A review by nathonius
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I have complicated feelings about this one. On one hand, it's an interesting setting, but on the other the writing is fairly juvenile. There's lots of tall, dark, mysterious boys, there's big obvious twists, but worst of all there's one particularly insufferable character.

Lila is awful; I hate her. Her actions paint her as an idiot, but she's clearly written intended to be a badass girlboss and it just doesn't work. I enjoyed the book in spite of her.

I can't recommend this book, but I also think the series has potential. It's not a super long read, so maybe get through this one and the others will be better? I still don't know if I want to read the next book.