A magician who travels between parallel Londons teams with a cutthroat thief to stop a deadly relic from devouring worlds.
- Score
- 79.0
- Spice
- 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Sweet
- POV
- multi
- Ending
- HEA / HFN
Tropes
Content warnings
Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.
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What readers think
Readers consistently praise Schwab's worldbuilding — the conceit of four parallel Londons, each with its own distinct relationship to magic, is widely regarded as one of the most inventive setups in contemporary fantasy. Lila Bard is a breakout favourite: morally complicated, wickedly competent, and frequently cited as the most compelling reason to continue the series. The prose is noted for being polished and immersive without being overwrought. The most common criticism is pacing: the first half can feel slow or overly expository, and several reviewers note the climax arrives in a rush and feels somewhat unearned. Kell draws more mixed reactions — some find his brooding ambassador arc compelling, others consider him underdeveloped compared to Lila. The Goodreads rating sits at approximately 4.03–4.07 stars across 440,000+ ratings, and the book won a Goodreads Choice Award, reflecting broad popular appeal despite the pacing reservations.
Read it if
- · Readers who love inventive portal fantasy with a rich, layered world — the four-Londons conceit rewards close attention
- · Fans of morally grey antiheroes and sharp-tongued female protagonists who refuse to stay in their lane
- · Anyone who wants a gateway from YA into adult fantasy: dark enough to be substantive, accessible enough to read in a weekend
Skip it if
- · You need romance as a central driver — the romantic subplot is minimal in book one and develops very slowly across the trilogy
- · Slow-building first acts frustrate you — setup occupies a large portion of the novel before the pace accelerates
- · Attempted rape and torture scenes are hard content limits for you
If you liked this
- · For fans of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss — lush world-building, a charismatic travelling protagonist, and magic with real weight and cost
- · For fans of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse — parallel Russian-inspired worlds, political intrigue, and morally complex ensemble characters
- · For fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke — rival magicians, historical-London atmosphere, and magic as a destabilising force
- · For fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch — a thief as unlikely hero, wit under pressure, and a city with genuine menace
In this series
Part of Shades of Magic — read in order:
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