A Darker Shade of Magic by V.C Schwab

This is the second book of V.E Schwab that I read and I must admit to be disappointed.

From a writer perspective, the pacing was exactly the same throughout the entire novel - slow and even. Not an issue with a cozy book, but for a book designed to have some actions scenes it doesn't work.

This is a style issue, not a narrative one. V.E Schwab's style incorporates a lot of extended sentence structure. The sentences average about 2 lines and often use a lot of commas as well as "and"s in multiples. While not wrong, the long sentences create drawn out action scenes that feel like a trudge through words instead of a battle between magic user.

Narrative wise two things didn't work. The late reveal of an important aspect of Lila's character cheated me out of learning something very cool and defining about her. And I hated it. I nearly did not finish the book. The other aspect was a side piece of plot that had literally no impact on the narrative. Without it the story would have been exactly the same. It was an empty, unused set of words that didn't further the story along nor did it appear to be important in any regard.

Overall, after reading The Near Witch, this story felt lackluster and drawn out for no reason.