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

A Darker Shade of Magic, from #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab

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.

"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...This is a book to treasure."—Deborah Harkeness, New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls trilogy

Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light

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Published Feb 24, 2015

416 pages

Average rating: 7.64

313 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

wardbunch
Mar 26, 2025
4/10 stars
Meh. Too many books out there to struggle through this one.
katietopp
Jan 01, 2025
8/10 stars
I would say it’s closer to 3.5 stars. I think the worlds are fully developed and beautiful. Kell and Lila are lovely characters but not my favorite over all.
LDew
Dec 05, 2024
6/10 stars
Overall, this was a good book, just took until about 70% for me to really get invested in the plot. Lots of world building, which was nice, but a little too much for me with lacking in getting invested in the characters. It was less action than I anticipated. Perhaps the audio version of this was not the way to go, as I did end up liking Delilah by the books end, but it took a VERY long time to get to that point. I will likely pick up the second book and continue the series.
EmilyMOsborne
Jul 04, 2024
8/10 stars
I absolutely loved the premise of this book, especially because I live in London! Schwab’s prose is unparalleled, but some of the characters felt flat, making it difficult to connect with them!
KimE
Jun 02, 2024
6/10 stars
My review from July 2021: Something tells me that I would have liked this a lot more if I had read it myself instead of listening to the audiobook. The narrator did a good job… but somehow he made it all so BORING. There was just something about his tone that made everyone sound aloof. I might try it again as an actual read, but not entirely sold…

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