I have a friend who for, well, quite a long time, has asked if I'd read this series. The best, she promised. You'll love them, she swore.
So this summer, I read these two, and finally, this week, you get my reviews of them.
These are the first two books of the "Shades of Magic" trilogy. I'm not including the third one here because, well, because I haven't read it yet.
The story takes place in London - well, in several Londons. Kell is our protagonist, a rare Antari with the ability to travel between Londons, between worlds. He was raised in Red London, and acts as an ambassador between the rulers of Red, White, and Grey Londons. Grey London is essentially our London here on earth, during the rule of George III. There is also Black London, or rather, there was also Black London.
Grey London is grey because there is no longer any magic left in that world; this world. Red London is full of magic.
And Kell moves between these worlds, smuggling.
And then bad things happen.
Because of course they do. It would be a rather boring story otherwise, wouldn't it?
An exchange goes badly, and Kell is forced to escape to Grey London, where he runs into Delilah Bard, who robs him, then saves him, then forces him to take her to the other worlds.
But they're not out of danger. There is dark magic, treachery, and the worlds are all in danger. There are consequences to Kell's actions, and now Delilah and Kell need to save the worlds. But they can only do that if they are able to survive.
Four months later we pick up our tale again with A Gathering of Shadows. Kell is restless. Delilah is living her dream of adventure aboard a pirate ship. Prince Rhy is healing. And Red London is caught up in the celebration and pageantry of the Element Games (think The Olympics, but for magic). But while Red London is focussed on The Games, another London is waking up, but the balance of magic is precarious, so for one London to wake up, another must fade.
And, as I said, I did not read the third book.
Okay, so.
I have no idea how to feel about these books.
I understand this series is beloved, many, many favourites. The writing is quite good. There are some fun characters. And the world-building and ideas here are fantastic.
But something didn't click for me.
I read these two books in as many days. I may read the third; I may not. I liked these books, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I didn't love them.
See what I mean? Not sure how to feel about them overall.
So this comes to two possible considerations that my reaction to these books.
1. It's YA lit.
Yes, YA lit can still be enjoyed by adults. Heck, The Book Thief and To Kill a Mockingbird are two of my favourite books of all time, and both are considered YA books. But there is something about the style of YA writing that just typically doesn't "do it" for me. It's partly the pacing, partly the focus on plot, on world-building, but it just doesn't click. Maybe because I didn't read it growing up? Hard to say, but at the end of the day, this one, while not so strictly YA as some popular books in the genre, is definitely YA in tone and pacing. I can't point at what it is precisely that is off for me, but there is something, and maybe this is at the root of it.
2. There was a lot of hype.
Remember my friend who told me how amazing the series is? And all of my students who raved and raved? A book or series has to be truly amazing to live up to ridiculous amounts of hype or, even if it is a very good, it still falls flat. (Looking at you, Life of Pi.) Perhaps that is unfair, but when expectations are that high, it really has to meet them. This one just didn't; perhaps because of my own personal "meh" attitude about YA. I need more character depth, more subtlety, or quite frankly, I don't care too much what happens to them.
So really, I think the problem is with my own preferences and expectations. Perhaps if you love YA fantasy, you'll love this. But I don't generally, so this may just be a case of mismatched book and reader. It is a good series, and I like the author and love the world-building. But that's where it ends for me. Good, not great; like, not love.
I know this is an incredibly popular series, so I want to know your opinion. Should I continue with the third book?
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