The ideas of humanizing monsters and monstrous humans seems to be a big theme with Victoria (V.E.) Schwab. This would normally annoy me, except that she does it so well, and with variety each time. This is my third series of hers that I’ve started, and each one is different in terms of world and characters. I’m saving the conclusion of one series, A Conjuring of Light, until the end of the current semester in 3 weeks; if I don’t I’ll be buried by grading […]
A darker shade of yes, please.
Parallel universes are categorically THE BEST, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them done quite like they are here in A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in Victoria Schwab’s* Shades of Magic series, which just published its third and final book last week. *She writes YA under her real name, and adult fiction under her pseudonym V.E. Schwab. I’m late to the party, especially given how much I love fantasy and parallel universes, but I don’t really care because I now own […]
So you wanna play with magic?
This dark fantasy is Game of Thrones meets The Night Circus and will appeal to any fans of realistic fantasy. The first book of a three part trilogy (part 3 releases February 2017), A Darker Shade of Magic is an outstanding novel that will enthrall readers and insure you are up late reading “just one more page.” There is not one London, but four. There is the world of Henry III, a Grey London without magic. There is Red London, where magic is in balance. […]
How do we emerge victorious from the quagmire?
I really loved the premise of The Archived, and I thought the book was well written. There were some genuine feels throughout most of it. And yet, I found myself left feeling rather “meh” about everything. I had a problem connecting to it. But, if I really think about it, I don’t think it’s the book’s fault, I think this is a case of “just not for me.” Which is super disappointing, given how much I’ve loved Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic series. BUT! […]