Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.
5 STARS
I decided to re-read this in order to continue with the series. I originally read it for the first time back late last year but I thought it had been way too long for me to jump into Gathering of Shadows without a refresher.This series has such a loud fandom but I completely understand their love for these books already, and I plan on picking up Gathering of Shadows immediately. This time I took out all three books from the library so I wouldn't let myself slack on grabbing the others. Now I have no excuses!
The characters are amazing. I love Kell and Lila so much both on their own but also together. I love their dynamic and how different they are from each other. The dialogue and growing friendship between the both of them had me smiling like a goon. They're sarcastic and sassy to each other but they quickly become protective over each other in a real heartwarming way and I am all about it.I think Holland is a very complex morally grey character and although I definitely was frustrated at him, I also felt for him in a weird way. I am excited to get to know Rhy more, because he's pretty adorable but we don't see as much to him so I am hoping to read more about him. I think his friendship with Kell is something I thought was really sweet. Kell's loyalty had me sobbing, so I am obviously attached.
The plot was super action packed and my heart hammered in my chest for a really big chunk of this book. A lot happens and it doesn't give you much of a warning sometimes. The reader is kind of just slammed in the face with action, suspense, and honestly a bit of fear. I have read reviews in the past where people commented on the fact that because it's the first in a series there is a lot of world building that slows the story down a little. I can see where that would come up for some readers, but for me I was never bored or wanted things to speed up. I think because I am so fascinated by the world Schwab has built, I was just as into the story as I was when we were in the middle of an action scene.
Schwab's writing is magic in itself. It swirls itself around you and you're immediately transfixed by the story in front of you. I am always hooked into everything she writes and she's easily becoming my favorite writer. I am not sure why I have been taking so long reading her books, especially since I've known for a while that she is a fantastic writer and storyteller. But I am definitely kicking myself in the butt to finish not only this series, but also Our Dark Duet. I have also preordered City of Ghosts and I plan on re-reading Vicious and preordering Vengeful also. I need to just read all of her books so I can catch up!
Side note: I feel like I need to point out that I don't really recommend the audiobook for at least this first book. The voice is much older than I expected for Kell and the narrator does cheesy voices for Lila and the other characters. I don't think that narrator was a great choice specifically for this book. I liked his voice and he had a great narrator voice but it felt wrong for this story. I wanted to quickly say that. I didn't let it affect my rating at all because that is completely out of V.E.Schwab's control and it didn't impact how much I loved the characters and story.
Overall, if you haven't read this book yet I highly recommend it. I know I am one of the few readers in the book community who haven't read this book yet but if you, like me, have been holding off - I say go for it. I can only imagine the state I'll be in by the time I've read all three, but it'll be worth it. If you've already read this book let's talk about it in the comments!! But also, please be careful about what you say so you do not spoil the rest of the series for me or anyone else reading!
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