A Darker Shade of Magic ( A YA Book Review)

A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab

So this book was a little crazy for me. I'm not sure if it's because I've seen it all over Bookstagram and I had lofty expectations or what. It took me a good 300 of 400 pages to get into the story. Now, I loved the world building throughout and I really liked Kell (he just seems sweet and he smells like flowers and grass and something clean) as well as Rhy (these kinds of stories need the comic relief). I did not like the Danes (they got what they deserved) and I didn't like Lila....at first. I was hoping my dislike of Lila would translate into a strong character arc and it did. Around the masquerade is when the tough/stubborn/selfish/immature facade seemed to recede and a snarky/confident/ass-kicking heroine took its place. And I'm so glad! The last 100 pages of this book were so good it bumped my rating up. I'm still not sure it's a total 4, but it's damn close. Like 3.8. If it weren't for the last 100 pages I may have not finished the series. But now I need to see if things have truly been resolved with this Black Magic and what adventures await Kell, Rhy, and Lila. 3.8/5 stars