In V.E. Schwab's "A Darker Shade of Magic," Kell is a royal emissary able to travel across the veil into the four different Londons. Kell's home is Red London, a vibrant place where the people and magic thrive in balance. Grey London is a dying, starved place, where both magic and the people have faded. White London is a ruled by coercion and fear. In White London, people haven't seen themselves as partners with magic, but force magic to do their bidding, creating an atmosphere of domination and danger. Lastly, there is Black London, or at least there was.
In Black London, magic came to dominate the people, rather like a plague. The connection between the worlds was severed except for the magical emissaries. Kell is only supposed to deliver letters, but Kell wasn't asked if he wanted to become a royal emissary, and as a small rebellion, he smuggles other tiny trinkets across the veil. Except he winds up carrying an artifact from Black London across a dangerous, powerful stone. Street thief Lila Bard rescues him from the killers who want the stone back, but she also pickpockets the stone and winds up getting involved.
I liked many things about this book. The description and world building was well done. You really got a rich sense of the four very different Londons. I liked the darker shade of this fantasy novel - a few shades darker than Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus" and a few shades lighter than Holly Black's "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" - dark but not too horrifying, at least for my taste. I like novels with a strong female protagonist, and Lila Bard, the pickpocket, fits the bill. At least once (maybe more) she gets to rescue Kell. Only a few minor loose threads were left hanging, leaving you curious about what Lila's abilities might become and the identity of Kell's parents, but the major plot lines were resolved.
Kira Michaelieu is the head of Missouri River Regional Library's Adult Services, which includes programs like the Writing Tutor and Poetry Nights.