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

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

i enjoyed this book and i do think i'll read the sequels but there's a lot that i wish it handled better. it takes a while to get going and didn't really grab me until halfway through. and then there's the misogyny 😭. the treatment of lila just left a bad taste in my mouth. i really don't understand
Spoilerintroducing her by showing an attempted rape and having every character imply sexual advances towards her if there's never any discussion of it or growth from it. i just don't know what purpose that served.
I also found it frustrating that her gender non conformity was constantly faced with trying to pass / people seeing through it and realizing she was "actually" a girl. i really think this book was fun and adventurous i just think lila deserved better than the way she was written. 
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