On Twitter I had asked people to give me series by women authors that I should read in the fantasy genre. I wanted something that I probably wouldn't have found on my own. When I looked up the synopsis for them one stood out.
This of course ended up being the Shades of Magic Trilogy by V.E. Schwab. I ordered the whole set. I do not always do that, but I just felt confident in this pick. I didn't realize how short book one was. Its been awhile sense I read what felt like a standard sized book. Anyways it didn't take me long to read, though it wasn't just the length of the book, but because I was engaged.
What people may notice is that I love Lore and World Building. I am the crazy guy that will map that stuff out and obsess over it. However, this book does not have much of that. It essentially is about 4 London's that are in different worlds. Ours being gray London around the end of the reign of George III. The other London's of course exist, but their worlds are much different in terms of history and of course magic. At this point in history only two people called Antari can travel between the worlds because the doorways are locked due to a cataclysmic event in "black" London. The rulers of the other three London's (gray, red, & white) do know of one another and keep in contact. The Antari are the go betweens and of course are important. That is the basic set up. You do not learn much outside of these worlds thus far. Of course learning about these London's does give us an idea about what type of worlds we are dealing with, which is fun to brainstorm about without any hand holding.
The core of this book though is MAGIC and character development. It all takes place in three of the four London's. The magic system is built around a natural ability not tied to genetics. People have different strengths and abilities or none at all, etc. Each London has a different strength of magic based on where they were in the line of worlds. Ours of course being the weakest & black having been the strongest. Red London seems to be the most prosperous and where Kell our first main PoV is from. Our second main PoV is Lila in gray London. Another important figure is Holland, the 2nd Antari from white London and Rhy the Prince of red London. They all have an interesting dynamic with Kell and the main plot. Developing these characters seemed to be the strong suit of at least this book. It was like a welcome to my universe, here are the main players and what's important.
Is this book perfect? No. I mean its a good entry into this universe, the plot is kind of tense, and there aren't too many characters to keep track of. What hooked me on the story though were Kell and Lila. They are interesting characters in their own right, but together they are a bloody joy. Their chemistry and how they play off one another is quite amusing. I was vested in their well being and outcome. I think Lila's personality is the best overall though. She is only 19, but has learned a lot about life and is quite a great example of a True Neutral character.
The next poignant detail is that Magic is like a character in its own right. I do not want to go too in-depth on this because of spoilers though. Lets just say it is a bit more than a system, but a force of nature if you will. The term magic being in the title of this series makes a lot of sense.
The only criticism I may have is the plot moved a bit too quickly; though there is no fluff in this book of course. I do think I would have liked to see more interactions between Kell and Lila to solidify their relationship better & because they just have a fun dynamic.
In completion there isn't really any trigger warnings that I can think of. Of course violence is going to be there, but this is not dark fantasy. It is more refreshing and fun. This isn't a prose novel or full of battles. This is a man on a mission who picks up a quick witted partner to save his ass. Its more of a basic thriller with a bit of mystery. There is definitely room to expand on this universe though and I notice each book gets bigger than the last. I am pleased with my decision to start reading this series.