A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab (Collector’s Edition 2017)
The first book in Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy introduces Kell, one of the last Antari—magicians who can travel between parallel Londons: Red (magic-thriving), Grey (our mundane world), White (ruled by cruel ambition), and the vanished Black London. When Kell smuggles a relic from a forbidden city, he teams up with rogue thief Delilah Bard to outrun deadly forces, including the monstrous Holland and the power-hungry twins Astrid and Athos Dane. Schwab’s lush worldbuilding, morally grey characters, and inventive magic system (blood-based spells, sentient coats) reinvent portal fantasy with a grittier edge.
If You Loved This, Try:
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Schwab, 2020) – Another standalone with Faustian bargains and immortality.
- Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo, 2019) – Dark academia with occult danger.
- The City We Became (N.K. Jemisin, 2020) – Urban fantasy where cities are living entities.
