A Darker Shade of Magic is gritty, exciting and fast paced. A relatively straightforward story with some really tense moments.

Kell is the adoptive son of the king and queen and brother to the prince (Rhy). Kell has the power to traverse between different realities and there are 4 in total; Red, Black, White and Grey. In Red, magic is commonplace and most people have it. Grey has none. In White only the powerful have it and they use it to control people and Black was consumed by it. Something happens to cause magic to go out of control and it’s up to Kell and a thief named Lila, to stop it.

Kell is tricked into bringing a relic of Black London into his reality and many different parties want it. The stone is concentrated magic and causes him pain when he uses it so he tries to avoid doing so, but it also seems to have a will of its own because it whispers to him, begging to be used. It causes him to meet Lila and though they don’t get off to a great start, they end up with a mutual respect for one another and a sense of purpose to return the rock to its reality. Each has their own perspective and seeing how they interact with one another further increases their dynamic. Kell and Lila are the focus as their journey takes center stage and the story benefits from their differing views of reality. (Given they are both from different worlds, this is to be expected.)

The lore of the world is fairly standard but serves as a backdrop to the character dynamics. The different aspects of the protagonists’ Londons provides a good insight into their values. The mystery surrounding Black London and the wildness of its magic is intriguing on its own, but it also manifests in an unnamed entity chasing Kell and Lila by hijacking civilians across the realities. This provides another sense of urgency to their quest on top of a talking magic stone and a hitman on their trail.

The main antagonist in this story is Holland as he gets the most page time. The Dane’s subjugate him to their whims, so really they are to blame for his cruelty, but they take a backseat for much of the story. Holland has a mysterious air to him and I really hope to learn more about him in the next book.

Very fun story with a lot of character. The world is one I could see myself getting lost in, so I look forward to continuing the series. Lila, Kell and Rhy are character that I feel I haven’t even scratched the surface on. The events in this book leave an open ending that allows for further elaboration and I hope it continues to build upon the foundation for the world built in this first book.