Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Una magia más oscura by V.E. Schwab

180 reviews

richardw2024's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I enjoyed the book. It was a very YA fantasy and I found the elements quite superficial. There had to be a lot of world building to start, because it has four different worlds and that did mean that I found the book took a while to get going. I also found it quite hard to distinguish between the different London's. The concept and world building was interesting, as was the magic system, but I did find it all a little superficial. It was enjoyable enough but I think will be pretty forgetable.

The audio book significantly increased my enjoyment of this book, and Steven Crossley was a brilliant narrator.
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abby_can_read's review against another edition

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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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prosenheim's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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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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earth_to_dani's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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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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kenzibir's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

Really enjoying the series and this author 
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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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