Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab | Product Review: Green Leaf Baby

Hey guys! This is actually a combined review post, because the only pic I had on hand of A Darker Shade of Magic was with my new book sleeve (haha!). I pre-ordered this sleeve on Etsy from a Canadian seller (gotta support small Canadian businesses!) called Green Leaf Baby, and it arrived a couple weeks ago. It doesn't seem to be a product that she normally sells, but I really like mine, and I would definitely request another one from her in the future.

This one is made with an adorable Harry Potter print. It has these cutesy images of the four house mascots (lion, badger, snake, bird) and little wands doing spells. It's super cute! The lining is made of a soft grey minky material - so soft!

My only "issue," if you can call it that, is that I kind of think that book sleeves should have some sort of closure (zipper, Velcro, a button...) just to make sure the book doesn't slide out, especially with that super soft lining. This sleeve is big enough for all the books I've put in it so far, it's even a bit roomy (hence the need for some sort of closure).

Ok, now, on to the book review! :)

A Darker Shade of Magic

by V.E. Schwab

Source: Bought a paperback copy online

Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult

Synopsis:

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:

I seem to start all my reviews the same way, but how many ways are there of saying, "I really enjoyed the book" or "This was a really good book"...?

I was excited to read this book. I've been hearing (good) things about it for over a year. It was the book featured in OwlCrate's first box (which was several months before I started subscribing). When it was chosen in one of my Facebook groups as the book to read and discuss for June, I was super excited! I kind of missed the discussion that happened, but anyway... I'm so glad I read the book.

I did find the story a tad slow at times, but I was never uninterested in what was happening, or in the characters. I really liked the character development - I loved the protagonists and hated the villains, as one is expected to do. I felt like I was supposed to like Rhy's character, because everyone loves him, but I really didn't. There's just something off about him. When he was flirting with Lila, my skin crawled. Ew. Just, no.

I totally fell in love with Kell, and I feel no need to explain or justify that. I wonder if anyone else would agree with me on this, but I felt a pretty strong Newt Scamander vibe (as portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) from Kell. He just has that same tall, lanky, kind of shy thing going on, the magical aspect, the smuggling, plus his coat... Newt's coat wasn't as magical or as significant to the story as Kell's, but it's iconic of him, and that's what I kept thinking of when I imagined Kell and his coat. In fact, I'm pretty sure Eddie Redmayne would be a good Kell... There is a Darker Shade of Magic movie in the works, by the way, so that's pretty exciting! :D

In my Goodreads review, I mentioned that I wanted to be Lila when I grow up: Lila is one of those characters (spunky, full of life, knows what she wants and how to get it, etc) that is the polar opposite of myself and just makes me wish I could be more confident and adventurous like her. Granted, she didn't have any real attachments to begin with, but when she packed up everything and ran off with Kell to a foreign world - not even knowing if the magic would take her - I just wish I could be so brave.

 

*sigh*

Anyway... I think there might have been something else I wanted to say, but I waited too long between writing sessions, and I forgot. Typical. So, suffice it to say that I really enjoyed this book, I highly recommend it, and I am looking forward to reading the sequels soon! :)

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Source: OwlCrate sub box (July 2016 "Good vs. Evil")

Synopsis:

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

Review:
I wasn't too sure about this book in the beginning. The setting was a bit strange, and I just wasn't sure if I was on board with the whole monster thing. But I had heard some really amazing things about this book, and Victoria Schwab practically has a cult following among OwlCrate subscribers, so I persisted.

I ended up really liking this book. Usually in art, music is portrayed as a healing power. In this book, music is the weapon the monsters use to kill their victims (but generally, the "victims" are bad people who are in need of punishment), which was a refreshing difference.

It had a bit of a Romeo & Juliet vibe to it: forbidden love between two warring houses... I very much enjoyed the romance between Kate and August, their flight for their lives, and the unexpected twists. It was somewhat of a disappointment for me to discover that it is the first in a series, simply because this book was newly released in July 2016, so the second book won't be released until this summer (June 2017).

I hate waiting.

But I will be very anxious to get my hands on the next book, Our Dark Duet, to know where Kate and August end up, how the consequences of Kate's actions will follow up with her, etc.

Goodreads rating:

Progress Report - February 2017

A couple weeks ago I participated in the weekly meme called It's Monday! What are YOU reading? (read my post here) and mentioned that I would be publishing this post last week, but I didn't get around to it. Whoops! I am going to try to make a habit of posting updates every month to summarize my reading progress.

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I've set myself a Goodreads goal of 35, but am unofficially aiming to reach 40.

 

In January I read six books and had aimed, for February, to finish The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, a few OwlCrate books, and some of my more recent acquisitions. It wasn't noted, but understood, that I also intended to read Anne of Avonlea, for my online book club reading challenge. Partway through the month, OwlCrate introduced their first annual OwlCrate-a-Thon reading challenge, which was to help us get through some of our unread OwlCrate books, and I decided to participate. The requirements for the challenge were 1) to read at least three books, 2) read one fantasy and one contemporary, 3) the one you've had the longest. The challenge ran from March 11-25.

 

So, in February I ended up reading five books: Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth, The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (finally!), This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (OwlCrate 1: fantasy), P.S. I Like You by Kasie West (OwlCRate 2: contemporary), and The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry (OwlCrate 3: longest owned). I also listened to  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer. I didn't mention in my January post that I had also listened to The Woman Next Door by Barbara Delinsky.

 

I barely read any of Anne of Avonlea, which I felt pretty bad about, so in March I am hoping to burn through both that and Anne of the Island. I am currently reading Ever the Hunted, I would like to read Caraval and a few others, but I'm kind of leaving it open. There are always books I'd like to read, but then when it comes time to pick up a new book, I'm not in the mood for those. So, we shall see!


So, my total books read in 2017 at this point is 13 out of 35, which is 37% complete - 8 books ahead of schedule! At this rate, I could potentially read over 70 books by the end of the year. That would be awesome! Especially if I could come to terms with getting rid of the ones I didn't love out of those I've read... *wink, wink*