I could not put this book down, it was that good. 

First off, mad props to the designer of these book covers. They are BEAUTIFUL and I am so relieved that I liked the book because that means I can put it on my shelf and look at its beauty all the days. 

The premise of these books is what first intrigued me. A Darker Shade of Magic is irrefutably a fantasy novel, but the concept has hints of science fiction - four Londons, each overlayed on one another like sheets of paper, but travel between them impossible for their inhabitants. Who doesn't love a good exploration of alternate dimension theory?! Especially when magic is involved. It's the whole delicious package. 

I should say that travel is restricted for all except for the Antari, and there are only two of them left. Kell, one of the two, is the protagonist of this story. As one being able to travel, he's responsible for carrying messages between the worlds. Although entirely illegal, he may also smuggle trinkets between worlds as well. His smuggling gets him into more trouble than he bargained for when he's tricked into taking a token of pure magic, bad magic - bringing along with it a slew of people who wouldn't mind killing him to get their hands on it. Devastated that he's brought such evil into his world, he's determined to take it back to where it belongs before anyone gets hurt.

I found this book intriguing and captivating. The impossible idea of a coat with more than two sides, traveling between worlds, magical beings, imminent war - it was all done very creatively and felt so original that I couldn't wait to see what happened.

p.s. The language is pretty mild, except for two f-bombs (thanks to our friend Lila). I read a review before beginning that said there was a "disturbing sex scene", which really put me off for a while until I decided to brave it. To be honest, the scene wasn't NEARLY as bad as I was expecting, but it is there. It takes place in a pleasure house with the intent of exchanging black magic. When I put it like that, it does sound kind of bad doesn't it... Let's just say I was expecting it to be descriptive and gross and I didn't find that to be the case.