A Darker Shade of Magic

Today's post is on A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. It is 398 pages long and is published by Tor Books. The cover is white with two circles, one red and one black, with a figure between them going into the red one. The intended reader is someone who likes fantasy, interesting magic systems, and fast paced plots. There is foul language, no sex, and violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of the two main characters moving as the story does. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Kell is one of the last Antari— magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and 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.

Review- This book is so good that I am not sure where to begin. The characters, the plot, the magic, the bad guys, all of it is just the best. Our two main characters are fun, clever, quick on the take to what is going on, and they do not give up just because that would be easier. They are not afraid of the hard road. The plot is interesting with just enough of the past being shown to intrigue without getting bogged down in the details. The magic is fun, not original as it is blood magic, but still a fun way to take blood magic without being all blood magic is evil. The bad guys are crazy, power-mad, and quite evil, even to their own minds. I had so fun with this book and I look forward to reading the next one.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.