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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/injury detail, Self harm, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault
saricostanzo's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Blood, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Child abuse
snowwhitehatesapples's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
I’ve put off reading A Darker Shade of Magic (henceforth ADSoM) for 8 years in fear that the huge hype around it back then would’ve raised my expectations too much, and I’m so glad I did because this? This book would’ve been more accurately named as a darker shade of yawn.
But before I go into why this book didn’t work for me, I want to touch upon the aspects where I can see why many adore this book: an inclusive and diverse cast of characters, plus an incredibly intriguing setting and alright writing. There are four Londons in the ADSoM world and as Kell is one of the last magicians who can travel between them, he becomes a messenger for the ruling royals. This is already enough to win interest so add in a non-binary prince who the protagonist has a good brotherly relationship with and a tough female character? That’s a complete win!
Unfortunately, despite the above, the execution of the story brought everything down. First off, the characters are completely one-dimensional. Kell was alright but ultimately, boring. Holland and Prince Rhy were interesting but relegated to side character status. The royal twins were psychotic but worthy antagonists. Lila — as much as I wanted to like her because I like unapologetic, vicious and morally dubious/grey characters — disgusted me when she wanted Kell’s double strip without his consent. She’s also very obviously your classic Not Like Other Girls love interest which just made her a double no for me. That aside, neither Kell nor Lila, as the narrators of the story, grew as the story progressed, making them far from the complex, three-dimensional characters I’d hoped for.
Although the writing isn’t bad, the numerous little details dragged the story. I had trouble keeping my attention on the text, especially when so many pages were just chunks, chunks and more chunks without dialogue to break the monotony. It also didn’t help that there was only one plot—which sure, could stand on its own, but was also very boring due to the ‘time’ in between each plot point just so the overall thing made sense logistically. Like, okay, all that drama over a magic stone because power-hungry twins wanted more is fine, but where are the subplots? You know, the ones that would breathe more life into the complicated politics between the Londons?? Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate the brotherhood aspect and the practically non-existent romance.
ADSoM is, in a nutshell, underwhelming. There’s so much potential to it so having an almost 400-page first book barely scratch the surface of that potential is a major letdown.
I’ve put off reading A Darker Shade of Magic (henceforth ADSoM) for 8 years in fear that the huge hype around it back then would’ve raised my expectations too much, and I’m so glad I did because this? This book would’ve been more accurately named as a darker shade of yawn.
But before I go into why this book didn’t work for me, I want to touch upon the aspects where I can see why many adore this book: an inclusive and diverse cast of characters, plus an incredibly intriguing setting and alright writing. There are four Londons in the ADSoM world and as Kell is one of the last magicians who can travel between them, he becomes a messenger for the ruling royals. This is already enough to win interest so add in a non-binary prince who the protagonist has a good brotherly relationship with and a tough female character? That’s a complete win!
Unfortunately, despite the above, the execution of the story brought everything down. First off, the characters are completely one-dimensional. Kell was alright but ultimately, boring. Holland and Prince Rhy were interesting but relegated to side character status. The royal twins were psychotic but worthy antagonists. Lila — as much as I wanted to like her because I like unapologetic, vicious and morally dubious/grey characters — disgusted me when she wanted Kell’s double strip without his consent. She’s also very obviously your classic Not Like Other Girls love interest which just made her a double no for me. That aside, neither Kell nor Lila, as the narrators of the story, grew as the story progressed, making them far from the complex, three-dimensional characters I’d hoped for.
Although the writing isn’t bad, the numerous little details dragged the story. I had trouble keeping my attention on the text, especially when so many pages were just chunks, chunks and more chunks without dialogue to break the monotony. It also didn’t help that there was only one plot—which sure, could stand on its own, but was also very boring due to the ‘time’ in between each plot point just so the overall thing made sense logistically. Like, okay, all that drama over a magic stone because power-hungry twins wanted more is fine, but where are the subplots? You know, the ones that would breathe more life into the complicated politics between the Londons?? Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate the brotherhood aspect and the practically non-existent romance.
ADSoM is, in a nutshell, underwhelming. There’s so much potential to it so having an almost 400-page first book barely scratch the surface of that potential is a major letdown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Sexual assault
schang's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault
trintrin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What an amazing read! I was too curious about Kell's coat on the covers and picked it up. Couldn't keep it down afterwards.
The world -- or rather, worlds -- were so beautifully written they seemed both realistic and magical at the same time. And Victoria Schwab's writing!! The way she describes things is simply wonderful. It's like she breathes life into everything that her words touch. That woman could write about paint drying on a wall and I would eat that up.
The characters are loveable of course. Rhy is such a sweetheart I wanna protect him from all harm. Kell is nice to read about. He's intriguing and I wanna know more about his past and also give that boy a hug. Lila, I'll admit, I found her boring and annoying and she came across as I'm-not-like-other-girls at first. Her POV was the only chapter that actually made me put the book down after starting. But she really, really grew on me and now I love her. As of now, the characters feel not as fleshed out as they could be, especially considering there's only very few main characters, but as this is only the first of a series I'm hoping it's explored more in the upcoming books.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because the ending felt sort of rushed? Almost as if the book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a standalone or a series. Too many threads tied up too tidily and yet leaving room for a sequel.
The world -- or rather, worlds -- were so beautifully written they seemed both realistic and magical at the same time. And Victoria Schwab's writing!! The way she describes things is simply wonderful. It's like she breathes life into everything that her words touch. That woman could write about paint drying on a wall and I would eat that up.
The characters are loveable of course. Rhy is such a sweetheart I wanna protect him from all harm. Kell is nice to read about. He's intriguing and I wanna know more about his past and also give that boy a hug. Lila, I'll admit, I found her boring and annoying and she came across as I'm-not-like-other-girls at first. Her POV was the only chapter that actually made me put the book down after starting. But she really, really grew on me and now I love her. As of now, the characters feel not as fleshed out as they could be, especially considering there's only very few main characters, but as this is only the first of a series I'm hoping it's explored more in the upcoming books.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because the ending felt sort of rushed? Almost as if the book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a standalone or a series. Too many threads tied up too tidily and yet leaving room for a sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Death, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
hanabell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
maublew's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
horizonous's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Medical content
lainiereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I really enjoyed this! I was constantly being caught off guard with the plot twists, it felt like everything that happened was the worst case scenario. But it was still fun to read! I love Lila so much I want to read the rest of the series just for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping and Death
Minor: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Self harm
luise96's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault