This is the most original fantasy I’ve read in a while, and I hate that I let it linger on my TBR for so long! A Darker Shade of Magic is magical and complex, bloody and brutal (people are dying left and right, it’s insane and awful and everything I’ve ever wanted from a fantasy series). Schwab’s writing is just as beautiful and effortless in this second release of hers as it is in her latest (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue—it is also wonderful! Read that, too!) I have such a profound respect for this book and what I know this series has in store! It is bold and brilliant in every way!