Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

288 reviews

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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annie_tonk's review against another edition

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

5.0

Gorgeous writing. Reading this felt like watching a stopmotion video of  a puzzle assembling - a dark, magical, surreal, puzzle that left imprints in my mind. It was an imaginative masterpiece. I’m so enamored with this world that Schwab created and the dynamic characters that fill it. I love these characters! I want to be them and fight them and love them and scream at them! This world came to life for me. 

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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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kupids's review against another edition

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hazeyfails's review against another edition

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adventurous

3.0

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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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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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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