Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - A Darker Shade of Magic

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab

32 reviews

alexijai98's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t incredible. The biggest issue I had was that the characters came off as quite flat, even with interesting back stories. The plot was unique in concept but felt surface level, and almost as if Schwab was plodding through and waving a hand to resolve conflict. This book is worth a read, and I’m going to continue with the series, mostly because the premise is fascinating and I think there is potential for me to really like it.

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saricostanzo'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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lir's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.75

I'm really bad at these star-rating things, so I firstly want to say that I enjoyed the book.

It wasn't the best, and I wasn't expecting too much going into it, because of some reviews I watched before. But, I think I liked it.

Since I'm apparently, really basic, I liked Kell.
Okay.
Okay, I know.

But, his character was promising. Especially the idea of the character that is inside my head makes me love him. I know he was bland and didn't have much personality, but I really liked the first few "boring" chapters of the book, and he was the character we were watching then. I didn't know, I got connected.

On the other hand, Lila... Not like other girls, but make it double.
Even if we ignore that specific trope, she seemed annoying to me most of the times.

Hear me out. If there was just one main character, and that main character had a greater character depth than Kell, and if we used Holland a little more and maybe changed his story a bit, the book maybe could be better. Lila just saved Kell and had her own personal life going on, but she didn't add the plot that much. And I could do without her. I warmed to her more as the story went on, but, still. She was kinda unnecessary? At least in this first book.

Spoiler

The battles were bad. When I first started to read the book, I thought antaris were those powerful magicians who knew fancy spells and were considerably dangerous. Well, that was true, to some extent. But Kell was just weak. I know he won the two final battles, but still, it felt cheap.

First look- I loved the exchange when Astrid died, but it was ridiculous, come on. I mean, the siblings were really hyped through the book, then she died like that? No-no.

Well, that's getting messy, so I think it's high time I finish. My final words for this review are: I really enjoyed reading this, and I don't think the beggining was that slow. In fact, I think the first chapters where we were discovering the worlds were kinda cool. The concept could be handled better. But overall, I'm glad I read it.

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horizonous's review against another edition

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There's nothing really wrong with this book and I also can't say I didn't enjoy the first half.. it's just that I can't bring myself to pick it back up again. At least at the moment I have no desire to do so.. maye I'll change my mind in the future, but for now this is a DNF.

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