A somber, but sweet story about facing grief and the magic to be found in memories and imagination. Perfectly balances its silly and sad moments, reminds me a lot of a Kate DiCamillo title with a more consistently uplifting tone. I wish Holly had a more tangible role in the story than the "dead disabled sister" but I understand for the message that the book was going for it would be difficult to work that in somewhere. Good for young readers looking for stories surrounding grief and the aftermath of losing a loved one. 

Didn't feel like finishing as there was nothing tying me to the story. Every element of the book felt somewhat hollow, the characters, the plot, the historical elements, nothing really made me want to keep reading, especially since I was more than halfway into this magic book which had very little magic by that point. The style makes it very easy to read, but I didn't want to read just for reading's sake. The herbalism was an interesting aspect, but it wasn't enough to fully invest me. 

It's really been too long since I've read a great fantasy epic with engaging worldbuilding, rich characters, and a magic system that felt unique to the book and A Darker Shade of Magic did not disappoint. This was a much more coherent and well-paced venture than Addie LaRue, which I read last year and was my first experience with Schwab. There really was never a dull moment and I could always easily slip back into reading it with no problem or worry of being overwhelmed by too much happening at once.

Kell and Lila's dynamic really was a highlight for me, though that may be just because of my weakness for thief characters getting a rise out of their more stoic counterparts. From their first scene I was instantly invested in this pair as a duo because really the best partners come out of an attempted burglary and hostage situation. The book sort of gave an opening for a romance between these two, but I'm not really jumping at the chance to ship it, since I think they work better as friends.

The idea of magic as a virus/corrupting force is something that's been done before, but I think it's really well executed here. It's like a contagion, spreading to new hosts after burning through old ones, and I don't think I've seen it framed that way before. While I did mostly enjoy it, its incorporation felt a little uneven between Grey and Red London, since it just kind of stops in the former. A little anticlimactic, but still effective as a whole.

While the villains came off as a little one-dimensional, being mostly concerned with having power and nothing else, I did get some enjoyment of just how ruthless they were. They felt like actual threats and the harm they inflicted felt like it truly mattered to both our main characters and those in the background. When they hit, they hit hard.

Overall, this was a really strong read and I can't wait to pick up the sequel in the future. I'm looking forward to seeing where everyone goes from here and how the dynamics between the worlds might change and shift. It feels like there are still a couple of loose ends wriggling about, which only fuels my curiosity even more.