Book Recommendation: The Shades of Magic Trilogy

The Shades of Magic Trilogy

Adult Fantasy Adventure

by V.E Schwab

I finally read the Shades of Magic Trilogy by V.E. Schwab! V.E. Schwab is one of my favourite authors and this trilogy is lauded as one of her absolute best, so I went in with very high expectations. The books weren’t my favourites of hers, but they were definitely very good. I liked them better with each subsequent book. So, the third was my favourite. The second was quite slow-paced, but I don’t mind that, and I enjoyed the character development in it.

The story follows two main viewpoint characters. Kell, a magician with a rare ability to travel between parallel Londons—Red, Grey, White, and Black London, all with varying amounts of magic; and Delilah Bard, a cunning and ruthless pickpocket living in Grey London. A chance encounter throws them together on a perilous journey across the different Londons.

The magic system is pretty unique and the world building is effective. My favourite characters were definitely Kell and his brother Rhy (the two brothers would die for each other!). I know VE Schwab has recently started a sequel trilogy, the Threads of Power trilogy. I don’t always love sequel stories, because they run the risk of changing how I feel about the original story. That being said, I think this world has lots of potential, so I will probably read the sequels eventually. Also, I think I’ll just read everything V.E. Schwab writes at some point.

Why I think you might like it:

• A really well-crafted and distinct fantasy trilogy!
• Gaslamp fantasy setting.
• Alternate history/parallel worlds. I love stories that are set in almost reality or almost real history.
• Some romance but definitely not the focus. The romances are believable and slow-build, and ultimately very easy to root for.
• Strong character relationships, especially Kell and Rhy, and several others that appear later in the trilogy (no spoilers!)