* * * *Unfortunately, this wasn't another five star book like the first one- A Darker Shade of Magic. Don't get wrong, it was still amazing but there wasn't as much going on and the stakes were nowhere near as high.
This book felt like a very long setup for the final book in the trilogy. We focused a lot on character development and relationships which was fine because the characters are amazing but it just meant that, in terms of plot, not much happened. The whole book centres around The Element Games which was a fun concept but it didn't really further the main plot in any way. Until the last 50 pages, there wasn't much of an antagonist or conflict... which left the book feeling a little sluggish compared to the first.
Nevertheless, that cliffhanger had me clinging onto the series and I have no doubt the next book is going to be jam packed.
A Darker Shade of Magic Book Review
SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
Starting with new characters, our main addition was Alucard... who I love. He's cool and mysterious and funny and I loved his friendship with Lila. He's also a pretty powerful triad... which would've been a lot more impressive if we didn't already know Kell, who happens to be ten times more powerful.
What I also loved was the brief moments between Alucard and Rhy. We didn't see much of them together and there's the lingering past of Alucard having broken Rhy's heart but... I can feel an intense ship coming up and I'm 100% on board... (pirate pun, anyone?)
I absolutely loved seeing Lila interact with Alucard and the other members of their crew. The opening chapters with Lila stealing The Copper Thief by pretending to be a helpless woman were hilarious and Lila pretty much remained my favourite character through this whole book.
Over with Kell and Rhy, we see them both go through some pretty dark feelings and thoughts throughout this book. Rhy is dealing with a lot of guilt for his mistakes in the first book and he's really doubting whether he deserves this borrowed time that Kell gave to him. He spends a lot of time wondering why he deserves to still be alive and it was hard to see such a usually happy and upbeat character feel so much pain.
The main focus of this book was The Element Games which were fun and all but... were they necessary or just plain filler? In my mind, the main overarching plot of the entire trilogy revolves around the rise of Black London but The Element Games didn't play into this at all. I feel like the whole premise of the Essen Tach could've been taken out and it wouldn't make a difference. Honestly, the only relevant parts of the book were the stuff with Holland being taking over by Black London chief, Osaron, and their plans to take over Red London. Everything else? Fun but unnecessary filler.
However, the Element Games were fun occasionally- if only because Lila and Kell fought in disguise. I love how they realised who each other were practically straight away. I absolutely love how Lila's powers have developed through this book- even to the point where she can thrash Kell!! Now that's female empowerment.
What I didn't really like about this book was that it lacked any real stakes when compared to the first book. In book 1, the stakes were astronomically high! Would Lila be able to travel between worlds without dying? Will the Black stone corrupt Kell or Lila if they use it too much? Will Rhy die after being possessed and stabbed by Astrid Dane? Will the corrupted fully take over Red London? Will Holland kill Kell? Will Athos and Astrid kill Kell and Lila? Will the Black Stone start to control Kell? Will Lila be able to travel back to Red London without the stone or will she be stuck in White London?! I mean, the entire book was full of on-the-edge-of-your-seat plot points.
In this book?
Will Kell or Lila get caught with their disguises? Probably not. And if they did, I can't imagine the punishment would be life-threatening. Will Kell or Lila die in the Element Games? Probably not. It's not exactly a fight to the death- they're breaking armour plates not bones.
The only real high stakes moment was in the last 50 pages when Holland tried to give Osaron Kell's body to take over instead of his.
Talking of Holland... I knew it! I knew he wasn't dead! (Though, I think we all knew that). I liked seeing how White London started to prosper and again, I sympathise with Holland, for some reason. He doesn't want to be evil! He just wants to be a good king and see his city rise from the poor state it was in.
Osaron from Black London is the antagonist I waiting for from the beginning of this book and now they have Kell!!!
Lila has fully discovered her powers, suspecting she's an Antari (I knew it, I knew it, I knew it) and the book ends with her attempting to travel to White London to save Kell!!! Honestly, I finished that last chapter and turned the page because I didn't think that was the end! I actually gasped when I realised that was how the book finished! (Thank God, I don't need to wait for the next book to come out).
As for any third book predictions... I think we'll be dealing with two main plot lines. We'll follow Lila and Kell who'll be trying to deal with Osaron and Holland and then I think Alucard and Rhy will be in Red London, dealing with maintaining the empire from other threats and, of course, falling madly in love with each other.
I also don't know how Grey London is going to play into everything. In this book, we had a new king come into power in Grey London (who's a bit of an ass) as well as Enthusiast Edward Archibald Tuttle (I can only call him by his full name) beginning to show sparks of magic. I wonder how Grey London is gonna play into everything...
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe
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