Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Genre: Fantasy
Publication: 02/24/2015 by Tor Books
Series: Shades of Magic #1
Pages: 400 Pages
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
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Goodreads Summary:
Kell is one of the last Antari, a rare magician who can travel between parallel worlds: hopping from Grey London — dirty, boring, lacking magic, and ruled by mad King George — to Red London — where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire — to White London — ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne, where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back — and back, but never Black London, because traveling to Black London is forbidden and no one speaks of it now.

Officially, Kell is the personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see, and it is this dangerous hobby that sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to take her with him for her proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save both his London and the others, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — a feat trickier than they hoped.

My Thoughts
This was the kind of book I have been looking for. I have been craving some really good fantasy and this did the trick. It's in a rich and exciting fantasy world with some serious adventure. I really enjoyed my time listening to this story, it kept me interested the whole time. 

One thing that was a bit confusing (especially in the audiobook) was keeping track of the different worlds and who was the monarchy of each. Each different London has different levels of magic which is easy to confuse. But it was less confusing than I anticipated, especially where alternatives world are involved.

What I really enjoyed was the cast of characters in the this book. Kell and Lila were fantastic leads. I often have a hard time connecting with characters but I didn't have an issue with this book. Even the side characters were fantastic. I really enjoyed this book, and if you are looking for a good high fantasy book check this one out!