: Päähenkilö Kell esitellään voimakkaana verimaagina, joka virallisten kuninkaallisten tehtäviensä ohessa tekee sivubisnestä salakuljettajana. Tähän nähden hän on kuitenkin hämmentävän hyväuskoinen ja toistuvasti kävelee vailla epäilyksiä ansoihin kuin neito hädässä.

Sen seurauksena Kell on useamman kerran vähällä menettää henkensä tai joutua orjuutetuksi, mutta onneksi on Lila pelastamassa päivän.

Henkilöiden välisille suhteille annetaan kirjassa huomiota, mutta niillä on vielä paljon tilaa kehittyä eri suuntiin jatko-osissa.

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bookedandbusy's review against another edition

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adventurous tense 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? No

5.0

This was a re-read and it was every bit as magical as it was the first time around ✨

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yananhai's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

3.5

are you telling me that I read almost 400 pages, most of which had zero plot, only for everything to be solved

by one single magical word for dispelled?! 🙄

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moonchild_cos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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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rinku's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Shades of Magic is quite the beloved series here on Goodreads, but I couldn’t give the first book, Four Shades of Magic, more than 3.5 stars. I had the feeling that the premise of this novel was so great, but the execution left a lot to be desired for me.

In this story, the first character we follow is Kell. Kell is one of the two people being able to wander between the four different Londons that each have a different relationship with magic. The second main character is Lila, a thief from the normal London. After getting an artefact she isn’t supposed to have, they both have to work together to save the world.

A big problem I had with Four Shades of Magic was its pacing. Almost the first half of the novel is just exposition, leading to a very slow beginning. Only after the half when the event mentioned in the synopsis happened, it got more interesting, and the story finally had a direction it was going in. Also, even though I hated the ending of the series, Foundryside executed the plot point of a thief stealing a magical object she wasn’t supposed to have much better.

Furthermore, there were some things happening that I didn’t fully understand, and it was so cliché how the villains explain their plans in big detail to the main characters. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending as well;

Athos and Astrid just dying was a bit boring, and I really don’t like that Kell and Rhy are bounded to each other, this is just a plot point I personally don’t enjoy

This all sounds quite critical if I’m honest, but I still liked the general plot and there were some great and impactful moments here and there, like

Barron’s death or Lila first being alone in White London, not knowing what she should do

. In general, there were quite a lot of deaths but there were just too many so that I started to not care about them anymore.

Like I’ve said, the book is definitely carried by its settings and the world building. The different Londons are so interesting, and I liked the historical setting, even though it could’ve been utilized more, same goes for places besides London that were barely mentioned. The elemental magic was nothing to special but nice, nevertheless.

At the beginning, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the MCs, Kell and Lila. They both are quite edgy and arrogant which made them a bit cringe and unlikable in my eyes. Only later, I started to appreciate them more, but I felt not such a strong connection to them like I felt to Addie. It was nice that we had no romance between them (yet?), and I enjoyed that Lila was more tomboy-ish. I’m wondering though if she’s

an Antari as well, we’ll see

. Another character that made me cringe was Rhy; his overly sexual nature was just a bit too much. In comparison to them, I really liked all the villains. The twins are so brutal and such great villains, but Holland is an interesting character as well.

Even though I’m a bit critical towards the plot and the characters in Four Shades of Magic, I’ll read the next books of the series since the world is so interesting and creative.

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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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sirenricobooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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