Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR17
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Suggest a Review
    • 2025 Registration
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

A tale of three cities

June 23, 2017 by Malin Leave a Comment

In the world of V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy, in which this is the first book, there are parallel worlds. There used to be gateways between them, but now only the magical Antari (identified by having one normal and one fully black eyeball) are able to travel through to the various worlds, using their blood and magical ability. Young Kell, fostered with the royal family in Red London is one of these Antari. In each of the four worlds, there is a London, the geographical […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History Tagged With: a darker shade of magic, adventure, cbr9, fantasy, magic, Malin, parallel worlds, shades of magic, v.e. schwab

Malin's CBR9 Review No:53 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History · Tags: a darker shade of magic, adventure, cbr9, fantasy, magic, Malin, parallel worlds, shades of magic, v.e. schwab ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Magical deliciousness

April 6, 2017 by kella Leave a Comment

 I received this book for Christmas from my mom; she went to the local bookstore and just happened to pick something that I would love without me providing a detailed list of titles and authors.  A Christmas miracle! 🙂 In this book, our magical hero Kell lives in London at a time where different worlds are layered on top of each other. The geography of each London is the same, but everything else is drastically different (including the magical abilities of the residents).  He is only […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: a darker shade of magic, fantasy, London, magic, v.e. schwab

kella's CBR9 Review No:20 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: a darker shade of magic, fantasy, London, magic, v.e. schwab ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A darker shade of yes, please.

March 18, 2017 by narfna Leave a Comment

Parallel universes are categorically THE BEST, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them done quite like they are here in A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in Victoria Schwab’s* Shades of Magic series, which just published its third and final book last week. *She writes YA under her real name, and adult fiction under her pseudonym V.E. Schwab. I’m late to the party, especially given how much I love fantasy and parallel universes, but I don’t really care because I now own […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: a darker shade of magic, fantasy, narfna, parallel universes, shades of magic, Urban Fantasy, v.e. schwab, victoria schwab

narfna's CBR9 Review No:27 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: a darker shade of magic, fantasy, narfna, parallel universes, shades of magic, Urban Fantasy, v.e. schwab, victoria schwab ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

So you wanna play with magic?

February 10, 2017 by TylerDFC 6 Comments

This dark fantasy is Game of Thrones meets The Night Circus and will appeal to any fans of realistic fantasy. The first book of a three part trilogy (part 3 releases February 2017), A Darker Shade of Magic is an outstanding novel that will enthrall readers and insure you are up late reading “just one more page.” There is not one London, but four. There is the world of Henry III, a Grey London without magic. There is Red London, where magic is in balance. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: a darker shade of magic, CBR8, Dark Fantasy, delilah bard, kell, magic, shades of magic, TylerDFC, v.e. schwab, victoria schwab

TylerDFC's CBR9 Review No:3 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: a darker shade of magic, CBR8, Dark Fantasy, delilah bard, kell, magic, shades of magic, TylerDFC, v.e. schwab, victoria schwab ·
Rating:
· 6 Comments

A book bursting with charm

November 11, 2015 by yesknopemaybe 3 Comments

I went into this book knowing very little about it except that there are four different parallel worlds that each have a London. Grey London is our London and called grey because it’s smoky, dirty, and lacks magic. Red London bursts with magic and everything is slightly rose-tinted. White London is coated in a mist of ash and the citizens are crazed by their hunger for power. Black London died long ago. Kell is from Red London and is one of two known people with […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: a darker shade of magic, fantasy, v.e. schwab, victoria schwab

yesknopemaybe's CBR7 Review No:73 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: a darker shade of magic, fantasy, v.e. schwab, victoria schwab ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2


Recent Comments

  • Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
  • Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
  • Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
  • Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
  • Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission: Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2025 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in