Review: "A Darker Shade of Magic" (A Darker Shade of Magic #1) by Victoria Schwab AND two cover reveals

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.
Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands. There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped. 

BUY ON AMAZON (click the covers!)




REVIEW

Do you like magic? Do you like traveling into faraway lands? Do you also fancy auburn haired men with strange capes and hmm witty attitudes?

Then this book will blow your mind!

Recently, I read the review of the same book from Martika on  fANGIRLconfessions and we both had the same problem regarding what kind of review we should right. Frankly, the book stayed on my to-be-reviewed- list for three weeks!

I pondered and whined, almost hit my head to wall wondering WHAT to write for this book. Honestly, I had never heard any of Victoria's works, excep from the Archived series, which were seen in many of my GoodReads friends. So I decided to begin with Vicious, her debut novel.

I was surprised to see that her writing was unique, plus she had set many moral issues.

On this book now, we have a plot well planned, for start, and two characters who seem to center around the action and the non-stop running. Kell, the magician with the freaking amazing coat, which could only rival Doctor Who's and Del, the brave kickass heroine who wants to live her life as an adventure.

So far they are the most out-of-the-standards characters I have read in 2015. They have a great deal of mystery to solve, three Londons to search and an evil which isn't quite settled in the end of the book. There is much more to tell and a nice base for more romance. I don't know why but the scenes on the last chapters reminded me on a nice fighting scene from a good anime, which I would love to see again and again.

With lush descriptions, witty dialogues, I couldn't put it down, even for an ebook and I highly anticipating the sequel!

About the author:

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say "tom-ah-toes," "like," and "y'all."

She also tells stories.

She loves fairy tales, and folklore, and stories that make her wonder if the world is really as it seems. 










ALSO! Follow below for some exciting news about two books. I found the cover reveals around the blogsphere and I am sharing it with you!


FROM @Reading Fctional

The anticipated cover of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff! See the summary below


Synopsis:
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

                                                         Add on GOODREADS


AND! You know Maggie Stiefvater right? Of course you do! She wrote the beauties of "Shiver Trilogy" and now her characters Gansey, Blue and gang are hunting the Raven King on "The Raven Circle" series!
What I found out on Cuddlebuggery’s weekly post was this!

We don't have a blurb yet but I am surely going to have this!

What do you think? Any other releases you are excited about?
Also, wait patiently for later today! The cover reveal of "Every Last Breath" by Jennifer Armentrout will also be revealed on my blog! :)