A Darker Shade of Magic cover art

A Darker Shade of Magic

Shades of Magic, Book 1

Preview

Free with 30-day trial
A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook free.
1 credit/month after trial—to buy any title you like, yours to keep.
Listen all you want to a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.

A Darker Shade of Magic

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Free with 30-day trial

$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.99

Buy Now for $25.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

A Darker Shade of Magic is the incredible first installment of the Shades of Magic series, from number one New York Times best-selling author V.E. Schwab.

Most people only know one London; but what if there were several? Kell is one of the last Travelers - magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel Londons. There’s Grey London, dirty and crowded and without magic, home to the mad king George III. There’s Red London, where life and magic are revered. Then, White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. But once upon a time, there was Black London....

©2015 V. E. Schwab (P)2015 Tantor
Fantasy Mystery Supernatural Paranormal England Fiction Exciting Magic Users

Critic Reviews

"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...." (Deborah Harkeness)

What listeners say about A Darker Shade of Magic

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    133
  • 4 Stars
    102
  • 3 Stars
    32
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    115
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    134
  • 4 Stars
    72
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book, had to actively try to ignore the narrator

This is a great story and I’m excited to get to the next one. For me the narrator gave the most unrealistic voices to the characters and almost ruined the book for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful magical world

A bit of a slow burn. Beautifully woven story with magical worlds and lots of layers. The characters are complex in a good way, and left me wanting more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magic and adventure

Brilliant story and great characters. However, the narrator was dreadful!!! It is a credit to how good the story was that allowed me to tolerate the terrible narration. His tone was all wrong, he appeared to misinterpret the story and his female voices were embarrassing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the story, hated the heroine

I LOVE Lila. She’s one of my favourite modern heroines to date, but oh my god Crossley butchered her voice like there’s no tomorrow. She’s this beautiful, enigmatic, confident thief and yet Steven Crossley made her sound like a fairy tail witch. Please sir, never try to do a female voice again. I’d rather you read her in a male voice, honestly. It was disgusting. Everytime she “spoke” my soul cringed. It felt like climbing into a warm, wet swimsuit while dry. Yuck.

Every other voice rendition was amazing. Lila just ruined it for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

I read quite a few of the earlier reviews before I listened to this book. Many of them noted how annoying the narrator's portrayal of Lila was. I was glad to be forewarned. Fortunately I thought it was going to be worse than it was. A fairly long way from good, but bearable. Great story, interesting worlds. Looking forward to the next instalment 😊

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narration of main female character detracts

The story is mostly very engaging and entertaining. However, the narration of the main female character is so irritating, I nearly gave up. The narration seriously detracts from the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good story good narrator

no idea what the people are talking about saying the narrator is bad, I've heard way worse out there. this guy is great! normal inflections I think his female characters are decent too. try listen to a PETER F HAMILTON book and you'll be saying that this narrator absolutely crushed this book.

good story too! I'm about halfway through I think. it has me engaged from about a quarter way through, lots of plot points to keep things interesting 😁

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Really Great YA Story!

This is such a great story. I loved it when I first read it a few years ago, and I absolutely loved reading it again. It’s magical, action packed, unique and different. The perfect YA story for people who enjoy reading this genre.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Better as a hard copy

The story was compelling enough, I loathed the narration, particularly when speaking the lead heroines lines. Couldn’t move past it. Better read than listened to. Not captivating enough to continue with this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

engaging fantasy story

very dynamic fully formed and believable characters. nice story arc. would be keen to read more and revisit these characters again 👍

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.