Book's Crumbs

To celebrate the final installment in Victoria Schwab's Trilogy, A Darker Shade of Magic, I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.

"How do you know when the Sarows is coming?

(Is coming is coming is coming aboard)...

Here we are back with my favorite Fantasy writer of all time: Victoria Schwab and the fantastic characters of A Darker Shade of Magic.

In this second installment of the Trilogy (A Darker Shade of Magic #1), old and new characters are back in Schwab's multiverse, and you are probably gonna love them even more than the first time!

Kell - the Antari traveler, who likes to smuggle little trinkets in between worlds-; Lila - once a thief, now a pirate and maybe something more; Rhy - the charming Prince of Red London, freshly back from the dead-, Alucard - the cocky Captain of the Night Spire with a mysterious past-, and many more.

We left, in the first book, with Lila sailing off to unknown venture; and Kell back in Red London, having bond forever his existence with his brother, Rhy.
After the threat from the Dane twins is called off in White London, and Vitari, the pure magical force casted back with Holland's dying body into Black London, thing are finally starting to settle down in Red London. They city is buzzing with the preparations for the Element Games - an extravagant international competition of magic- that will draw back into port some old friends.
But while one London is engaged in the festivity, an ancient shadows has been woken in another. It just seems that if our protagonists don't go looking for troubles, this one follow them.

I couldn't be more happy with this fallup of the series, give me pirates and a magic tournament - that did call back HP memory - and I'm sold. And if you also look at the covers of this series, they are beautiful, even the internal graphics are superbs. Not to mention that as usual Schwab's writing skill looks effortless. Her writing is like breathing, natural and essential. In her book nothing is excessive or lacking, everything is always well balanced.
She is the true magician in this book, transforming words in vivid images and sensations. Her use of language is detailed and evocative, making the reader drown into Kell's and Lila's world. A World where all the different sub-plot, each with their different characters, are brought forward until they converge into one. This clue point, was the case of the Element Games, until the competition all the characters are split as we left them in the first book, but they are slowly drawn together chapter by chapter.
The characters are well-rounded, we get even more depths in them. Delilah Bard was the best Pirate/Thief  and much more that I ever read about. I can't get enough of her is the baddest badass of them all and she doesn't give a damn.
Let me also advise you that if you get to the end you will immediately need A Conjuring of Light. In fact the second book stop on a cliffhanger, leaving you leaning in like at the end of Soap-Opera's episode. 

5/5 STARS

To celebrate the final installment in Victoria Schwab Trilogy, A Darker Shade of Magic, I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.

In Vicious, we find our self in a comic-like world where super villains and superheroes can be easily mistaken for one another.

The story starts with Victor and Eli - two brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. They start a research on adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events that reveals the possibility, given the right conditions, that someone might develop extraordinary ability. But when their thesis moves from theoretical to practical, things go horribly wrong. 

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend, aided by a young girl who can rise the dead, and other odd characters that tag along the way. Meanwhile Eli is on the holy mission to eradicate, from earth, every other supernatural being. With both of them terribly powerful and driven by revenge, the battle between the two arch-nemeses is going to be epic!

"The paper called Eli a hero.

The word made Victor laugh. not just because it was absurd, but becouse it posed a question. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meat to stop him, did that make him a villain?"

It's all about the ambition, the betrayals and jealousies, that brought together first, and broke apart after, our two protagonists. Eli and Victor both have a dark-side beyond their collected and calm appearance; showing that there is a fine line between good and bad guys.

Everything about this book draws you in: the characters, the plot, the excellent and effortless writing of Victoria Schwab. It's elegantly crafted, the book move fluidly from past to present, each chapter is perfectly linked to the next.

Victor is one of my favorite Villains of all times, I would highly recommend this book to any reader it's beautiful. Also it seems that a fallup novel will come out in 2018 under the title of  Vengeful, can't wait for that!.

5/5 STARS

To celebrate the final installment in Victoria Schwab Trilogy, A Darker Shade of Magic, I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.

Book official trailer:

After reading Vicious I had to pick up her high-fantasy series and I was not desapointed. Victoria Schwab makes music not with mathe and notes, but with words and letters. creating a beautiful symphony that makes you look back at the classics and at the same time forward with original plot and atmosphere.

