Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis: Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.
Review:
Thoughts on the Overall Book: In short, AMAZING. In fact, it's the best book I have read so far this year, and I've read a lot of good ones.
Cover--Yea or Nay: To be honest, the cover does nothing more me, in fact it's not the kind of thing I would pick up unless I took time to look at it, but it's not eye-grabbing, the title would do more to spark my interest, but the cover is rather bland.
Characters: I loved Kell, he was a great hero, because he's kind of quiet, he takes time to think but he also has a lot of little human quirks and insecurities that make him a relatable character. Sometimes he seemed older than he was and sometimes younger, but he fast became a very likable character to me. I also really liked Lila. Like most of Victoria Schwab's leading ladies, she was smart and practical, without having that 'I'm a kick butt female heroine with an attitude' vibe. She easily fits the profile of my favorite female characters, and her spunk and snark only made it better. I don't always like female thieves, but Lila was awesome and actually reminded me a bit of Parker from the show Leverage which is a huge plus as it's one of my favorite shows. I also liked Rhy, even if he is sort of a playboy, he's also a decent prince; even more I LOVED the brotherly relationship between him and Kell. Even though they are only foster brothers, they acted like real blood brothers, and the brother feels were love in this book. They made me very happy.
As for the villains...amazing. Holland was cold and creepy, but yet, I also ended up feeling sorry for him having to serve the twins, and being pretty much owned by them. He was actually a character I wished we had gotten to see more of in the story, I think he had a lot of layers and I was a bit sad that we didn't spend more time with him. Astrid and Athos on the other hand were just plain creepy. Seriously, they sent shivers up my spine, and that's why I loved them. They were bloody good villains, because you knew they would carry out their threats, and they did, and I was on the edge of my seat by the end of this book, just wondering how it would all turn out.
The Romance: Hardly any to report, though there's a little bit of attraction between Kell and Lila and a couple kisses. Apart from that, nothing.
Writing Style: Okay, so I warn you this will be a long section. Victoria Schwab is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every book of hers a read, and I think I've mostly read them all. Her YA books are really good, but her 'adult' books are amazing. Even now,Vicious is on the list of best books I have read and this one is going there too. There's just something about the way she puts characters you can care about and relate to into these amazing worlds that are so different from anything else that honestly blows my mind, and that doesn't happen a lot at all. Her books are so unique that they will always stand out because you'll probably never find anything like them. The whole multiple dimensions of London thing? Strange on paper, but it works, and it's awesome. My favorite kinds of fantasy novels are the ones that go away from the norm and this one did that very well. It was interesting, it worked, the magic made sense, and on top of that, the writing style itself was beautiful as usual. The characters were great, the storyline was engaging and unpredictable, I honestly wasn't sure how it was going to end for a while and that's what I love most in books.
Accuracy/ Believability: Not applicable.
Problems/What bothered me: Nothing really, it was kind of one of those books you go along for the ride with.
Conclusion: 5 of 5 stars. Loved it! Loved it a lot. And seriously, where can I get a coat like Kell's? I need one.
Recommended Audience: If you have enjoyed Victoria Schwab's books and have not read this one, read it. You're missing out. Gril or guy read, ages 18 and up due to some dark themes.
Cover--Yea or Nay: To be honest, the cover does nothing more me, in fact it's not the kind of thing I would pick up unless I took time to look at it, but it's not eye-grabbing, the title would do more to spark my interest, but the cover is rather bland.
Characters: I loved Kell, he was a great hero, because he's kind of quiet, he takes time to think but he also has a lot of little human quirks and insecurities that make him a relatable character. Sometimes he seemed older than he was and sometimes younger, but he fast became a very likable character to me. I also really liked Lila. Like most of Victoria Schwab's leading ladies, she was smart and practical, without having that 'I'm a kick butt female heroine with an attitude' vibe. She easily fits the profile of my favorite female characters, and her spunk and snark only made it better. I don't always like female thieves, but Lila was awesome and actually reminded me a bit of Parker from the show Leverage which is a huge plus as it's one of my favorite shows. I also liked Rhy, even if he is sort of a playboy, he's also a decent prince; even more I LOVED the brotherly relationship between him and Kell. Even though they are only foster brothers, they acted like real blood brothers, and the brother feels were love in this book. They made me very happy.
As for the villains...amazing. Holland was cold and creepy, but yet, I also ended up feeling sorry for him having to serve the twins, and being pretty much owned by them. He was actually a character I wished we had gotten to see more of in the story, I think he had a lot of layers and I was a bit sad that we didn't spend more time with him. Astrid and Athos on the other hand were just plain creepy. Seriously, they sent shivers up my spine, and that's why I loved them. They were bloody good villains, because you knew they would carry out their threats, and they did, and I was on the edge of my seat by the end of this book, just wondering how it would all turn out.
The Romance: Hardly any to report, though there's a little bit of attraction between Kell and Lila and a couple kisses. Apart from that, nothing.
Writing Style: Okay, so I warn you this will be a long section. Victoria Schwab is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every book of hers a read, and I think I've mostly read them all. Her YA books are really good, but her 'adult' books are amazing. Even now,Vicious is on the list of best books I have read and this one is going there too. There's just something about the way she puts characters you can care about and relate to into these amazing worlds that are so different from anything else that honestly blows my mind, and that doesn't happen a lot at all. Her books are so unique that they will always stand out because you'll probably never find anything like them. The whole multiple dimensions of London thing? Strange on paper, but it works, and it's awesome. My favorite kinds of fantasy novels are the ones that go away from the norm and this one did that very well. It was interesting, it worked, the magic made sense, and on top of that, the writing style itself was beautiful as usual. The characters were great, the storyline was engaging and unpredictable, I honestly wasn't sure how it was going to end for a while and that's what I love most in books.
Accuracy/ Believability: Not applicable.
Problems/What bothered me: Nothing really, it was kind of one of those books you go along for the ride with.
Conclusion: 5 of 5 stars. Loved it! Loved it a lot. And seriously, where can I get a coat like Kell's? I need one.
Recommended Audience: If you have enjoyed Victoria Schwab's books and have not read this one, read it. You're missing out. Gril or guy read, ages 18 and up due to some dark themes.
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