Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic

Author: V.E. Shwab

Series: Shades of Magic #1

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication Date: February 24, 2015

Genre: Fiction; Fantasy; Historical Fiction; Adventure; Adult for Young Adult

Pages: 398

Format: Hardback

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Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London—but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby 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 another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—trickier than they hoped.

Parallel universes, magic, London, London, and more London. How…intriguing.

Scene One: Red London. So saturated with magic, the inability to control the elements is considered odd. Scene Two: Grey London. Our London, aka the considerably less cool of all the Londons. Scene Three: White London. Oppressed by the cold, cruel, colorless Danes twins, this London is doomed to meet the unspeakable fate of Black London.

First of all, character building? Flawless. Lila, the bossest of characters I’ve read in 2016, was a hands down favorite (except, of course, the Danes twins, but we’ll get to that later…). Kell and Lila made the most fantastic team. The dynamic between the two was indispensable in creating the suspenseful nature withheld throughout the entirety of the novel. Let me explain:

Kell: Dreamy (emphasis on the dreammmyy). The pet of the Red London royal family. A good boy, except when he’s not. A curator of relics of other Londons and an unapologetically proficient black-market dealer, which happens to be a bit illegal. An Antari and one of the few remaining Travelers.

Lila: An all-round-good-for-everything badass. Dreams of adventure and escape, preferably of the pirate variety. A competent thief and incurably stubborn. Sarcastic, insensitive. A blast to read.

They fit together like two perfect pieces of a puzzle.

As they fight two villains who could possibly be two of my favorite villains of all time, they work in perfect harmony. I appreciate how Schwab doesn’t make their victory too easy. Those Danes twins were the most well-developed antagonists. With well-placed rumors of floors inlaid with the bones of their enemies, their wonderfully creepy appearances, and their insane, despicable dispositions, the Danes twins were entirely unlikeable (in the most likeable way).

Parallel universe settings are so easy to get wrong. Luckily, Schwab knows what she’s doing and does it right in every way. She cuts down on the potential confusion by focusing on one particular place throughout the entire novel with certain checkpoints to hold the three worlds together. She doesn’t go overboard with fifty worlds, nor does she lamely half-ass her attempt with only two worlds. She sticks with the nice, comfortable, simple number of 3 (or, technically, 4). She briefly mentions the differing surroundings of each world, but doesn’t go into too much depth.

Also, can we just take a second and look at this beautiful cover? Is it not stunning?

A Darker Shade of Magic was a job well-done. Every part of this book deserved the favorable reception it was given. I’ll be reading the sequel very soon.

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”

A Gathering of Shadows

Tandem Review

Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Title: Tandem

Author: Anna Jarzab

Series: Many-Worlds Trilogy #1

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 8, 2013

Genre: Science Fiction; Romance; Young Adult

Pages: 428

Format: Hardback

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Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.

"Everything repeats. You. Your best friend. Every person you know. Many worlds. Many lives-infinite possibilities. Welcome to the multiverse."

Sasha has an unfortunate crush on the best-looking guy in school, named Grant. She is pretty sure he doesn’t even know she exists. But when Grant asks her to prom, she is surprised but quite understandably happy. Prom night is perfection: the dancing, the guy, the dress. Sasha doesn’t think it can get much better than this–until Grant takes across something called the Tandem into another universe that parallels ours. Then, he tells her that his name is not actually Grant but Thomas and she is going to be forced into impersonated a mysteriously vanished princess if she ever wants to go home again. Yeah, this is going to be fun.

It’s hard to do parallel universes right. I have read so many bad ones that I almost didn’t believe that a good one even existed. But, apparently it does. Parallel universes are hard to do (which is probably why nearly everyone gets them wrong), but Jarzab makes it surprisingly simple and even a little bit interesting. You’ve gotta admit, the thought of another universe with another you that may or may not look identical to you, may or may not love the same things you love, may or may not speak the way you do is intriguing. It certainly entertains my mind for hours on end. I could probably just sit and think about the possibilities of parallel universes and never be bored. While Jarzam could’ve added even more depth to her story by elaborating on the exact implications of parallel universes, I am glad she kept as simple as she did. No one wants to read something that gives you a headache.

I finished this book relatively fast. What can I say? I’m a saucebucket for romance. And Jarzab does romance almost as well as she does parallel universes. I loved Thomas even though there was that whole Stockholm syndrome thing going on. Couldn’t help it. I just really like Thomas. Callum, the prince whom Princess Julianna (Sasha’s doppleganger) is supposed to marry, however, was oh-so coincidentally movie-star handsome and seemed very very fake the entire book. I really could not stand that character or how he was written. It just made me frustrated. The “chemistry” between Sasha and Callum was forced and unbelievable. It was annoying.

Overall, not a bad book. Just relatively okay. A good book for filling up time and space. Maybe in another universe, I love this book, but not in this one. I’ll probably read the sequel, but I’m not falling out of my chair waiting for it. 

Tether