A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab narrated by, Steven Crossley

A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab narrated by, Steven Crossley

This was the best fantasy/alt.verse book I have read in a long time. I loved the premise of all the different London’s and how there is magic in some and not in others and that the degrees of magic are different.

The two main characters are Kell & Lila, these two are both so great I loved their bickering, Kell all reserved and noble and Lila all lets go on an adventure who cares if it’s dangerous, but in the end I think they balance each other out he for reigning her in and her for telling him it’s ok to do something dangerous because it is an adventure.

The world building in this book is solidly done by the end of the book you understand about the different London’s and how they relate to each other and how the Antari system works. I thought the author did a great job in revealing the details and differences of each London and how the hierarchy/royalty works in each world. Also the way magic works and how it’s different in different worlds was well done and believable.

I really liked Lila she is a tough as nails kick-ass woman who doesn’t seem to be scared of anything, even when faced with adversity she just seems to have an attitude of yeah and then what, I loved that about her. We do get a few details about her life but there are definitely some secrets yet to come out and I look forward to the next book and finding out more about certain things that were revealed in this book. (Sorry that’s vague but Spoilers)

Kell is a bit of an enigma he is pretty darn tough too but seems to also be a loner even when it comes to his “brother” Rhy who kind of comes off as bratty at first but well some things change I think of him a little better by the end of the book but he still has much to prove and is very lucky that deep down Kell thinks of him as real brother.

Steven Crossley’s narration was fabulous, every accent was superb and his male and female voices were so well done I think he enhanced this book which is really saying something. I will listen to him again in a heartbeat and just from this one book has gone on my favorite narrators list.

I can hardly wait till Feb. 2016 when the next installment of this series comes out; I look forward to more adventures with these two. I will definitely read other books from this author I really enjoyed her style of writing.

As if you haven’t guessed my rating

5 Stars

Thank-you to the Ford Audiobook Club Group on Goodreads for a copy of this audiobook.