Sanibel 2018 and A Darker Shade of Magic

I was fortunate enough to be able to go away this winter to one of my most favorite places: Sanibel Island. My new header pic is a cute little house I saw while walking the beach. Wouldn't you just love to spend a month there?

I was also lucky enough to be able to bring my son with me. He's a birder and goes and 'gets' birds, ie, identifies them by sight or song. He identified 17 different birds our first day there so was off to a good start.

 We drove up to Bok Tower one day where he got more birds and I got...flowers.

 

 

 

 And this was late winter...


I also read a few books while I was away, and the first I'll tell you about is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

Kell is one of the last Antari―magicians with a rare, coveted 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. And once upon a time, there was Black London...

Kell was raised in Red London and officially serves as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see, and it during one of his unofficial visits to Grey London that Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with aspirations of being a pirate.


What I loved about this book was the idea of four Londons, especially Black London, which almost destroyed the other three and now has only White London holding it back. I loved Kell, who has great power and respects it, but who also has a weakness for finding things he shouldn't. Lilah was a great character, hardened by her life but not devoid of feeling, and the Dane Twins who ruled White London were perfectly cold. I did want to know more about Black London and Kell's origins but I'm hoping book 2 and or 3 will fill in the blanks.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in the market for a good fantasy, plus, the other two books in the series are already out so no waiting to find out what happens! I'll be ordering book 2 & 3 tomorrow. I will also be back later in the week with more vacation pics and another book review. Have a fabulous Monday!