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A Darker Shade of Magic: A Novel (Shades of Magic, 1)

"Addictive and immersive, this series is a must-read." —Entertainment Weekly

Enter #1 New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s beloved Shades of Magic trilogy—a dazzling world of parallel Londons where magic thrives, starves, or lies forgotten,
and where power can destroy just as quickly as it can create.

Kell is one of the last Antarimagicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in ArnesRed Londonand officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Other books by V. E. Schwab

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Shades of Magic series
A Darker Shade of Magic
A Gathering of Shadows
A Conjuring of Light

Villains Duology
Vicious
Vengeful

BUY THE BOOK

Published May 16, 2023

416 pages

Average rating: 7.82

28 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Crimminims
Jul 15, 2025
5 Stars
Maria Keerthi
Aug 17, 2025
6/10 stars
This book was pretty good, the world building and magic system is pretty interesting, I just wish they delved into it some more. I think this (and I know it's a crazy take) was kind of written like it was a movie. I am intrigued to see how they make this into a series since the book had a bow tie ending. The concept is really cool, I just wish we could have explored it more but I guess that's what the next books are for. The author does write really well so I am hoping to see an improvement in the plot and conflict in the next 2 books

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