Schwab created a multi universe, where there are four London existing simultaneously. The boring, non-magical Grey London,ruled by one mad King---George III. Kell's Red London, where he was raised along side with Rhy, the heir to this flourishing magical empire. White London, a corrupted city where magic is power, and the one to willed it are draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London, dead, sealed off from the rest, where magic had took evil form and consumed the city and its people. 

The only people capable of travelling between on London to the other are the Antari. Kell is one of them, ambassador of the Maresh Empire, he carries the correspondence between the royals of each London.But mail is not the only thing he is carrying in between worlds. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, bring small object to willing to pay for a glimpse of the world they will never see. A small innocent hobby, until he smuggle something he shouldn't have. 

He will soon cross path with, Delilah Bard, who will rob him, than save him and in the end force Kell to bring her with him to another world for a proper adventure.

"I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it."

"Seen what?"

Her smile widened. "Everything."

The plot flows like a river, perfectly. Every word is chiseled to fit in a larger scheme, it's crafted perfection. Beautiful.

The world-building is genius. Simple and a complicated, the concept of four London is not nearly as confusing as I thought, everything explains it self while reading it. And while I usually find some plot-holes in this alternate reality kind of plot, This time I couldn't find any, it's totally bulletproof.

The characters, are close to perfection. And here I'm repeating myself , but I simply can't find any other words to describe it. Perfect, perfect and perfect!

Kell is mysterious, a darkish character without exaggeration; while Lila stuck me for her badassery, and her energetic personality despite being surrounded by violence and cruelty. A life-force. But what I loved even more where the interactions between them: no insta-love, no insta-friendship, everything is built on the evolution of needs and opportunity.

Victoria Schwab is for  sure one of the most talented fantasy writer I ever read (with  Leigh Bardugo, of course).

5/5 STARS

To celebrate the final installment of her trilogy that come out this month I'm doing a FREE GIVEAWAY : a paperback copy A Darker Shade of Magic. Read the rule to enter ----> HERE.

The last and final book of A Darker Shade of Magic, A Conjuring of Lights, by V.E Schwab is just been released this month. If you have been following my reviews for a while you will know that she is one of my favorite author of all times.

The book for this Free Giveaway is the first installment in the series A Darker Shade of Magic in the english paperback edition (as in the picture). The Giveaway stands only for Europe (UK included). To enter you will need only 3 easy steps:

1- Follow the blog, click on the link SEGUI. 

2- Like the Blog Facebook Page.

3- Send a private message to the FB page with your name or if you don't have a facebook account send a mail to the blog page or leave a comment down below, letting me know that you wanna enter the giveaway. 

If you will be selected as the winner, you will get a text on facebook or in your e-mail asking for your chosen delivery address. The contest will close on the 31st of March 2017. If you have any question leave a comment below. GOOD LUCK!!

In Vicious, we find are self in a comic like world where super villains and superheroes can be easily mistaken for each other.

"The paper called Eli a hero.
The word made Victor laugh. not just becouse it was absurd, but becouse it posed a question. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meat to stop him, did that make him a villain?"

The story starts with Victor and Eli - two brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. They start a research on adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals the possibility, that given the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary ability. But when their thesis moves from theoretical to practical, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later , Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend, aided by a young girl who can rise the dead, and some other adds along the way. meanwhile Eli is on holy mission to eradicate every other super-powered person he can find.
Both terribly powerful, driven by revenge, the battle between the two arch-nemeses is going to be epic!

It's all about the ambition, the betrayals and jealousies, that brought together first, and broke apart after, our two protagonists. Eli and Victor both have a dark-side beyond their collect and calm exterior; showing a fine line between good and bad guys.
Everything about this book draws you in: the characters, the plot, the excellent and effortless writing of Victoria Schwab. It's elegantly crafted, the book move fluidly from past to present, each chapter is perfectly linked to the next.

Victor is one of my favorite Villains of all times, I would highly recommend this book to any reader it's beautiful.
Looking for bad guys on my bookshelf I couldn't skip Kaz group of criminals, from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.