A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This review also appeared on Around the World in 80 Books!
The world created by V.E. Schwab is built on color, or lack thereof. Red is the richest of magic, black the darkest and most taboo, grey has no magic, and white is full of severe magic–I say severe because of the people who rule and how they got to power. When Kell travels between the world, one of only two people who can do so, he switches his coat around to match the world around him. It isn’t until he meets Lila Bard, someone from grey London who may or may not possess magical powers, does his world become turned upside down.
Kell may be the main character, but Lila steals the show. She’s tough and doesn’t take shit from anyone (good or bad). When her skeezy landlord demands payment for rent in the form of her body, instead of coins, she slices his stomach open instead of giving herself to him. She learns quickly the rules for traveling between worlds and how Kell operates (btw, she’s not supposed to travel between the worlds, adding to her mystery). She also dreams of being a pirate, which is badass.
Kell is loyal (mostly) to the crown of Red London and sees Prince Rhy like his own brother. When their lives are threatened Kell binds himself to Rhy, which I think will come into play later in the series. For the time being it allows him to save Rhy without having to explain much. I could definitely see why a lot of people ship Kell/Rhy, they have great banter and a solid relationship.
In each world the problems escalate. There’s always the threat of others trying to gain power of an impossible black stone, from Black London, that should have been destroyed. The power from the stone is what motivates Kell and Lila to go through each London together. The magic and world building during each travel between worlds is superbly done. I loved how they navigated the space with the powers they had. Lila, as I mentioned before doesn’t have any apparent powers, but she’s smart and manages to thwart many along the way.
The ending was satisfying, I had a feeling it would end mostly on a high note, but Schwab left enough of a nugget of something unresolved that is developed in book two, A Gathering of Shadows. I’m very interested in reading more about this world. I was completely enamored by it and the people in the story.
Heather Allen 
Great review! I really enjoyed this book too!
Thank you!