The first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy by Victoria Schwab swept me off with its charm and swashbuckling action.
The story is about two protagonists. Kell, the adopted royal who has magic that allows him to travel between worlds and Lila, who is a cutpurse in our version of London. Kell’s smuggler hobby lands him in trouble when he’s maneuvered into taking the magical equivalent of a bio weapon across the barriers that separate the three remaining Londons in the shape of a black stone. And Lila’s means of supporting herself gets her entangled in the affair when she steals the stone from Kell.
Together they are hunted, their loved ones threatened with death and torture, their worlds threatened by a vile and insidious magic. And it’s up to the two of them to overcome their differences and undo the evil.
It’s Romancing The Stone meets Angel in a fantasy setting that could easily slot into Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. But the best description of this story comes from Victoria Schwab herself and if you are one of my regular visitors I would wager the following will make you get the book without my input whatsoever:
I wrote this book, so I’m probably biased. Since it’s early, and the full jacket copy isn’t out, here’s a list of things in ADSOM:
–Magic
–Cross-dressing thieves
–(Aspiring) pirates
–Londons (plural)
–Sadistic kings (and queens)
–A royal who is equal parts Prince Harry and Jack Harkness
–More magic (blood magic, elemental magic, bad magic, etc. etc.)
–Epic magicky fights scenes
–Angst!
–And coats with more than two sides
~ Victoria Schwab, Goodreads
You can follow V.E. Schwab on twitter here for updates on her upcoming books:
In hindsight, I have very little to nitpick about this book. Maybe I could have done with spending more time in the exciting end scenes but you know, I might have sped up my reading by then so that may be simply perception. If you liked Rivers of London, then you definitely will like this book for the setting and feel alone. Lila is a great female character, flawed and strong and with as much interest in dresses as I have. It’s a dark story. Magic defining what it is and what its limits should be is at the heart of it, which again is one of my favorite go to tales.
I give it a round 5 fancy waistcoats out of 5 for sheer panache and style. Hit the link below to buy it on Amazon:
Walk Off The Path 