Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars 

“A Darker Shade Of Magic”

Story: There are 3 Londons, Red London, White London, and Grey London however there is a 4th London which is Black London nobody talks about that one because it was cut off from the other Londons that are connected with each other. 

Red London is rich in magic and life.

White London has magic, however, the magic takes from the people leaving them to kill for it, and has the Dane twins ruling however they killed the last ruler to be in power.

 Grey London has no magic, it is a place that is bleak and empty there is no magic, and people are left to live in poverty. 

Lastly, Black London all that is known about Black London is that the people let dark magic take over, and essentially it took from the people leaving nothing behind, it was decided to banish all people from traveling to other Londons and to block off Black London forever so that nobody can travel there. 

Kell lives in Red London who works as an ambassador for the Maresh Empire, he is a messenger between all the Londons he is the only one who can travel between the Londons because he is one of the last Antari left. 

Antari’s have powerful magic, they can travel between the 3 Londons because of being an Antari, but they also can master all four elements and can use their own blood for magic which makes their blood as equal as gold. 

Delilah Bard lives in Grey London, there is nothing special about her but she wants to travel across the world and explore every part of the world. Delilah has no family leaving her to survive on her own in a world where everybody is also trying to survive. 

After smuggling a mysterious stone from Grey London, Kell realizes the stone is worth more than he thought, he finds himself in trouble, he runs into Delilah Bard who first robs him then saves him, then convinces him to go on an adventure together. 

Many enemies follow them every step of the way, some hiding in the shadows but most of all some are hungry for the power that Kell possesses and they all want the mysterious stone Kell Possesses.

The Review: This book is perfect if you want a fast and easy read, the magic system was amazing and so easy to understand and it was so unique to how it was set up. 

The characters were so fun and learning about Kell and Lila was a lot of fun, especially their relationship because at first, they hate each other, and as the book goes on they start to like each other more. 

The book is more plot-driven which made the story more interesting, it was fast-paced and it felt like there wasn’t a slow part in the book. The way the book was set up was also different because instead of chapters there are sections and each section has 4-5 chapters in it. There was really no downside to this book.

Things to Know:

This book is Adult rated and it is an Urban Fantasy, this book is also a part of a Trilogy called The Shades Of Magic series. 

This book did come with graphic scenes which included abuse, assault, attempted murder, attempted rape, blood, bones, death, decapitation, gore, hostages, kidnapping, manipulation, murder, self-harm, sexual assault, sexual violence, slavery, snakes, terrorism, torture, and violence. 

This book also includes a Bisexual character which as a reader I always look for representation and it made the book even better. 

Recommendation: 

I highly recommend this book if you like Urban Fantasy or just fantasy in general, it is also an easy read, the world-building is simple and so is the magic system. 

If you love fast-paced books and books that have an adventure this is also perfect, the only thing is that it is a part of the series and this book is the first one. 

I would recommend it for 16+ because it was easy to understand but throughout the whole book, there are graphic scenes. It is also easy to go into and it was only slow for the first section but then it picked up quickly.